| Do you know why people say it's important to "be | | | | feel at that moment. You may say, "I'm feeling angry |
| here now," or what "living in the present" really means - | | | | right now", or "I'm stressed" or "This is joy." An |
| and why it's good for you? An interesting brain imaging | | | | important aspect of the practice is withholding |
| study provides some neurological clues. | | | | judgment or reacting to your feeling, you simply |
| In the past, studies have shown that pictures of | | | | become aware of the feeling, label it, and "let it go." |
| threatening information, like an angry face, activates a | | | | Being mindful - being present to each moment - brings |
| region of the brain called the amygdala, which serves | | | | all sorts of prefrontal resources to turn down the |
| as an alarm to protect the body in case of danger. | | | | amygdala's anxiety response, and produces many |
| The current study, it turns out, shows that labeling the | | | | health benefits, including reducing chronic pain |
| threat in words activates a second region of the brain, | | | | conditions, skin disease, and stress-related symptoms - |
| the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, and reduces | | | | consistent with what mindfulness meditation teachers |
| the amygdala response. In other words, being aware | | | | have taught for thousands of years. |
| of and staying present in the moment with the feeling | | | | Being present with the negative or threatening feelings |
| while naming it, i.e. 'this is anger' turns down the alarm | | | | by putting them into words puts the brakes on your |
| response triggered by the negative feeling. | | | | emotional responses, so you feel less angry, or less |
| Now, you may know that a common practice to help | | | | sad, or less frightened. Putting feelings into words also |
| you stay in the present is mindfulness meditation. One | | | | helps us heal better. People who journal about painful |
| technique of mindfulness is to pay attention to your | | | | feelings, or talk about them now they feel better - |
| moment to moment experiences, whether it's the | | | | apart from any insights they may experience during |
| running mental commentary in your head, or an | | | | writing or talking about their emotions. |
| emotional reaction to an event, and to label how you | | | | |