Mindfulness and how the brain works Video Lecture | Mindfulness: Find Peace and keep Healthy - Health & Fitness

the human brain is a profoundly complex
organ 90% of its activity occurs beneath
conscious awareness which means that
even though we assume that we have some
control of how we think feel and behave
modern science suggests it's not so
simple the concept of neuroplasticity is
a new and exciting area of science it
highlights that our brain is constantly
being reshaped throughout our lives by
both our experiences and our thoughts we
now know that it is the focus of our
awareness that determines which brain
networks are strengthened and which are
weakened or lost
that means that when we get caught up in
cycles of worry or irritability these
are the networks within the brain that
become stronger so the more we worry the
better we become at worrying however on
the other side of this if we practice
being calm clear and focused we can
strengthen these networks too as humans
our brain differs from other animals
this is mostly due to the front areas of
the brain called the frontal lobes often
called the new brain as it was the last
to develop in our evolution when well
developed this part of our brain helps
us to manage our strong emotions and
respond with flexibility even when we
feel overwhelmed it also helps us to
tune into the feelings of others with
empathy and insight
when we feel worried distracted or stuck
on achieving goals our brain function is
more strongly dominated by our old brain
which has a part called the amygdala the
amygdala Matt is the powerful fight and
flight response which switches on when
we feel stressed or anxious and releases
hormones and chemicals such as cortisol
and adrenaline that is why stress has
such a big impact on us mindfulness is a
technique that can help us to manage
this process more effectively by
building our skills of attention
concentration and a capacity to direct
our awareness in a certain way this all
means that we are less likely to be
swept up by a strong emotion and the
power of the amygdala
it also means we can bring choice to our
emotions and our thoughts in doing so
we're playing an active role in changing
the way the structure of our brain
develops in much the same way we can
change the shape of our body by doing
certain exercises at the gym when we
practice meditation regularly we build a
capacity to become aware of thinking and
emotion as our mind becomes more settled
our nervous system is able to take in
more accurate information and we can
access capacities for creativity
flexibility and lateral thinking which
enable us to manage challenging
situations more skillfully when we build
skills of mindfulness we still
experience negative feelings like
frustration disappointment fear or
irritability but the research shows that
we recover much more quickly we now know
from research into brain development
that regular meditation and mindfulness
practice reduces the size of the
amygdala reduces levels of stress
hormones and strengthens connections to
the frontal lobes this all means that
we're more likely to live with less
stress and more happiness
you