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this is an ancient Indian dude with far too much time on his hands and
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These guys are [cutting-edge] pioneering brain scientists now. What could they possibly have in common?
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Welcome to the science of Yoga and what it means to [us] part 1 let's
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Go back thousands of [years] to the ancient world the first mystics would leave their towns Villages and everyday distractions
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To find solace [in] the [forests] there in isolation they studied their own inner experience
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As they looked within what they found was a myriad of thoughts and emotions. Just like most people would and
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also, like most people these thoughts seemed to cause [anxiety] and seemed to serve no real practical purpose with but with
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Vigilant observation the mystics found that when they stopped feeding their thoughts they started to get quieter and quieter
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They were quite literally changing their state of mind from the inside out
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the mystics in India called this practice Vipassana
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Which means clear seeing?
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Today, we call [it] meditation
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Now fast-forward to the early 2000s
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scientists studying the brain and the effect of brain exercises started to make some surprising discoveries
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Brain science was still in its infancy [and] in fact up until late into the 20th century
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It was still thought that the brain was solid like concrete unable to change in its structure
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But then they discovered a phenomenon called brain plasticity it seemed the brain could actually change
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It could be shaped and rewired by exercise and guess what they found had the power to cause structural changes
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Yep
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meditation
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Several studies found a whole host of structural changes in the brains of people who meditated here are some of the changes they found
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The default mode Network which could stimulate wandering and aimless thought grooves was quietened down
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the Amygdala which processes fear and anxiety
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reduced in size and activity
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Gray matter in the sensory regions of the brain increased which in turn enhanced sense perception
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These were startling discoveries, and it became clear [that] there was something to this ancient practice after all
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But it's not just neuroscience the field of pSychology also owes some recent developments to this Eastern philosophy
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the mystics of old times claimed the simple fact
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With regular insight you'll see that your thoughts are not real and the recent success of cognitive
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Talk therapy uses this exact same strategy the subject learns to see the falseness of their own repetitive thinking
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they're simply an interpretation of what is going on not the actuality of what's going on, so
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[what's] the difference you might ask well say someone next to you makes a sarcastic remark?
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This may trigger you to start thinking about a number of possible explanations, and they could all [be] completely false for example
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She did that on purpose
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Everyone does this to me. They're all planning to keep me down Etc
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See how these thoughts lead to other thoughts which multiplied with each other
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The Philosophy of Vipassana is to see that these thoughts are nothing more than stories in your head and as you get better
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They stop multiplying so quickly, but don't be disheartened it takes practice
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By the way, you don't necessarily have [to] look like a yogi or sit like a pretzel to meditate, so whether it's breathing meditation
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Watching meditation dancing or fishing meditation. Whatever clears your mind is a great place to start
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All of these techniques contribute to a healthier mind
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There is something that brain science is starting to substantiate and it's what ancient mystics said all those years ago
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you
