“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light”.

Plato

Meditation Decreases Anxiety

It has been known for ages that meditation can decrease anxiety but until now the brain regions involved in the process have remained a mystery. Fadel Zeidan from the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center has recently shed some light on the process. They selected 15 healthy volunteers with no history of meditation or anxiety disorders. The volunteers took four 20 min classes to learn mindfulness meditation. They were taught to focus on breathing and body sensations and non-judgementally assess distracting thoughts and emotions. Anxiety reports and MRI scans were taken before and after the meditation training course. The majority of the subjects displayed a decrease in anxiety of around 40% following meditation. During meditation, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (controls worrying) and anterior cingulate cortex (controls thinking and emotion) were found to be more active and led to decreased anxiety.

Zeidan commented,  “Mindfulness is premised on sustaining attention in the present moment and controlling the way we react to daily thoughts and feelings. Interestingly, the present findings reveal that the brain regions associated with meditation-related anxiety relief are remarkably consistent with the principles of being mindful.” In short, if we focus on our breathing and body sensations in the present, it inhibits our ability to worry about imaginary problems in the future.

Yoga Improves Brain Function More Than Aerobic Exercise

A team of researchers led by Professor Neha Gothe from the University of Illinois recently studied the effects of yoga on mental function. Their subjects performed 3 different sessions:

• A 20-minute Hatha yoga session with progressions from sitting to standing and then lying in a meditative position whilst focussing on breathing
• A 20-minute aerobic work-out on an inclined treadmill with participants working at 60-70% of their maximum heart rate
• A baseline assessment

They found that mental performance after yoga was significantly better for both inhibition and working memory tasks (ie. shorter reaction times, increased accuracy) than after aerobic exercise and after baseline measurements.

Prof Gothe commented that, “The breathing and meditative exercises aim at calming the mind and body and keeping distracting thoughts away while you focus on your body, posture or breath. Maybe these processes translate beyond yoga practice when you try to perform mental tasks or day-to-day activities.”

Mr Smith

There’s a story about an old WWII veteran, Mr Smith. He was so proud of his contribution to his country, he wore his uniform until the day he died. On the first of each month he would receive a little pension from the government and he’d make quite a ceremony of receiving that little cheque.

One sunny morning on the 1st of June he looked through his mail and picked up a letter he knew contained his little cheque. He smiled to himself as he opened the letter and pulled out the cheque. As he looked out the window he noticed a young neighbour passing by. He swiftly opened his front door and shouted out, “Come here John, I want to show you something.”

He proudly exhibited his cheque and said, “Do you see that signature at the bottom of that cheque? That’s the signature of the Prime Minister. He’s an important man, probably the most important man in this country. John, do you see the signature just below his? That’s the signature of the Chancellor of the Exchequer who signs for Her Majesty’s Treasury. He’s an important man too. He’s responsible for developing and executing the country’s finance and economic policies.”

Mr Smith then proudly straightened himself out to his full height, pushed out his chest, turned over the cheque and said, “John, do you see that little thin line on the back of this cheque? That’s where I put my signature! And you know something John, until I put my signature right there, as important as those two men may be, their signatures aren’t worth a penny!”

I love this story because it brilliantly illustrates the significance and power of our own actions within our lives.

Adapted from a story by Cavett Robert