We've all heard the phrase "take a breather." So, it now turns out that there's a medical fact behind that saying! Our brains naturally have a "relaxation response" tahat we can tap into through the breath! Learn what the latest research in neuroscience provides for you to experience greater health, cope with stress, and enjoy more calm in your life. Catch the latest podcast of AWAKE with Dr. Jay Kumar on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show.
Remember to relax, breathe, and enjoy life!
Dr. Jay Kumar
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"NEUROSCIENCE & CONSIOUSNESS" PREZI LINK
Dr. Jay Kumar
www.drjaykumar.com
Facebook – Dr. Jay Kumar
Twitter – docjaykumar
“Don’t Buy More, Just Be More!” As much as our culture wants you to believe, material success does not equate to happiness. As I discussed in “Being Happy during the Happy Holidays,” authentic happiness cannot be measured by a price tag. In fact, researchers Ed Diener of the University of Illinois and Martin Seligman from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010 published findings in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest that while U.S. wealth has tripled over the past 50 years, our national wellbeing and happiness have been flat. It’s just as the famous line from The Beatles goes, “Money can’t buy me love.” While having material and financial stability are vital for your way of life, the point is that the real indicators for happiness are not found in your bank account, stock portfolio, or the size of your car or house. Rather, focus on what truly is of value in your life—family, friends, loved ones, and enjoying life! Studies conducted by Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky at UC Riverside show that people who are happiest also have strong social connections and deep personal relationships with friends and family. We humans are social animals, after all. We need to feel a sense of belonging and connection to the greater whole. So the next time you get stressed, feel anxious about finances, or worry that you can’t afford that luxury car or home, remember that the real treasures in life, the love of our family and friends, are free!
“Gratitude is a Healthy Attitude” Expressing gratitude for what you have, no matter how small it is, can also contribute to your greater health and happiness. In the past few years, scientists now recognize that gratitude is one of the most powerful and healthiest of human emotions. Studies at University of Miami, UC Davis, and other universities successfully demonstrate that remembering to be grateful for what you have in life can greatly outweigh any sadness, stress, or challenges you might currently experience. Further discoveries in neuroscience suggest that when you experience gratitude, the left pre-frontal cortex of the brain, an area that correlates to emotions of love and compassion, begins to activate. As I like to say, “Gratitude turns WHAT YOU HAVE into enough, creates contentment for WHAT IS, and manifests greater joy for WHO YOU ARE!” If you can’t express gratitude for what you already have, how can you expect to be grateful for all the prosperity and abundance that awaits you in 2012! Read more on gratitude in “Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude”
“Practice Compassion and Kindness” As His Holiness the Dalai Lama often says, “If you want to be happy, make others happy!” In the past two decades, research into the human brain has discovered that we possess a peculiar thing known as a mirror neuron. Scientists know believe that these mirror neurons are the reason why humans, along with certain primates, elephants, dogs, and dolphins, are biologically wired to experience the emotions of others. Mirror neurons suggest that the human brain has evolved to experience both the pain and euphoria of others. It is this biological conditioning that may account for human empathy and compassion. Brain scans reveal that expressing more compassion and kindness helps you develop these mirror neurons, and it is this notion of compassion and empathy toward others that ultimately allows you to experience greater happiness and wellbeing on a daily basis. So the more kindness you practice toward people, the happier they become and the happier you become! Learn more about mirror neurons and the mind in “The Neuroscience of Health and Happiness."
“Keep Thinking Good Thoughts” Did you know that it takes at least FIVE good thoughts to outweigh a negative one! Neuropsychologist Dr. Rick Hanson states, “The mind is like Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positive ones.” I’m sure many of you can relate to this idea, but why is that our minds tend to remember the painful, negative experiences but not so much the joyous, happy moments? There’s actually a neurobiological answer that has to do with something called a “negativity bias.” At the University of Washington a study revealed how a negative experience remains wired into your brain more strongly than a positive one. In fact, it takes up to five positive experiences to outweigh a negative thought! Neurobiologists believe that this “negative bias” of the human brain was an evolutionary trait that helped early humans survive by allowing the brain to react to, remember, and recall life-threatening experiences. Imagine you were an early human chased by a lion; your brain would store that information into a neural net, recalling that memory as a survival mechanism. The lesson is that in order to experience authentic happiness, you actively have to focus on the positive to overcome the negative experiences in your life that your brain has imprinted into your consciousness. Learn more about how your psychology influences your biology in the“The Healing Power of Thought.”
