Science of Mindfulness

Science of Mindfulness

Over the course of millions of years and the process of evolution, our brains have been wired to avoid pain. The limbic system, which is the part of the brain that deals with emotion and memory, is conditioned to avoid feeling strong emotions. When we do feel strong emotions, we often try to override these feelings, but this is actually counter-productive. It takes a huge conscious effort to do this!

Mindfulness can help with managing feelings and how we respond to them. We often try to supress negative feelings and emotions, but this can worsen how we are feeling. Our internal “autopilot” can become overloaded with memories, thoughts, anxieties and “to-dos”. As this happens, our mind slows down and we begin to feel exhausted and unhappy with life.

Practicing mindfulness daily for 8 weeks will begin to increase activity to the area of the brain that controls our attention, memory and emotional regulation. This in turn increases our positive brain circuitry. You begin to notice when autopilot kicks in, allowing you to acknowledge negative thoughts and aides in better decision making and increased positivity.