Our Brains and Bodies on Meditation

When it comes to meditation, the more we learn, the more compelling the case for establishing a meditation practice becomes. A meditation practice essentially allows us, for a prescribed period of time, to turn our attention away from the outer world and focus inward, in silence. While there are many types of meditation, the goal of meditation is to calm the mind.

The scientifically proven benefits of meditation are many and varied. Mental health benefits include reduced stress, depression, and anxiety; improved attention, memory, and focus; and a greater sense of calm. Physical benefits include lower cortisol levels, which lead to improvements in heart rate and blood pressure, rest, and digestion, and pain reduction. What’s more, a meditation practice also enhances our ability to process emotions, enabling us to respond with compassion rather than react to challenging events and situations.

Recent Research on Meditation

Despite the thousands of research studies on the benefits of meditation, researchers continue to study its mechanisms, benefits, and effects on our physical and mental health. Two recently published research studies add to the compelling case for establishing a daily meditation practice.

A recently published international study led by Université de Montréal psychology professor and Canada Research Chair in Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Neuroimaging, Karim Jerbi, PhD, examined the brains of 12 monks while engaged in meditation using advanced neuroimaging technology. They found that meditation produced a profound increase in the complexity of brain activity in these subjects. In a Université de Montréal UdeMnouvelles article on the study’s research findings, Jerbi described meditation as “…an active state that engages attentional processes [that] affects several aspects of brain function, leading to improved well-being and a reduction in stress and symptoms of anxiety and depression.”

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, in a 2025 study, shared their findings on the profound changes in both brain activity and physiology in participants following a single intensive week-long residential retreat that included 33 hours of guided meditation, supportive mind/body practices, and lectures. The study reported numerous brain and metabolic changes, as evidenced by brain scans and blood chemistry, including enhanced neuroplasticity, improved metabolic flexibility, and a rise in endogenous opioid levels (the body's natural painkiller) at the conclusion of the retreat.

These two studies add to the thousands of published scientific research findings that make a compelling case for initiating a daily meditation practice. The question becomes: How can we move from meditation-curious to establishing a serious daily meditation practice?

From Curious to Serious

Renowned meditation teacher Reverend Mark Thomas, in an interview on my psychology podcast, A Deeper Podcast, extolled the benefits of a daily meditation practice, describing it as a “deep quiet that each of us has, but does not often have the opportunity to visit … and that people who meditate hang out there a lot.”

Thomas has dedicated his life to helping others transition from being meditation-curious to establishing a serious, committed meditation practice. He describes a daily meditation practice as a means of “dropping into that silence, which enables the practitioner to bring that with them into their day.” A daily practice, he says, mitigates stress, eliminates fatigue, helps you manage relationships, and find a clear direction in life. “These,” he says, “are just some of the benefits of a daily meditation practice.

To begin a meditation practice, Thomas suggests seeking outside help and finding a practice that feels genuine to you. He stresses the importance of establishing a practice that fits your lifestyle, preferences, and daily routines. As for his best piece of advice about meditation, Thomas says: “Don’t judge it while you’re in the midst of a meditation. The biggest benefits of meditation are experienced outside of the meditative bubble. Meditation will cause a positive ripple effect in your life, and in your world.”

6 Strategies to Help Kick-start a Daily Meditation Practice

1. Start simple. When beginning your meditation practice, it is important to set realistic, simple, achievable goals. Set aside a few minutes each day, when and where you will not be interrupted.

2. Get comfortable. Meditation is a practice, not a punishment. Finding a comfortable position with help support a daily practice you will look forward to with positivity. Begin by turning your attention to your breath.

3. Acknowledge and release thoughts when they arise. Try to be patient rather than frustrated or disappointed when thoughts show up. Learning to let go of intrusive thoughts is a valuable part of establishing a meditation practice.

4. Resist the urge to judge or label your meditation experience. Many novice meditators become discouraged when they don’t feel an immediate in-the-moment benefit. Bear in mind that the benefits of meditation play out in virtually every aspect of your life, not necessarily and certainly not exclusively while you're meditating.

5. Reflect on the positive changes you begin to experience in your daily life. This includes better sleep, an enhanced ability to focus, and the ability to deal with difficult or changing situations and events.

6. Seek out resources to enhance your meditation practice when you feel ready. A meditation teacher, a group, a meditation app, a book, or a course on meditation are among the many and varied resources easy to find and readily available.