Albert Einstein a Yogi?! or a master of Meditation?!

Following notes are connecting the dots of neuroplasticity, nerve plexus (a network of intersecting nerves, or "chakras", the "force centers" of energy spread throughout from points on the physical body), Einstein, glial cells (neuroglia), meditation, yoga, and the spectrum of light.

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"Meditation found to increase brain size" (PhysOrg - January 31, 2006):

"People who meditate grow bigger brains than those who don't. Researchers at Harvard, Yale, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found the first evidence that meditation can alter the physical structure of our brains. Brain scans they conducted reveal that experienced meditators boasted increased thickness in parts of the brain that deal with attention and processing sensory input."

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Einstein himself claimed that he thought visually rather than verbally. Scientific studies suggested an increased number of Glial cells in Einstein's brain. The brain regions involved in speech and language are smaller, while regions involved with numerical and spatial processing are larger. Glial cells (or neuroglia or glia or glue of the nervous system) are non-neuronal cells that provide support and protection for neurons in the brain and for neurons in other parts of the nervous system. Four main functions of glial cells: to surround neurons and hold them in place, to supply nutrients and oxygen to neurons, to insulate one neuron from another, and to destroy pathogens and remove dead neurons.

The human brain contains roughly equal numbers of glial cells and neurons, with 84.6 billion glia and 86.1 billion neurons. The ratio differs from one part of the brain to another. The amount of brain tissue that is made up of glial cells increases with brain size: the nematode brain contains only a few glia; a fruit fly’s brain is 25% glia; that of a mouse, 65%; a human, 90%; and an elephant, 97% (no wonder why! elephants are very humble though they are bigger in size!).

Meditation: a practice that attempts to calm and focus the mind on one subject, releasing all other thoughts.

Example: playing violin or piano through many years of continuous practices repeatedly and it creates new neurological connections which indirectly help to play the instruments with ease (same scenario when one meditates).

The brain’s ability to change itself:

Therapies have been developed utilizing neuroplasticity to overcome brain malfunctions.

Neuroplasticity:

The creation of new neurological pathways through the alteration of the brain’s form and function through the increase or decrease in grey matter. The ability of the brain and nervous system in all species to change structurally and functionally as a result of input from the environment. Plasticity occurs on a variety of levels, ranging from cellular changes involved in learning, to large-scale changes involved in cortical remapping in response to injury. The most widely recognized forms of plasticity are learning, memory, and recovery from brain damage.

Physiological effects of Meditation:

1. Immediate: lowering stress (blood pressure) and anxiety.

2. Long term: modifying brain structure due to a constant increase in brain activity.

How does meditation cause physiological changes in the brain?

Note from a related article: "During meditation a specific set of neurons in the brain are worked like the muscles in a runner’s calf as he jogs along the treadmill. The further he runs, the more blood flows to his muscles and over days, months and years of training his muscles reshape and the fiber composition changes. The same thing happens in the brain. A flux in blood flow and activity excite specified neurons. Therefore the brain’s grey matter begins to grow, changing its physiological shape. In addition to shape alteration, the release of gamma rays, which are used as a measure of brain activity, increases".

The brain is an electro-chemical organ using electromagnetic energy to function. Electrical activity emanating from the brain is displayed in the form of brainwaves. The "Chakras" are the "force centers" of energy permeating from points on the physical body. They are considered the focal points for the reception and transmission of energies.

As humans, we exist within the 49th Octave of Vibration of the electromagnetic light spectrum. Below this range are barely visible radiant heat, then invisible infrared, television and radio waves, sound and brain waves; above it is barely visible ultraviolet, then the invisible frequencies of chemicals and perfumes, followed by x-rays, gamma rays, radium rays and unknown cosmic rays. Understanding existence and physical form as an interpretation of light energy through the physical eyes will open up greater potential to explore the energetic boundaries of color, form and light that are perceived as immediate reality.

Wakefulness is described by the American physician and meditation teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn as a state of mindful awareness or mindfulness. By being fully awake in the present moment, Kabat-Zinn suggests that we can live more fully and with greater awareness and intent, which has the potential to give us an improved sense of peace, contentment and well-being.

