Discussion

In the initial phase of the 10 minutes guided meditation (Boho Beautiful Yoga, 2021), I felt like I was slowly being ushered to a calm state of mind. It was difficult to follow the guidance of the speaker in the beginning, but with time, I could feel that my mind was entering in a different realm of existence where there were no recurrent negative thoughts but I could only hear the voice guiding my mental state of action. I felt more motivated and hopeful.

The first part of the brain which is impacted by the meditation is the anterior cingulated cortex. During the meditation, an increased neural response is noticed in this area which leads to increased optimism and motivation. The other area is the insula. Meditation will lead to increased activity in the insula which increased my awareness about my body and myself. It increased my mindfulness about my ‘self.’ The thalamus is also impacted and due to the increased activity in the thalamus during meditation, I had a heightened awareness of the emotional experience that I underwent during and after the meditation. The neural activities in the caudate is also increased during the meditation which increased improved my ability to make planned movement and reduce unwanted psychomotor activities. The middle frontal gyrus is also sees increased neural activities during the meditation leading to improved capacity to develop numeracy. Additionally, an increased neural activity is noted in the superior temporal gyrus which regulates my ability to communicate socially with others and my social abilities.

References:

Boho Beautiful Yoga,. (2021, January 1). 10 MIN Guided Meditation To Clear Your Mind & Start New Positive Habits. YouTube. https://youtu.be/uTN29kj7e-w

Feruglio, S., Matiz, A., Pagnoni, G., Fabbro, F., & Crescentini, C. (2021). The impact of mindfulness meditation on the wandering mind: a systematic review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 131, 313-330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.032