How Meditation Works & Science-Based Effective Meditations
In this episode, I discuss the biological mechanisms of the state changes that occur during different types of meditation and describe how to develop the meditation practice optimal for you.
October 31, 2022
2 hr 23 min
96
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Episode 96 · October 31, 2022
How Meditation Works & Science-Based Effective Meditations
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How Meditation Works & Science-Based Effective Meditations
Summary
In this episode, I discuss the biological mechanisms of the state changes that occur during different types of meditation and describe how to develop the meditation practice optimal for you. I explain key meditation principles, such as using specific breathwork patterns and adjusting your perception to specific locations along the continuum between interoception, exteroception and dissociation. I discuss how meditation practices lead to long-term trait changes and neuroplasticity, including changing your default mood, reducing baseline anxiety/depression, increasing your ability to focus, enhancing relaxation, improving sleep, and increasing your overall happiness level. I also explain the concept behind the “third-eye center,” what mindfulness is from a biological standpoint, the power of ultra-brief meditations and how to select the best meditation and time and duration to meditate to meet your need. I also explain a novel open-eyed perception-based meditation that may enhance focus, relaxation and task-switching ability. Whether you are a novice or an experienced meditator or simply interested in how our brain controls different aspects of conscious awareness and self-regulation, this episode should interest you.
For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com.
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Timestamps
(00:00:00) Meditation
(00:04:48) Sponsor: LMNT
(00:08:25) Brief History of Meditation: Consciousness, Psychedelics, fMRI
(00:16:19) How the Brain Interprets the Body & Surrounding Environment; Mindfulness
(00:26:07) Neuroscience of Meditation; Perceptual Spotlights
(00:31:58) Sponsor: AG1
(00:33:41) Interoception vs. Exteroception
(00:42:20) Default Mode Network, Continuum of Interoception & Exteroception
(00:53:30) Tools: Interoceptive or Exteroceptive Bias, Meditation Challenge
(01:01:48) State & Trait Changes, Interoceptive & Exteroceptive Meditations, Refocusing
(01:07:35) Tool: Brief Meditations, Waking Up App
(01:10:30) “Third Eye Center” & Wandering Thoughts
(01:20:46) Meditation: Practice Types, Focal Points & Consistency
(01:24:10) Breathwork: Cyclic Hyperventilation, Box Breathing & Interoception
(01:30:41) Tool: Meditation Breathwork, Cyclic vs. Complex Breathwork
(01:39:22) Interoception vs. Dissociation, Trauma
(01:47:43) Model of Interoception & Dissociation Continuum