5 Quotes by Sara Lazar

Our results suggest that meditation can produce experience-based structural alterations in the brain. We also found evidence that meditation may slow down the aging-related atrophy of certain areas of the brain.

The area where we see these differences is involved in both the modulation of functions like heart rate and breathing and also the integration of emotion with thought and reward-based decision making - a central switchboard of the brain.

The results were very encouraging. But further research needs to be done using a larger number of people and testing them multiple times. We also need to examine their brains both before and after learning to meditate. Our group is currently planning to do this. Eventually, such research should reveal more about the function of the thickening; that is, how it affects emotions and knowing in terms of both awareness and judgment.

It makes sense that if you're using part of your brain a lot, it's going to get worked out and there's going to be more stuff in that area to support increased usage. In a sense, that's all we're seeing.

The goal is to pay attention to sensory experience, rather than to your thoughts about the sensory experience. For example, if you suddenly hear a noise, you just listen to it rather than thinking about it. If your leg falls asleep, you just notice the physical sensations. If nothing is there, you pay attention to your breathing.