A fMRI Study of Stages of Yoga Meditation Described in Traditional Texts
January 1, 2014 S. Telles, Nilkamal Singh, K. Naveen et al.
Meditation, as described in traditional yoga texts, progresses through three sequential stages: focused attention, focused attention on the object of meditation, and one-pointed focused attention without effort. Using fMRI, brain activity was compared across these stages and a random thinking control state in twenty-six meditators. Only experienced meditators (averaging 6048 hours of practice) showed significant activation in the right middle temporal cortex, right inferior frontal cortex, and left lateral orbital gyrus during the third, effortless stage. These brain areas are linked to sustained attention, memory, semantic cognition, creativity, and mental detachment.