This is where things get really interesting. Using modern technology like fMRI scans, scientists have developed a more thorough understanding of what’s taking place in our brains when we meditate. The overall difference is that our brains stop processing information as actively as they normally would. We start to show a decrease in beta waves, which indicate that our brains are processing information, even after a single 20-minute meditation session if we’ve never tried it before.
In meditation, new grooves are formed in the brain and the mind moves upwards in the new spiritual grooves. When the mind becomes steady in meditation, the eyeballs also become steady. A Yogi whose mind is calm will have a steady eye. There will be no winking at all. The eyes will be lustrous, red or pure white. When you enter into very deep, silent meditation, the breath will not come out of the nostrils. There may be occasional slow movement of the lungs and the abdomen. During normal exhalation the air comes out 16 digits. When the mind gets concentrated, it will become less and less. It will come to 15 then 14, 13, 12, 10, 8 and so on. From the nature of the breathing, you can infer the degree of concentration of an aspirant. Watch the breath very carefully.
Research shows that once close your eyes to meditate, your body begins to shift into a state of restfulness that is much deeper than deep sleep, and yet you are awake. Going along with the restfulness is a whole set of changes: blood pressure decreases, your heart rate decreases slightly, your breath rate slows, and your muscle tension decreases. Within the first 3 minutes, oxygen consumption drops by 10 to 17 percent. Oxygen consumption is a good indicator of how much work the body is doing, and when you are resting, oxygen consumption drops. Within several minutes the body begins to shift into a state profoundly different than waking, dreaming or sleeping, but having qualities of each. Meditation is the mirror image of combat mode, the stress response. In terms of survival, it is about giving the organism a chance to more quickly recover from fatigue and stress and train itself to be more efficient at dealing with stress in the future.
Within minutes of measuring physiological changes in the body during meditation, it has been found that the following decreases occur:
In meditation, new grooves are formed in the brain and the mind moves upwards in the new spiritual grooves. When the mind becomes steady in meditation, the eyeballs also become steady. A Yogi whose mind is calm will have a steady eye. There will be no winking at all. The eyes will be lustrous, red or pure white. When you enter into very deep, silent meditation, the breath will not come out of the nostrils. There may be occasional slow movement of the lungs and the abdomen. During normal exhalation the air comes out 16 digits. When the mind gets concentrated, it will become less and less. It will come to 15 then 14, 13, 12, 10, 8 and so on. From the nature of the breathing, you can infer the degree of concentration of an aspirant. Watch the breath very carefully.
Research shows that once close your eyes to meditate, your body begins to shift into a state of restfulness that is much deeper than deep sleep, and yet you are awake. Going along with the restfulness is a whole set of changes: blood pressure decreases, your heart rate decreases slightly, your breath rate slows, and your muscle tension decreases. Within the first 3 minutes, oxygen consumption drops by 10 to 17 percent. Oxygen consumption is a good indicator of how much work the body is doing, and when you are resting, oxygen consumption drops. Within several minutes the body begins to shift into a state profoundly different than waking, dreaming or sleeping, but having qualities of each. Meditation is the mirror image of combat mode, the stress response. In terms of survival, it is about giving the organism a chance to more quickly recover from fatigue and stress and train itself to be more efficient at dealing with stress in the future.
Within minutes of measuring physiological changes in the body during meditation, it has been found that the following decreases occur:
- Metabolic rate decreases
- Blood pressure drops
- Heart rate slows
- Muscle tension relaxes
- Stress hormones are lowered
