How Meditation Impacts the Brain and Implications for Health

How does mindfulness and meditation improve health? Helen Weng, UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, explains that training our internal mental lives can have positive effects on our minds, health, and relationships. Recorded on 05/26/2016. [8/2016] [Show ID: 31008]

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More from: Integrative Medicine and Mindfulness: From the Monastery to Modern Medical Practice

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[bokie]

I have been twice a day meditator for 21 years. My emotions and thoughts were out of control. At the edge of a mental break down. I took up meditation, I was looking for a way to either turn off my brain, or escape my head. I have found control of both. Tho I still meditate twice a day, I feel as if I am in a continuous state of meditation. If I am at home and have no need to think, I can just shut the chatter off and have perfect quite stillness right where I am. But moreover it's balanced the powers of being. I mean I'm not fighting for control, I know for a fact that I Am the control... That's being that's Knowing. Meditation for me has been the discovery of my personal power not to control or try to control what happens in my life. But rather how, I responded to what happens while living life. If everyone knew what meditating really does for you they would all be meditating...

[chillback]

Meditation helped me break my addiction and brought me an overall emotional and mental equilibrium. For me it's essential, just 20 mins a day has changed my life dramatically.

[masterninja]

Meditation has given me a sense of wonder. I was in college and graduate school for almost a decade. During that time I was indoctrinated into scientific dogma. Through that experience I lost my childish wonder about life and the universe. Meditation has brought that back to me. While meditation has many statistically measurable effects on our minds and bodies it also offers many intangible benefits. Meditation unlocks information in a way that amazes me. I always tell my children that it’s like receiving downloads from the universe. In return for 20 minutes a day the meditator receives a literal wealth of benefits that cannot be described in words.

[wewirnl]

Been meditating for four years. It has changed my life in big ways.

[SahajaYogaMeditation]

Nice presentation. Meditation is the first step to take control of our life. Once we become good at it, we need to level up by eating less and exercise more. Finally, following the yogic precepts to correct our behavior(control our different urges). In the end, we become a master of our body and can manifest our ideas into this physical reality in the most efficient way possible. Without the beginning of meditation, we are just a slave to our sensory perceptions.

[christophspiessens]

Brilliant lecture. Thank you very much. I am an Empath and since I discovered mindfulness my anxiety has gone down SIGNIFICANTLY. I am now a mindfulness teacher myself.

[Mochi.mochi.icecream]

I do Isha kriya (meditation) everyday now and it's changed my life. It's nice to see science catching up with what culture's of people have known and practiced for thousands of years :)

[kylegood]

meditation is the sole reason that I am no longer a slave to the needle.

it should be taught before 2+2

[derksenjenny]

Meditating for 2 years now, i learned it to deall with my aspergers symptoms, i gain better focus and i dont stay in a tough for so long i can let it go .

[rsbersagel]

Would be great if all our politicians & public servants would/could participate in some research & training ASAP.

[thisweirdkidbummer]

Great presentation! I feel like I’m constantly distracted and always going into that mind wondering state. While I’m having conversations, while I’m working, even when I’m watching a tv show I really like! Everybody says meditation helps with stuff like that but never really goes into why. This video really cleared it up on HOW meditation does that! Thank you very much!

[ull]

It took so long for YouTube to recommend this video, although I watch hundreds of meditation videos everyday.

[fumarate]

I've been practising meditation for also 4 years now and it gets better for i was an Ice smoker for 10 years i can't even begin to tell you what it did to me this drug it certaintly gave me a hard knock in life.

[acer]

Love this study! My doctor once asked if I was hypersensitive...honestly made me really look closer look at that weakness...it effected my health....I do overreact but when I meditate it helps calm that behavior.

[Brewer]

Thank you for the upload. I see an improvement everyday since a began to meditate.

[ThePaintedShovel]

Thank you for sharing! I just started meditating three months ago in an effort to curb severe premenstral syndrome and endometriosis symptoms. I am finding that while I still have some of the negative symptoms, they are lessening and my mental / emotional reactions to them are mitigated. I am also quite calmer and more focused during the time of the month when I am not PMSing.

[JesJoy]

Perfect combination; learning and experiencing meditation. Thank you.

[findhealthtips]

What a wonderful life, one can live ..when he adds the benefits of meditation for enhancing the life.

[juliewilliams]

Wow understanding this really affects the effectiveness of leading the meditations and mindfulness.

[mariaegonzalez]

Thank you so much! You just gave me the gift that I needed at this moment in my life. May you feel free & happy, too; and be able to keep doing this for anyone who needs it as I needed it today. Love from here to All. Mayu, from San Diego, CA.