“Just Breathe!” One of the simplest and most effective tools you have to alleviate stress and create more happiness in your life is to create some sacred, personal time in your day. I find that one of the easiest ways to do this is to focus on your breath for as little as five minutes a day. Dr. James S. Gordon, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the Georgetown University Medical School, states, “Slow, deep breathing is probably the single best anti-stress medicine we have.” You may be surprised to learn that doing mindful, calm breathing exercises for just five minutes a day can begin to shift your emotional and mental health. In the growing field of mind-body medical research, studies show that focusing on your breathing, specifically on the quality and state of your breath, might be the key to unlock your potential for health and happiness. Let’s face it, most of us do shallow breathing, i.e. not connecting our breath deep into the belly. Deep-belly breathing has now been shown in numerous studies to have a significant benefit on your neurophysiology, calming and soothing both your mind and body. When you connect and focus on your breath by taking deep and slow inhalations and exhalations, your nervous system and brain waves begin to come into balance and coherence. When your brain and body are in alignment you tend to cultivate the “four C’s” of calmness, contentment, caring and creativity. Watch the Self-Guided Breathing Video to learn how to alleviate stress and to experience greater happiness in your daily life.
As you begin 2012, a phrase to remember is that “happiness is not something that happens to you, but rather it is something you create.” I hope you enjoy integrating these five tips for happiness and wellbeing into your daily life. For those who would like to cultivate greater health and happiness in 2012, I invite you to join me at the Health, Wellness & Gourmet Living Retreat in the Loire Valley of France May 27-June 2, 2012. Enjoy a week of learning how to implement these tools into your life in the relaxing and healing French countryside with yoga, meditation, gourmet food and wine. Lastly, always remember that you are powerful, whole, amazing, and unique in every way. Never be afraid to let your light shine forth fully and brightly, for the world would be a much dimmer place without you in it! Keep on Living Your Light® in 2012!
Dr. Jay Kumar
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“The ultimate healing capacity of your brain may be, for all practical purposes, infinite." Dr. Jay Kumar
Check out the latest podcast from AWAKE with Dr. Jay Kumar on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show. In this episode we discuss how neuroscience now validates the power of our thoughts and intentions in our healing process. A really great episode!
AWAKE & ENJOY!
Dr. Jay Kumarwww.drjaykumar.com
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One of the greatest discoveries to come out of neuroscience in the past couple of decades is the concept of neuroplasticity. Basically, neuroplasticity describes the ability for our brain to rewire and restructure its neural structure and anatomy. A key phrase in neuroscience is, “Neurons that fire together wire together.” What this means is that over time our collective experiences and thoughts that we repeat about who we are and our environment become neurologically wired in our brain. In essence our psychology creates our biology. As we experience the various thoughts and feelings throughout our day, they actually leave traces behind in the neural structure of the brain. If you spend your entire day worrying about what others think about you or thinking about how miserable your life is, those very thoughts begin to form a neural network that wires together cementing that concept in your mind. Conversely, if we can cultivate more gratitude, self-forgiveness, and compassion toward ourselves, we can begin to rewire these “neural nets of negativity” into a healthy brain and being.
The neuropsychologist, Dr. Rick Hanson, nicely states, “The mind is like Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positive ones.” I’m sure many of us can relate to this idea, but why is that our minds tend to remember the painful, negative experiences but not so much the joyous, happy moments? There’s actually a neurobiological answer that has to do with something called a “negativity bias.” At the University of Washington a study revealed how a negative experience remains wired into our brain more strongly than a positive one. In fact, it takes up to five positive experiences to outweigh a negative thought! Neurobiologists believe that this “negative bias” of the human brain was an evolutionary trait that helped early humans survive by allowing the brain to react to, remember, and recall life-threatening experiences. Imagine you were an early human chased by a lion; your brain would store that information into a neural net, recalling that memory as a survival mechanism. The lesson is that in order to experience authentic happiness, we actively have to focus on the positive to overcome the negative experiences in our life that our brain has imprinted into our consciousness.
The last item to mention is that of mirror neurons. In the past 15 years, neuroscientists discovered that our brain possesses mirror neurons that are responsible for us to feel compassion and empathy toward others. There exists a part of the human brain known as the insula, which is the area activated when we tap into our internal feelings and sensations. So when we dance, do yoga meditate, focus on our breath, swim, run, or are in nature we begin to connect to the internal terrain of our body. The insula gauges how we’re feeling and what we’re experiencing within our body and mind in the present moment. Since neuroplasticity demonstrates that the brain is capable of growing at any age in life, we can enhance the development of the insula. So why is this so important, you may wonder? Brain scans reveal that people with more developed insula tend to have more developed mirror neurons, which enable us to become more self-aware, compassionate, caring, and empathetic toward others. It is this notion of compassion and empathy toward others that allows us to experience greater happiness and wellbeing on a daily basis.
