Ancient yogis said it first, and modern neuroscience is just now catching up: meditation transforms both mind and body. During intentional stillness, extraordinary changes occur and the brain begins to rewire and grow. As early as 300 BCE, both dharana (the practice of concentration) and dhyana (sustained meditation) were outlined in yogic texts as sequential tools to cultivate focus and inner stillness. Thanks to advances in brain imaging, scientists can now see exactly how meditation affects the brain, and the results are astonishing. We’re talking physical changes in brain structure, improved emotional regulation, and reduced stress.
Let’s start by distinguishing the difference between these two interconnected practices:
Dharana is the practice of concentration, the act of holding the mind steady on a single object like a physical sensation, a body part, the breath or a word or sound (mantra). It involves training the mind to remain attentive to one thing, and when it wanders, gently guiding it back. Think of it as a preparatory step that builds them mental muscle for deeper meditation.
Dhyana, on the other hand, is a deeper, more continuous state of focus. Rather than repeatedly guiding attention back like in dharana, in dhyana the attention becomes sustained and uninterrupted. The mind settles into a quiet, effortless state of observation. In many ways, dharana is the “doing,” while dhyana is the “being.”
So, what happens to the brain when you sit in stillness with your breath, a sensation or mantra? Let’s get into the research and break it down.
TRAINING THE BRAIN LIKE A MUSCLE: MEDITATION INCREASES NEUROPLASTICITY
Your brain is constantly changing based on how you use it. Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to form and reorganize neural connections in response to experience. The brain is always strengthening and/or weakening connections between different brain cells or areas depending upon how they’re used. The more you practice something, be it coming back to the sensation of your breath or cultivating a positive emotion like compassion during a meditation, the stronger these connections become.
Having a meditation practice results in measurable physical changes to the brain’s structure. One of the most well-documented outcomes of a consistent meditation practice is an increase in cortical thickness and white matter. Cortical thickness refers to the depth of the cerebral cortex, the brain’s outer layer. This area is like the brain’s control panel and is responsible for perception, attention, memory, and emotional regulation. The thickening in an area of the brain often means that part of the brain is becoming more active and capable, with more nerve cells (neurons) creating stronger connections.
Several studies have confirmed that on average, regular meditators have greater cortical thickness, especially in areas associated with attention and emotional processing. One well-known study used brain imaging to compare long-term meditators to non-meditators and found that meditators showed greater cortical thickness in the prefrontal cortex. This area is crucial for executive functions, which are high-level processes that allow us to plan, focus our attention, and regulate our behavior. These functions are crucial for flexible, goal-directed thinking. In this study, the differences found in the prefrontal cortex were even more pronounced in older participants, suggesting that meditation could potentially offset the cortical thinning that usually occurs during the aging process. A more recent study found that meditators show increased cortical thickness of the insula, an area that plays a crucial role in processing and experiencing emotions and interception (the senses of internal bodily states). These findings highlight how meditation doesn’t just support moment-to-moment awareness, it actually strengthens the brain regions that help us stay focused, emotionally balanced, and connected to our internal experience. And the benefits don’t stop at the brain’s surface.
When we’ve been discussing increased cortical thickness, we’re referring to growth in gray matter, tissue found on the outer layer of the brain. Gray matter is responsible for processing information, generating thoughts, and making decisions. It appears gray because it contains cell bodies.
White matter, on the other hand, is located beneath gray matter and is composed of a specialized, insulated part of nerve cells called myelin, which makes it look white. White matter plays a key role in facilitating communication between different areas of the brain and body, and its insulation makes its signals faster and more efficient. Think of white matter as the brain’s high speed communication network.
Meditation has been shown to enhance the integrity of this network and leads to an increase in white matter, meaning that signals travel more quickly and smoothly. A recent study found that long-term mediators had significantly stronger white matter connectivity between key areas essential for emotion and attention regulation, including the insula (where, as mentioned earlier, meditators have been shown to have increased gray matter thickness).
