Some of my thoughts on the brain…
Dr. Tracey Shors
Distinguished Professor & Neuroscientist
Wouldn’t it be great if we could find a way to keep our brain healthy without it taking a lot of time or fancy equipment? What if we could do it in just one or two hours a week and could do it just about anywhere we want? Well, I have a way. It is called MAP Train My Brain.
MAP stands for MENTAL AND PHYSICAL. The program combines silent meditation and aerobic exercise. It sounds simple and it is. But it also requires effort. This is why it works.
Meditation requires effort. I think of meditation as a form of effortful learning. If you haven’t ever meditated, you might wonder what it is you are learning about when you meditate. Basically, you are learning who you are. Who are you without all the constant chatter? Who are you without all the traveling back and forth through time? Who are you without all the memories?
The great Greek philosopher Socrates used to go around Athens telling everyone to "Know thyself. Know thyself." Finally, someone in the town yelled out to him, “Hey Socrates, you are always telling us to know ourselves, but do you know yourself?” At which point Socrates said, "Of course not, but I am trying. And if I don’t try to know myself, who will?"
Meditation is one way to learn more about your own brain and the thoughts it creates. You also learn that your thoughts are always changing because your brain is always changing. At least this is what I have learned through meditation.
If you haven’t every meditated this way, try it. Simply sit in silence for 30 minutes. Get to know your own brain. But don’t stop there. Our brain needs lots of energy, which it gets from oxygen in the blood. So right after you meditate, get your heart pumping and blood flowing with some aerobic exercise.
MAP Train My Brain is 30 minutes of silent meditation followed by 30 minutes of aerobic exercise. Do these two activities together, one after another — because doing them together is better than doing them alone.