Why Meditate?

The word meditation conjures images from a Buddhist monk sitting quietly beneath the ancient Bodhi tree to the savvy New York businessman taking a sojourn in a high-tech Wall Street meditation pod. Each would be correct, as the definitions of “meditation” are as numerous and unique as the practitioners. “Meditation” is synonymous with “thought, consideration, deliberation, contemplation, reflection, introspection, and concentration.” A meditation practice could encompass all these words…or none.  Ancient Buddhists define meditation as the primary tool we use to see the world and mind clearly (Hanson, 2010). Smalley and Winston (2010) define meditation as: “Mindful awareness….an idea that implies an awareness of self and a capacity to reflect…” (pg. 1) Other authors define meditation as “A form of mental training that aims to improve an individual’s core psychological capacities…” (Tang, 2015, pg. 213). Mindfulness meditation is defined as the ability to regulate attention. “A non-judgmental attention to present moment experiences” (Tang, 2016, pg. 1). Ludwig and Kabat-Zin (2008) comment that “mindfulness” is a “Meditation practice that cultivates present moment awareness” (pg. 1351). The practice of meditation varies as much as the definitions of meditation.  

Popular practices include Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Ziva meditation (Fletcher, 2019), Metta meditation (Metta Institute.org), Vipassana meditation (Ahir, 1999), and Zen meditation (Mizuno, 1972). MBSR was founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979 (Kabat-Zinn, 2017) and is the most studied form of meditation. All types of meditation appear to be “helpful” – but exactly HOW does meditation help a modern human?

Meditation has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression (Jain et al, 2015; Tang et al, 2007), improve resilience in college students (Rogers, 2013), reduce baseline cortisol levels (Tang et al, 2007), increase attention (Tang 2016), improve sleep (Gong et al, 2016; Gross et al, 2011; Winbush et al, 2007) and positively impact cardiac makers by increasing Heart Rate Variability (Krieger et al, 2015; Kelley et al, 2022).

Consistently meditating appears to activate specific areas of the brain, such as the:

The Insula: Helps with the internal awareness of the body; “interoception” is the term often used

Sensory and Motor Cortexes: Helps with our ability to sense and understand our bodies

Rostro-lateral Pre-Frontal Cortex: Helps with meta-analysis, that is, our ability to think about our thinking.

Hippocampus: The seat of memory in the human brain. This structure helps humans contextualize emotions (The theory being that when a person can contextualize an emotion, it is easier to RESPOND rather than REACT.)

Corpus Callosum: This white matter tract connects the two sides of the brain. Increasing its size and ability to move data improves the brain’s ability to share and integrate data.

(Sperduti et al, 2012; Tang 2015; Taren 2015; Lutz 2016; Chiesa & Serretti, 2008 and Fox et al,. 2014)

Did meditation CAUSE these changes? Most authors sidestep this question. However, these regions show consistent changes in meditators.

 Additionally, there is no gold standard regarding the best type of meditation to practice, how often to practice (frequency), or how long each practice “should” be (duration).  The only thing researchers appear to agree upon is, “Yes, meditation makes a human feel better.” Even the definition of “better” is up for debate!!

So, what’s a stressed-out human to do?

I suggest you dive in with an experiment of one: You!

Ask yourself,  “How could meditation help me?”

Here are some suggestions from the peanut gallery to get you started:

1. Start slowly. One of my coaches talks about starting with ONE MINUTE per day. I say 5. Five minutes gives you enough time to fidget, avoid, complain, and then Voila, it’s done. Increase a minute every other day until you get to 10. In my experience, 10 minutes is a great place to start. You will get used to it quickly AND then…crave more.
2. Experiment with different types WEEKLY. Don’t change every day. Pick a TYPE of meditation and do it for a week, increasing your time daily, with a goal of 10 minutes. I find new meditators do best with guided meditation. There are several great apps (Headspace, Calm, Insight timer.  Slowdive is my current favorite.) You can find free meditations on YouTube or some websites listed in the reference list below.  I also have a Release Stress Meditation and a BRAND-NEW Metta Meditation free on my YouTube Channel.
3. Expect the mind to wander. That is the job of the mind, to wander. You are NOT doing it wrong if your mind wanders. Gently draw it back to the words, breath, or the anchor you are using that day.
4. Establish a routine – Meditate every (MORNING, AFTERNOON, EVENING) in your (LIVING ROOM, SUNROOM, CAR). PUT IT IN THE CALENDAR – just like the Dentist 😉.
5. Pledge yourself to give it SIX WEEKS before you give up.
6. When possible, enroll your dog 😊. Your lap will be warm, and you will have something to do with your hands.

Meditation has become a home base for me (and my dog).😊I feel a sense of relief just SITTING on my cushion with him. The actual practice is a bonus. The mind loves repetition and consistency. The mind also DOES NOT  “know” what is beneficial for it. You can choose to think negative thoughts, or ruminate,  OR you can take a breather and meditate once a day. Who knows what might change in 6 weeks?

Want a private meditation session with me? Book a call, mention this article, and I will add a FREE meditation session. I will create a specific meditation just for you. You can record it while we talk, and Voila – personalized session.

Looking forward to meeting with you!