The more we can begin to focus on all the abundance, gratitude, and joy inherent in our life rather than going through life in worry, doubt, pessimism, and fear, the more healthy and vibrant our brains become. When the human brain and body are healthy and strong we tend to cultivate the “four C’s” of calmness, contentment, caring and creativity. In the next entry, I’ll discuss specific ways in which we can entrain our brain to create more healthy neural pathways through daily exercises and techniques to cultivate a happy brain, body, and being. Finally, I leave you with this empowering message, “No external conditions are required for happiness. Happiness is who you are!” Until then, keep on thinking happy thoughts as you continue Living Your Light®.
Dr. Jay Kumar
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Curious what neuroscience, compassion, and Casey Anthony have to do with each other? The answer is something in our brains called a mirror neuron. About 20 years ago, neuroscientists in Italy conducted an experiment monitoring the brain wave patterns of a monkey. By pure serendipity, as some of the great breakthroughs in science sometime happen, they discovered that primate and human brains possess mirror neurons that appear to be special brain cells that enable us to understand and interpret the actions, emotions, intentions, and behaviors of other humans (Read the full details of the experiment at Mirror Neurons.
Here are two examples of how mirror neurons work. Think of a time you saw a child fall down and cry for help, or recall the thrill of watching your favorite team on TV make that winning touchdown. In both cases, the same neurons firing in the brain of the child in pain or the sudden euphoria you feel when viewing people in joy are due to mirror neurons. Mirror neurons suggest that our brains are ‘wired’ to feel both the emotions and intentions of others, as if our brain is also experiencing the same action or emotion. It is this biological conditioning that may account for human compassion and our ability to empathize and socialize with others. On a side note, humans may not be the only species with mirror neurons as dogs, elephants, dolphins, and higher primates also appear to have them. Anyone who has pets knows that empathic bond we have with our animals. The discovery of mirror neurons is revolutionizing our understanding of how human biology, evolution, psychology, language, and culture are all interconnected. In essence, mirror neurons make us more compassionate humans!
So now that neuroscience has a possible biological explanation for human compassion, what does this have to do with Casey Anthony? The answer again is mirror neurons. Before I explain, let me share an overview of the Casey Anthony trial that has been in the media recently. For those unfamiliar with the case, Anthony was recently acquitted and freed from the alleged murder of her daughter. What triggered the prosecution’s suspicion that Anthony may have been the murderer was her blatant lack of remorse or grief over her daughter’s death. It is Anthony’s shocking lack of emotional pain that probably also fascinated us with the case. Because of our mirror neurons, we experienced a strong emotional reaction upon hearing the news of the daughter’s death. As a society we were irked, confused, and eventually outraged by Anthony’s blasé reaction to the entire situation. It makes us collectively wonder how a mother could appear to be so heartless over the death of her own child.
Neuroscientists now conjecture that some people, for whatever reason, possess underdeveloped or fewer mirror neurons in their brains, which may now possibly account for people who are autistics, sociopaths, and murderers. Mirror neurons also enable us to recognize and interpret facial expressions, as we express many of our emotions through our face. Those with dysfunctional mirror neurons are able to identify various emotions, e.g. anger or happiness, and imitate their corresponding facial expressions in others. However, they do not easily process the empathic significance of the imitated emotion. When looking at other people’s facial expressions, those with poor mirror neurons do not know what it FEELS like when others are happy, angry, repulsed, afraid, or sad.
While I have no direct proof, my suspicion is that Casey Anthony (and other infamous alleged murderers such O.J. Simpson and Scott Peterson) may lack developed mirror neurons that prevent them from expressing remorse and compunction. Additionally, the media’s and our collective fascination with the Casey Anthony trial stems from our disbelief and anger over the apparent absence of her empathy and compassion.
It goes to show that while mirror neurons may have developed out of a biological necessity for humans to evolve, we are all soft-wired to experience compassion and empathy. Since neuroscience also states that we have the power to rewire our brain’s neural circuitry, we each have the capacity to develop our mirror neurons and, in turn, cultivate greater compassion and empathy toward others.
Keep training those mirror neurons as you keep on Living Your Lightâ.
Dr. Jay Kumar
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