Because the insula is deeply involved in emotional awareness and interoception (our ability to sense the internal state of the body), these findings suggest that meditation enhances how we process and regulate our emotions on a structural level. This supports the growing evidence that meditation doesn’t just simply help us feel more connected and grounded, it literally wires our brains to do so more efficiently.
INCREASING MENTAL CONTROL: MEDITATION STRENGTHENS THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX
The prefrontal cortex is an area of the brain responsible for our most complicated cognitive abilities. It governs attention, impulse control, decision making, and emotional regulation. But it’s also incredibly sensitive to stress. When we get stressed, our brain goes into survival mode, and in this fight-or-flight setting, activity gets reduced in the prefrontal cortex and we revert to more reactive brain systems. Which is great for survival, but not so great for thoughtful decision-making. Luckily, meditation seems to buffer against that.
In one experiment, researchers scanned the brains of novice, intermediate and expert meditators and instructed them to practice dharana, or focused attention. While participants were in the brain scanner meditating, researchers presented distracting sounds like people talking or background noise and recorded their brains’ responses. The results? The more experienced the meditator, the less reactive their brains were to distractions. This suggests that meditation helps us maintain focus even in chaotic environments.
But it doesn’t take years to see change. One study found that after just 8 weeks of a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program, participants showed increased activity, connectivity, and gray matter volume in the prefrontal cortex. These changes were similar to those observed in long-term meditation practitioners, suggesting that even short-term mindfulness practices can lead to significant brain changes.
REDUCING EMOTIONAL REACTIVITY: MEDITATION DECREASES ACTIVITY IN THE AMYGDALA
If the prefrontal cortex is the brain’s planning center, the amygdala is its alarm system. This small almond-shaped region constantly scans for threats and initiates the stress response. When it’s activated and under pressure, the amygdala fires up and activates our fight-or-flight response. It can set off a cascade of physiological, emotional and cognitive responses that result in increased heart rate and breathing, fear and emotional reactivity, and impaired decision-making. When the amygdala is frequently overactive it’s linked to stress, anxiety, emotional reactivity and difficulty regulating mood. But of the most consistent findings in meditation research is that mindfulness practices help turn down the volume on this internal alarm.
For example, one study found that after 8 weeks of mindful-attention training, participants showed a decrease in amygdala activation in response to emotional images. Another study showed significant reductions in gray matter density in the amygdala, and this change was associated with reduced perceived stress levels. These changes occurred after just two months of regular mindfulness practice, highlighting how quickly the brain can begin to rewire itself in response to meditation. These practices strengthen the prefrontal cortex, improve its connectivity, and decrease amygdala reactivity. Over time, you become better able to stay grounded and respond rather than react, even in stressful situations. Meditation quite literally builds the brain in ways that give us more control over how we respond to life’s challenges.
DIFFERENT MEDITATION STYLES LEAD TO DIFFERENT BRAIN BENEFITS
While all forms of meditation engage and have the potential to change the brain in powerful ways, not all techniques impact the same regions or functions. Different styles of meditation activate distinct brain circuits, meaning the benefits you receive depend on the type of meditation you practice.
A landmark study reviewed 78 different experiments and found that various meditation techniques consistently altered brain activity and structure in different areas of the brain depending on the style used.
Focused attention meditation, where attention is directed toward a single object like the breath or a mantra, activates the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for executive control.
Mindfulness meditation, which emphasizes nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment, has been shown to decrease activity in the default mode network, a system associated with mind-wandering, and reduced amygdala activation, promoting emotional regulation.
Loving-kindness meditation (or metta), which cultivates compassion, boosts activity in the insula and prefrontal cortex, associated with empathy and social bonding.
Body scan meditations, where attention is sequentially directed to different parts of the body, enhances interoceptive awareness by increasing activation and connectivity in the insula, the brain region responsible for sensing internal bodily states.
Just like different workouts target different muscle groups, various forms of meditation can help you train specific neural systems, whether you’re aiming to focus better, feel more grounded or build emotional resilience.
THE NEUROSCIENCE OF WHEN TO START MEDITATING
The long and short of it is that right now is perfect. You don’t need to already be calm to start meditating (just like you don’t already need to be flexible to start practicing yoga asana). You don’t need a life of complete silence or special clothes or props, or even a long attention span. Science shows us that the benefits start accumulating shortly after you start practicing.
