Reduce the Brain’s Emotional Reactivity with Meditation Practice By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Of all the reasons people have for trying meditation, being less emotionally reactive is usually pretty high up.” – Alice G. Walton There has accumulated a large amount of research demonstrating that meditation practice has significant benefits for psychological, physical, […]
Improve Brain Processing of Awareness and Emotions with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Evidence suggests that particular areas of the brain may either shrink or grow in response to regular mindfulness practice.” – Meera Joshi There has accumulated a large amount of research demonstrating that meditation practice has significant benefits for psychological, physical, […]
Improve the Brain’s Attentional Networks with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “MBSR and RR body scans both induced a common increased functional connectivity between the brain’s ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which plays a role in attention.” – GORAMA The nervous system is a dynamic entity, constantly changing and adapting to the […]
Mindfulness is Associated with Different Brain Responses to Angry Faces By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Being mindful of anger means not suppressing, denying or avoiding it and also not acting out in harmful ways. Instead, connect with the direct experience of the anger, and then decide what action you want to take.” — […]
Improve Connectivity of Brain Areas Underlying Executive Cognitive Function with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Think of mindfulness practices as short routines or “gym” sessions that exercise your executive functions. Performed consistently, mindfulness practices strengthen your executive function muscles and help you to be more mindful when you need to be. “ […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Meditation gives you the wherewithal to pause, observe how easily the mind can exaggerate the severity of a setback, and resist getting drawn back into the abyss.”— Richie Davidson We’re very emotional creatures. Without emotion, life is flat and uninteresting. Emotions provide the spice of life. We […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Neuroscientists have also shown that practicing mindfulness affects brain areas related to perception, body awareness, pain tolerance, emotion regulation, introspection, complex thinking, and sense of self. . . When we take a seat, take a breath, and commit to being mindful, particularly when we gather with others who […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “With mindfulness, we learn to truly stand in our own shoes. From this perspective, mindfulness is a practice of self–empathy. This kind of self-awareness allows us to develop empathic connections to others. As we experience the landscape of our inner life with more detail and richness, our ability […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Meditation isn’t a magic bullet for depression, as no treatment is, but it’s one of the tools that may help manage symptoms.” – Alice Walton Depression is the most common mental illness affecting over 6% of the population. It is debilitating by producing any or all of […]
Brain damage is more or less permanent. The neurons and neural structures that are destroyed when the brain is damaged for the most part do not regrow. Acquired Brain Injury is a form of brain damage caused by a number of different events from a violent blow to the head (Traumatic Brain Injury, TBI), to […]