Anthroposophy: define four modes of awareness

1. wakefulness ("dhyana"),

2. dream ("dharani"),

3. sleep ("pratyahara")

4. moment of death ("samadhi").

Each of these modes of awareness may be exercised through Yoga in order to enhance wisdom ("prajna") and enlightenment ("buddhi"). In Yoga these four modes of awareness, mental energies, are united with corresponding life forces ("pranas", related to breathing rhythm and volume of oxygen intake or the fuel and source of energy in humans or probably its applicable to any species).

Indian Yogic teachings assign to the seven major "chakras" specific qualities, such as color of influence (from the 7 rays of spectrum light), elements (such as earth, air, water and ether), body sense (such as touch, taste, and smell), and relation to an endocrine gland. Its a great wonder that some tens of thousands of years back many of these meditation experts in some Asian countries derived these concept of "chakras" and its abstraction on nerve plexus in human body and its connection to breathing exercises, various forms of energy and light spectrum.

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Notes from related articles:

#1. "A study was conducted which compared the brain structures of two groups of individuals: those who meditate regularly and those who do not meditate at all. Their brains were scanned and the results were significant. The grey matter of the meditating group was highly developed and thick around cortical regions that relate to sensory and internal perception including auditory and visual perception in addition to the autonomic responses such as breathing and heart rate. When an individual mediates, he is focusing on these same responses. The study also identified that increases of grey matter were far more prevalent in the right hemisphere. This is the hemisphere that deals with attention, the main focus of meditation."

#2. "Another study compared Buddhist monks with over 10,000 hours of meditation under their belt to the average working individual with little to no meditation experience. Both groups were told to elicit a feeling of compassion. They meditated and focused on compassion, while fMRI scanners studied their brain activity. The study found the monks’ brains to radiate shockingly high levels of high frequency activity waves called gamma waves. So high, that the levels had never been encountered before in neuroscience. Gamma waves in the brain are suggested to be the leading indicator of higher brain function and activity. They control mental states, such as consciousness. The more gamma waves, the more brain activity. Similarly, the more blood flow to an area of the brain, the higher brain activity. These studies keep suggesting that the more hours of mental training allotted to the brain, the more neuroplasticitic changes will be seen and measured, grounding meditation in scientific realms."

#3. "Neurons and their pattern of arrangement and excitation are directly linked to behavior and function of our bodies. Therefore it makes sense that a change in neurological patterns and arrangements would affect the behaviors and bodily functions which they are attributed to. The vast number of studies that continue to show new benefits and results due to meditation lead to the obvious, broad and frequently asked question:

To what extent can the mind control the body?

"Tibetan monks have taken this question to the extreme, demonstrated unimaginable control. Dr. Herbert Benson, a professor of medicine who was part of the mind-body initiation in the seventies witnessed Tibetan monks draped in thin, cold, wet sheets in sub-zero degree weather. Through mental control and concentration these monks were able to raise their body temperature and radiate enough heat to dry the wet sheets, covering the monks atop the chilly mountains of the Himalaya."

#4. Is meditation the push-up for the brain? (PhysOrg - July 14, 2011)

Two years ago, researchers at UCLA found that specific regions in the brains of long-term meditators were larger and had more grey matter than the brains of individuals in a control group. This suggested that meditation may indeed be good for all of us since, alas, our brains shrink naturally with age.

#5. How Meditation May Change the Brain? (New York Times - January 28, 2011)

The researchers report that those who meditated for about 30 minutes a day for eight weeks had measurable changes in grey-matter density in parts of the brain associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress.

#6. Meditation increases brain grey matter (PhysOrg - May 13, 2009)

Push-ups, crunches, gyms, personal trainers - people have many strategies for building bigger muscles and stronger bones. But what can one do to build a bigger brain?

Meditate.

#7. Meditation builds up the brain (New Scientist - November 15, 2005)

"Meditating does more than just feel good and calm you down, it makes you perform better - and alters the structure of your brain, researchers have found. People who meditate say the practice restores their energy, and some claim they need less sleep as a result."

Have a nice day.