Greg Gerken has an extensive background as a New York special education science teacher and assistant principal. With a longstanding interest in yoga, Greg Gerken regularly practices meditation, which helps center thoughts and bring mindfulness to daily routines.
A 2015 Forbes article examined links between meditation and improved brain function. Positive neurological effects include reduced activity in those parts of the brain related to self-referential thoughts and mind-wandering. New neurological connections formed through meditation also help people break habits in which the mind wonders too quickly.
A Harvard University team additionally found that mediation can alter the brain’s structure, in particular, the hippocampus’ cortical thickness increases, which in turn affects memory and learning. In addition, those parts of the brain responsible for self-referential processing and regulation of emotions are bolstered. At the same time the volume of amygdala brain cells, which can lead to perceptions of anxiety, fear, and stress, decrease correspondingly.
Other areas in which research studies show a positive effect from meditation include controlling alcoholism and chemical dependence.
Greg Gerken has an extensive background as a New York special education science teacher and assistant principal. With a longstanding interest in yoga, Greg Gerken regularly practices meditation, which helps center thoughts and bring mindfulness to daily routines.