“Meditation is not a way of making your mind quiet. It’s a way of entering into the quiet that’s already there” – Deepak Chopra 

REFERENCES

Ahir, DC (1999). Vipassana: A Universal Buddhist Meditation Technique. Sri Satguru Publications: New Delhi.

Brougham, R. R., Zail, C. M., Mendoza, C. M., & Miller, J. R. (2009). Stress, sex differences, and coping strategies among college students. Current Psychology, 28(2), 85–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-009-9047-0

Campbell-Sills, L., Cohan, S. and Stein, M. (2006). Relationship of resilience to personality, coping, and psychiatric symptoms in young adults. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(4), p.594.

Chiesa, A., and A. Serretti (2008). A systematic review of neurobiological and clinical features of mindfulness meditations.  Psychological Medicine, 40, 1239–1252

Fox et al (2014). Is meditation associated with altered brain structures? A systematic review and meta-analysis of morphometric neuroimaging in meditation practitioners. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 43, 4 – 73.

Gong, H. et al,  (2016). Mindfulness meditation for insomnia: A meta-analysis of randomized control trials. J of Psychosomatic Research, 89: 1-6.

Gross, C. et al. (2011). Mindfulness-based stress reduction versus pharmacotherapy for chronic primary insomnia: a randomized controlled trial. Explore-J Sci Heal, 7, 76 – 87.

Hanson, R., & Mendius, R. (2010) Buddha’s Brain, Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.

Jain, F., Walsh, R., Eisendrath, S., Christensen, S., & Cahn, R. (2015). Critical Analysis of the Efficacy of Meditation Therapies for Acute and Subacute Phase Treatment of Depressive Disorders: A Systematic Review, Psychosomatics, 56, 140-152.

Kabat-Zinn, J (2017). Center of mindfulness in medicine, healthcare and society. Retrieved from http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/about-us/people/2-meet-our-faculty/kabat-zinn-profile/ 

Kelley K, Pata R, Acevedo S, Bayne C, Thompson L, et al. (2022) Effects of Neurosculpting® Meditation on Stress, Anxiety and Sleep in a group of undergraduate college students. Yoga Phys Ther Rehabil 7: 1087. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29011/2577-0756.001087

Krygier, J., Heathers, J., Shahrestani, S., Abbott, M., Gross, J., & Kemp, A. (2013). Mindfulness meditation, well-being, and heart rate variability: a preliminary investigation into the impact of intensive Vipassana meditation. Int J Psychophysiol. 89(3): 305-13.

Lutz, J., Bruhl, A., Scheerer, H., Jancke, L., & Herwig, U. (2016). Neural correlates of mindful self-awareness in mindfulness meditators and meditation-naïve subjects revisited. Biological Psychology, 119, 21 – 30.

Ludwig, M., & Kabat-Zinn, J (2008).  Mindfulness in Medicine, JAMA, 300 (11), 1350 – 1352.

Metta Institute (2025). https://www.mettainstitute.org/mettameditation.html

Mizuno, K. (1972). Essentials of Buddhism. Kosei Publishing Company: Tokyo.

Rogers, H. (2013). Mindfulness Meditation for Increasing Resilience in College Students. [online] Healio.com. Available at: https://www.healio.com/psychiatry/journals/psycann/2013-12-43-12/%7Bf83c8ac2-fa3b-4f1a-88e6-d1ade99fa0ea%7D/mindfulness-meditation-for-increasing-resilience-in-college-students.pdf [Accessed 10 Jun. 2019].

Smalley, S., & Winston, D.  (2010). Fully Present: The Science, Art, and Practice of Mindfulness. Philadelphia: De Capo Press.

Sperduti, M., Martinelli, P., &  Piolina, P. (2012) A neurocognitive model of meditation based on activation likelihood estimation(ALE) meta-analysis. Consciousness and Cognition, 21, 269–276.

Tang, Y., Wang, J., Fan, Y., Feng, S., Lu, Q., Yu, Q., Sui, D., Rothbart, M.K., Fan, M., & Posner, MI. (2007) Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation. ProcNatl Acad Sci USA, 104 (43), 17152-6.

Tang, Y.Y., & Leve L. (2016). A translational neuroscience perspective on mindfulness meditation as a prevention strategy. TBM, 6, 63 – 72 doi:10.1007/s13142-015-0360-x

Tang, Y.Y., Holzel, B., & Posner, M. (2015). The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation. Nature Reviews, 16, 313 – 325.

Taren, A., Gianaros, P., Greco, C., Lindsay, E., Fairgrieve, A., Grown, K., Rosen, R., Ferris, J., Julson, E., Mursland, A., Bursley, J., Ramsburt, J., & Creswell J. (2015). Mindfulness meditation training alters stress-related amygdala resting state functional connectivity: A randomized control trial, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 1758-1768.

Fletcher, E. (2019) Stress Less, Accomplish More: Meditation for Extraordinary Performance.  Harper Collins: NY(Founder of ZIVA meditation)

Winbush, N.Y., Gross, C.R., & Kreitzer, M.J. (2007) The effects of mindfulness based stress reduction on sleep disturbance: a systematic review. Explore (NY). 3:585-591.