Meditation practitioners show stronger functional connectivity within the Dorsal Attention Network during rest compared to non-meditators. While meditating, practitioners increase connectivity between the Dorsal Attention Network and networks involved in self-referential processing and emotion (default mode and salience networks), while decreasing connectivity between attention regions and prefrontal and insular areas. More years of meditation experience correlate with stronger connectivity between attention networks and subcortical and parietal regions, but weaker connectivity with lateral parietal and insular areas. These findings suggest meditation strengthens attention networks and their coupling with other brain networks.
Practicing hatha yoga—physical postures, breathing exercises, and meditation—may increase gray matter volume in brain regions involved in executive function, emotion, and memory. In a preliminary study, yoga meditation practitioners showed greater gray matter volume in frontal, limbic, temporal, occipital, and cerebellar areas compared to matched controls, who showed no such differences. The yoga group also reported fewer cognitive failures, and the size of this benefit correlated with gray matter volume in several brain regions. Longer yoga practice was associated with greater gray matter volume. These results suggest that hatha yoga may promote neuroplastic changes in executive brain systems, potentially offering therapeutic benefits that grow with continued practice.