What Science Doesn’t Tell Us

<p>What if meditation is helping you before your brain can prove it?</p><p>That’s one of the questions that came up in our conversation with Chelsey Charbeneau of Breathe Meditation and Wellness and Dr. Claudia Porras Pyland of Texas Woman’s University.</p><p>Chelsey and Claudia conducted a study looking at how often people actually need to meditate to experience the benefits. Participants who weren’t regular meditators were divided into three groups: a control group, a group that meditated twice a week and a group that meditated four times a week. Their brains were scanned at the beginning and again at the end of the study.</p><p>But the brain scans weren’t the whole story.</p><p>People in the meditation groups reported better sleep, less fatigue, greater well-being and more mindfulness. And those improvements didn’t always line up neatly with what showed up on the scans.</p><p>So what do we do with that?</p><p>We live in a world that wants data. We want to measure progress and see proof that something is working. But if you’re sleeping better, feeling calmer, experiencing less fatigue and handling life a little better, does it matter if a brain scan can’t fully explain why yet?</p><p>We don’t think so.</p><p>There was something else we loved about this study. You may not have to meditate every single day to experience a benefit.</p><p>That feels a little like kindness to us.</p><p>Taking care of yourself shouldn’t become another thing you have to do perfectly. Maybe being kind to yourself means finding a practice that actually fits your life instead of feeling guilty because you can’t fit your life around the practice.</p><p>That’s something we talk about often through #MakeKindLoud. Kindness isn’t only about how we treat other people. It’s also about how we treat ourselves.</p><p>Maybe twice a week works for you. Maybe four times a week works. Maybe the first choice is simply making a little space for yourself and paying attention to how you feel.</p><p>Because not everything meaningful can be measured.</p><p>Want to learn more about Choice Wisdom or listen to other episodes? Visit https://choicewisdompodcast.com.</p>