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ANIMATRA
MINDFULNESS AND HOW LIGHTFLOW PRODUCES IT
The scientific record on mindfulness training is clear: it improves emotional health, stress resilience, concentration, and task performance. And, it improves them very quickly: only 4 hours of training produces measurable changes in brain function.
Mindfulness is defined as non-judgmental attention to the present moment. It is contrasted with mind-wandering, which involves uncontrolled rumination about past and future and is associated with meal distress and poor performance. The original Pali word for mindfulness is “sati”, which literally means “remembering”, but with the implication of remembering yourself, remembering where you are, and not being distracted. An important aspect of mindfulness is body awareness, or interoception; this enables one to be aware of one’s feelings and of one’s present state.
Mindfulness training changes the brain. Many fMRI and EEG studies have shown that mindfulness training increases the number of neurons, and the connections between them, in several crucial areas of the brain; in particular, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), the anterior insula (AI), and the ventral-medial pre-frontal cortex (vmPFC). The ACC is responsible for monitoring errors and for integrating internal and external information; the AI, for awareness of bodily sensations; and the vmPFC, for paying attention and organizing action in the present moment.
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