“It may be a period of time, but by 2050 I believe mental exercise will be understood as being as important as physical exercise,” says top neurologist Richard Davidson. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, his team of researchers found that mindfulness meditation can literally change the brain. “The work was framed within the research on neuro-plasticity, the understanding that the brain is built to change in response to experience,” he explained. Davidson noted that natural meditation can ease pain, improve concentration, lower blood pressure and treat depression. Brain scans reveal that those who meditate have increased gray matter in parts of the brain associated with attention and emotional sensitivity.

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche comes from a long distinguished lineage of Buddhist meditation masters. “Mindfulness practice is simple and completely feasible. Just by sitting and doing nothing, we are doing a tremendous amount,” he explains. To get started, he suggests creating a favorable environment to make it easier to practice. There should be a sacredness about one’s place of meditation. Mindfulness meditation is best undertaken in a place of silence that is not too disturbing. Some people create special alcoves in the home with candles, plants, yoga mats and fountains, where they can be at peace to meditate each day. Others retreat to their gardens, an uplifting place of respite. Another group of people prefer the company of other like-minded individuals at a special meditation center.

In the comfortable place set aside for mindfulness meditation, one should sit upright on a floor cushion or chair. Meditation classes teach us that posture is important to the flow of energy as it courses from the mind down the spine and back up again. Eyes should be open and cast slightly downward, but not staring. “It’s as if you had an overhead light shining over the whole room,” explains Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, “and all of a sudden you focus it down right in front of you. You are purposefully ignoring what is going on around you. You are putting the horse of mind in a smaller corral.”

Lastly, breathing is an important technique with mindfulness meditation. The breath should be natural, not forced, and as each breath passes, the subject should become more and more relaxed. As spiritual meditation progresses, individuals will become more aware of how the mind moves. Many people like to place an “object of meditation” before them on the ground — like a rock or a candle — so when the mind begins to wander, awareness of the object of meditation will bring them back. Beginning with 10 minute intervals and gradually arriving at longer periods of meditation will help beginners remain disciplined in their thoughts. Before long, they will feel the beneficial physical effects of meditation and relaxation.

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