On the brain benefits (and limitations) of mindfulness meditation

Breath­ing In vs Spac­ing Out (New York Times):

• “That a prac­tice once syn­ony­mous with East­ern mys­ti­cism could be put to the ser­vice of West­ern ratio­nal­ism may sound sur­pris­ing, but con­sid­er: By empha­siz­ing a focus on the here and now, it trains the mind to stay on task and avoid distraction…But one of the most sur­pris­ing find­ings of recent mind­ful­ness stud­ies is that it could have unwant­ed side effects. Rais­ing road­blocks to the mind’s pere­gri­na­tions could, after all, pre­vent the very sort of men­tal vaca­tions that lead to epiphanies.”

Relat­ed articles:

• Train­ing Atten­tion, Self-Reg­u­la­tion: Inter­view with Michael Posner
• 12 Ways Yoga Med­i­ta­tion Helps Nour­ish The Body, Brain and Mind