Research has shown that mindfulness meditation can increase your well-being, by altering the structure and function of your brain, positively, in just 8 weeks of practice. Studies show that it can reduce your negative mind wandering and help increase concentration, enhance your ability to manage difficult situations, lower your stress, anxiety and depression, lessen your emotional reactivity, change how you think and feel about your stressful experiences, strengthen your immune system, increase your clarity and peace, increase your concentration, productivity and creativity, improve your sleep, raise your self-confidence and increase your self-awareness.

MRI scans have enabled scientists to see the changes to the brains of mindfulness meditation practitioners and confirm that long-term practice of mindfulness meditation, can reduce the size of the amygdala in your brain, which may help to reduce anger, anxiety, fear and aggression. The amygdala are cells located at the base of your brain, which trigger the fight and flight reaction in your body, during stress. The amygdala is associated with fear and stress responses and when it reduces in size, so do the reactions to stressful situations. This enables you to respond wisely to stressful circumstances, instead of reacting, which can have a very negative impact on yourself and those around you.

Mindfulness meditation practice also increases the thickness of the hippocampus, which helps learning and memory. People with depression tend to have greater activation in the right prefrontal cortex than those that are not suffering from depression. The left prefrontal cortex is activated in mindfulness meditation practice and this reduces depression and improves mood. The above are just some of the benefits of mindfulness meditation practice, there are many more.

Your happiness depends upon the state of your mind. Take this opportunity to train your mind and gain mindfulness and meditation skills that relate directly to your life. Embark upon a more fulfilled life in the present moment, with a mindfulness course at Living in the Light, Little Clacton, near Colchester, in Essex. An 8 week mindfulness course may be the start of a peaceful way of being.