Neuromeditation is the application of brain-based principle to meditative practices. Meaning, I help you understand what happens in the brain during different types of meditation practices and what type of meditation may be beneficial for you. Apart from relaxation and calming effects of meditation, neurological, and psychological factors are also considered.
Focus Neuromeditation
The Focus NeuroMeditation® style emphasizes holding attention on a single target, such as the breath, a mantra, or a candle flame. These practices are associated with increased activation of the frontal lobes and help train the mind to improve a variety of cognitive functions including sustaining attention, reducing mind wandering, and improving reaction time and working memory. This style is helpful for those struggling with ADHD and Cognitive Decline. Focus is a foundation for all other meditation styles, helping to stabilize the mind.
Goals:
Increases Accurate Self-Awareness, Develops Mental Stability, Improves Focus, Attention, and Concentration, and Improves Executive Functioning and Brain Brightening
Mental Health Targets:
Cognitive Decline, Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, ADHD, Active Depression
Mindfulness Neuromeditation
The Mindfulness NeuroMeditation® style teaches us to observe the process of awareness: our thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations. We learn to create a healthy distance from internal reactions, bringing attention more fully to the present moment. We practice accepting things as they are without grasping, clinging, or pushing away.
These practices are associated with a calming of specific regions of the brain involved in the stress response. The brain becomes more flexible and habitual ways of perceiving yourself, others, and the environment shift naturally. These practices may be especially beneficial for managing stress and anxiety.
Goals:
Gaining Calm Awareness of Present Moment, Reducing Judgment, Distancing from Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors, and Learning to Let Go
Mental Health Targets:
Chronic Stress and Anxiety
Open Heart Neuromeditation
The Open Heart NeuroMeditation® style emphasizes activating and enhancing positive feeling states, such as love, compassion, generosity, gratitude, or joy. It can help improve mood and allow one to become more empathic, loving, kind, and clear. With these practices, you are intending to send these feelings out to others in the world. Targets for these practices may be yourself, family, friends, acquaintances, or regions of the world that are experiencing conflict. This practice can also help us to establish and maintain healthy boundaries in our relationships, as we gain accurate empathy and conscious communication.
Open Heart practices activate regions of the brain involved in sustaining attention, synthesizing communication between thoughts and feelings, increasing accurate empathy, and in cultivating body-based emotional feelings. These practices can help with mood concerns, resentment, perspective taking, and unresolved grief.
Goals:
Increase Gratitude and Appreciation, Promote Accurate Empathy, Improve Mood
Mental Health Targets:
On-going (non-active) Depression, Relationship Problems, Unresolved Grief, and Chronic Resentment
Quiet Mind Neuromeditation
The Quiet Mind NeuroMeditation® style represents the stereotypical view of meditation – that of entering pure awareness or spaciousness, without a constant stream of thoughts and images. These practices teach us how to let go and drop below the level of day-to-day consciousness. It requires a relaxed state of mind and body in which we can just “be.”
These practices quiet regions of the brain involved in processing the “self,” or “ego.” The Quiet Mind style calms or reduces the amount and intensity of internal self-talk, thinking, analyzing, and processing. They may be particularly helpful for identity issues, eating and body image concerns, and obsessive or addictive tendencies.
Goals:
Minimize Negative Self-Talk, Cultivate Equanimity, Engage in Non-Striving, Create Perspective from Ego-Mind, and Experience Restful Alertness
Mental Health Targets:
Chronic Pain, OCD, Substance Use, Eating Disorders