Studies of Meditation Practices

Kelly McGonigal is one of the most brilliant young neruoscientists of our day. Her work at the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University is drawing huge numbers of people to look at her studies of meditation practices.

Her life-long headaches led her into yoga and meditation and now she is an accomplished yoga teacher and neuroscientist. Her pioneering work on willpower has drawn much acclaim.

One study found that just three hours of meditation practice led to improved attention and self-control. After eleven hours, researchers could see those changes in the brain. The new meditators had increased neural connections between regions of the brain important for staying focused, ignoring distractions, and controlling impulses. Another study found that eight weeks of daily meditation practice led to increased self-awareness in everyday life, as well as increased gray matter in corresponding areas of the brain. It may seem incredible that our brains can reshape themselves so quickly, but meditation increases blood flow to the prefrontal cortex, in much the same way that lifting weights increases blood flow to your muscles. The brain appears to adapt to exercise in the same way that muscles do, getting both bigger and faster in order to get better at what you ask of it.

– Kelly McGonigal from The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of

As you probably have guessed, I have admired Kelly for many years now – ever since I began following her work at CCARE. When she was in conversation with Jon Kabat-Zinn in San Francisco a couple of years ago, I took the opportunity to speak with her. She was very friendly, even though she had places to go and much to do.

Do you love, admire and respect Kelly McGonigal? Let me know what you think.

Books by Kelly McGonigal

The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It by Kelly McGonigal Based on Stanford University psychologist Kelly McGonigal’s wildly popular course “The Science of Willpower,” The Willpower Instinct is the first book to explain the new science of self-control and how it can be harnessed to improve our health, happiness, and productivity. Infor… [Read More…]