For the last three days, I have been viciously eating this book alive. 

In summary, it is a fascinating concoction of stories, experiments, and case studies that prove NEUROPLASTICITY: the theory that the human brain can change it's physical structure from not only incoming stimuli from the environment, but also from IMMATERIAL thoughts and imagination. Stroke patients can be cured, people born with half a brain can be fully function, and an elderly person can have a memory just as intact as a twenty-five year old. It's true. We can exercise our brain just as well as we exercise our muscles. And the hypertrophy is all about more neural networks.

From a meditator's standpoint - this is GREAT NEWS;
Here I present to you the many benefits of meditation based on the fact that our brains are as flexible as play-doh:

• For the general population } Improved attention, senses, and ability to feel compassion. This article sent to me by Pranafriend Kristina Lekin - {This is your Brain on... Meditation} - goes indepth on how this works.

• For the chronically stressed } Meditation lowers levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. It also decreases activity in the amyglada, an area of the brain responsible for stress and anxiety.

• For those experiencing chronic pain } Pain is felt not at the site of defect, but in the brain. In some odd cases, pain is not an accurate representation of the damage in your body; you could be feeling pain long after the damage site has healed. This type of pain can be treated with cognitive therapy - in summary, simply imagining movement of the damaged part with utmost strength can cure chronic pain. No pain killers and liver damage needed. Just meditation!

He knew about yogis who relieved suffering with meditation and walked barefoot across coals or lay down on nails. He saw religious people putting needles through their chins.

[...]

He has transposed a sense of wonder from the streets of India to Western neurology,

[...]

What is a trance but a closing down of the gates of pain within us?

~ The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, Page 195

• For injured athletes } A study was done with two groups who trained a finger muscle for 4 weeks. Group A did actual physical training while group B simply visualized doing the training. Group A ended up gaining 30% muscular strength, while group B was not far behind with a 22% gain! Stronger motor neurons attributed to this impressive gain - therefore you do not need to be a hulky monster to be strong! This is fantastic information for injured athletes. They can still train almost just as well without even moving a muscle! 

• For those practicing virtually any skill } Playing the piano, writing with your non dominant hand, doing a front tuck... all of these things can be practiced by pure meditation and visualization. A similar study as the one above was done with piano players. The two groups (A - physical practice, B - mental practice) ended up being able to play a piece on the piano with equal accuracy. This means that if a professional piano player were to do 50/50 physical and mental rehearsal, they would be much less likely to develop a common wrist injury. This can be said able almost any skill that requires repetitive movement (and therefore puts one at risk of a repetitive strain injury).
   
• For the aging } Our brains have a "use it or lose it" policy. As long as we are using that area of the brain, it will not degrade. Meditation will exercise many areas of the brain and therefore maintains its strength. This puts elderly at less of a risk for developing alzheimers and dementia.

The widespread applications in therapy, training, gaining better peace of mind, and becoming an overall better person as a whole are limitless and I have only touched on a few. I highly recommend this read to get the bigger picture. How mighty our brain can be! Give it as much love as you are willing to give your body as they are very much one in the same. Meditate your way to a healthy whole!

Kim