A great new study shows that you not only grow your brain with mediation, you grow the best parts!  Specifically, the study found that long-term mediators have significant increases in gray matter (gray matter includes nerve cells and their dendrites, or "connections") in the frontal lobe and the hippocampus.

The frontal lobes are evolutionarily the newest part of the brain; they are what make us human.  Frontal lobes are responsible for judgement, planning, ordering, and impulse and response control (and a whole lot more).  The hippocampus is related to long-term memory and spatial navigation--it is the first part of brain to be affected by Alzheimer's.  Interestingly, if you have a strong hippocampus, you are much more resistant to Alzheimer's.  The authors of the study state that the increases in gray matter in these regions among mediators "might account for meditators' singular abilities and habits to cultivate positive emotions, retain emotional stability, and engage in mindful behavior."

 Remember, you are incharge of your own brain!  We all do a great favor to all of humanity (not to mention ourselves) by creating the very best brains we can, and you can qoute me on that!

Check out my Stress Reduction page and click on the "A Simple Meditation" link to the left to learn a basic meditation.

Read the study here.