The Neuroscience of Meditation

August 19, 2022

Meditation is a time-honored practice of supporting intentions for calm, health, and over-all well-being. The practice has been shown to effectively relieve stress, manage anxiety, reduce inflammation, and improve memory and attention. But how does meditation actually work? 

Join us for this noontime webinar for a discussion on what happens in the brain during meditation and how we can use this fascinating organ as a tool to support our dearest intentions in life. We will explain the neuroscience of meditation through a basic review of central nervous system structure and function and explore what recent scientific studies have revealed about the brain-centric effects of meditation in relationship to brain structure and connectivity, neurotransmitter release, changes in brain waves, and effects on the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system.

In addition to lecture, the class will include simple sensory meditation, breath work instruction, and time for reflection, providing accessible tools to help you bring mediation into your daily life to improve your own well-being. No previous meditation experience is required.

Instructor: Angela Lumba-Brown, MD, is the co-director of the Stanford Brain Performance Center where she researches brain performance pertaining to development, injury, and aging.  She is also a certified yoga and meditation teacher, currently teaching the neuroscience of meditation with East+West Yoga.