MINDFULNESS & THE BRAIN
To then understand what is going on, with a friendly, open attitude. To be present without ignoring, pushing away, or being dragged along with strong emotions or anxious thoughts. In every moment. By being consciously present, your behavior will change step by step. With a friendly attitude towards yourself and others. This demands practice. During an eight-week mindfulness training you will learn to feel that you are alive, instead of being lived.
In adults, mindfulness training has been shown to positively influence important regions of the brain having to do with executive functioning, including impulse control and decision making, perspective taking, learning and memory, emotion regulation, and a sense of connectedness with one’s self and others. Under intense and unremitting stress, all these brain functions rapidly degrade. This can impair wise decision making, self-confidence and the capacity to beneficially deal with strong emotions.
There is increasing evidence that this is even more relevant for children, whose nervous system and brains are still in the proves of developing and are even more sensitive to the negative effects of stress. Everyone wants each child to experience that he or she is perfectly all right. It is true that there is still a lot to learn and there is sometimes something to “polish up”, but above all that the child will be able to develop a deep sense of inner well-being and come home to himself. Regardless of the circumstances. Mindfulness appears to provide valuable and lifelong support in this process.