Improve Cognitive skills through meditation techniques

Different meditation techniques can improve your cognitive skills, a new study from the National University of Singapore has revealed, looking into the variations between the Theravada and Vajrayana branches of the tradition of Buddhist meditation.

The piece of research – published in PLOS ONE – indicated that Theravada meditation was excellent for relaxation, whereas Vajrayana meditation had little effect with regards to this. Instead, the sympathetic system was heightened, which is more closely related to arousal. It was seen that Vajrayana meditation contributed to a “dramatic increase in performance on cognitive tasks”.

In FISU meditation these processes happen naturally and balance both the need for spending some time allowing the sympathetic nervous system to express itself, and then switching naturally to the parasympathetic states, which are often a springboard to draw us deeper and deeper within.

Co-author of the study Maria Kozhevnikov observed that Vajrayana meditation does usually demand years of practice, so the researchers are now looking into whether people will be able to take advantage of improved brain performance if they just practice a few of the essential elements of this type of meditation.

“This would provide an effective and practical method for non-practitioners to quickly increase brain performance in times of need,” she went on to say.

Practicing meditation and we recommend twice daily, can be beneficial for you, taking you to a state of rest that is in fact a lot deeper than sleep, even though your mind will remain aware and alert and you don’t lose consciousness as you would in bed asleep.

Benefits of meditation include improved health, greater clarity of mind and a greater level of freedom from conditions like stress, anxiety and tension. If you are feeling particularly stressed or overwhelmed with life at the moment and want to gain more control over your own mind, meditation could be the perfect way to do so.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0102990
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