One of the most empowering truths about meditation is that it’s never too early or too late to start. Across the lifespan, research shows that consistent practice enhances brain function and emotional resilience.
Children in middle school who are right in the thick of emotional and cognitive development can benefit greatly from mindfulness. This study found that after 8 weeks of mindfulness training during the school day, 11-13 year olds reported lower stress and showed reduced amygdala reactivity to negative emotional cues, suggesting their brains were becoming less reactive to stress.
College students and young professionals, navigating deadlines, decisions and often a whole lot of stress, can benefit from just a few minutes of meditation a day. One study found that after just two weeks of mindfulness training, undergraduate students showed better working memory and comprehension, improved focus, and fewer distracting thoughts.
Middle-aged and older adults in the throws of life’s ups and downs can benefit from mindfulness after just 6 weeks. Research has shown that in mildly stressed adults, meditation can decrease negative emotion and reduce stress, suggesting that the practice can be a great tool to stay balanced and resilient through life’s challenges.
Older adults seeking to maintain cognitive capabilities can find a valuable ally in meditation. This study compared brain structure and function in experienced meditators and non-meditators and found that meditators not only had more gray matter volume in the frontal cortex, but that these structural differences were linked to better emotional well-being. These findings suggest that meditation may slow age-related cognitive decline, allowing older adults to preserve their cognitive health as they age.
Like physical exercise, the earlier you start, the greater the long-term benefits, but it’s never too late to begin. You don’t need a perfect practice, just a consistent one. Start small with maybe one minute a day and build gradually. Another trick is to stack it with something you already do daily, like brushing your teeth or before checking your phone or as you make your morning tea or coffee. It’s a practice and doesn’t need to be perfect, so instead of waiting until you feel ready, try starting now and let the technique evolve as you go.
Meditation, in all its forms, is about transformation. The ancient practices of dharana and dhyana are deeply intertwined with the brain’s most powerful mechanisms for change: neuroplasticity, cognitive control, and emotional regulation. And thanks to the merging of modern neuroscience with ancient wisdom, we now have both the tools and the evidence to prove what yogis have known all along. Your brain is constantly adapting and rewiring itself, and meditation gives you the tools to shape that transformation with intention and in a direction that supports clarity, calm and connection.
PRACTICE WITH DR. TARA:
Ready to experience the brain benefits of meditation for yourself? Join neuroscientist and meditation guide Dr. Tara Zinnamon for a calming 15-minute body scan meditation. This guided practice will help you connect with your breath, tune into your body, and ground your awareness.
This is the final post of our three part series exploring the neuroscience of yoga asana, pranayama (breathwork) and dharana and dhyana (meditation). If you missed the first two, head to the blog to explore how asana and breathwork also reshape the brain.
DR. TARA’S PLAYLIST:
ABOUT DR. TARA:
Dr. Tara Zinnamon is a neuroscientist and yoga, breathwork, and meditation guide committed to moving her community towards wellness and expansion. Straddling two seemingly disparate approaches, she has found through her research, clinical, and lived experiences that the human mind and body are capable of self-healing and immeasurable feats. Guiding the body, breath, and mind, her intention is to encourage self-awareness, connection, and resilience in practice and in life.
Practice with her in Los Angeles at her weekly public classes at Black Being and Modo Yoga La Brea. Tara also hosts events at the intersection of science, wellness, and community through her social club, Journey Club. But practice with her anytime on her YouTube Channel @tarazinnamon.
Stay connected with Tara on Instagram @tarazinnamon and @journey__club and on TikTok @tarazinnamon.
Tara is practicing on our PROlite® Yoga Mat with the enlight™ Meditation Cushion, an enlight™ Rectangular Bolster, and the Recycled Wool Blanket while wearing our Dhara Leggings in Lions Mane Heather and the Half Moon Hoodie in Salt.
Photos and video by Anisha Sisodia. Follow her on Instagram: @anishaspice.
The studio featured in the photos and videos is Black Being in Inglewood, California.
