Mind and Body: The Physical Effects of Meditation

This is about my classmate Roo's blog, Mind and Body. First, I'd like to start by drawing a parallel between my topic and Roo's blog topic: we both look at connections between seemingly distant things. I look at connections between history, culture, science, and art; she seeks

to find a connection between meditation and physiology and explore the health benefits of meditating.

On a personal note, I'm also interested in her topic because I do yoga and regularly experience the mind/body connection and the meditative and relaxing effects of encouraging that connection. Roo is taking a more scientific approach to this subject in her blog, which I find more valid and trustworthy than the spiritual explanation often found for these subjects. She seems qualified to take such an approach, as she is studying Psychology, and will probably put more reliance on scientific studies than anecdotal evidence. I find her introduction encouraging:

I will identify the positive effects of meditation related to metabolism, the autonomic and central nervous systems, and the endocrine system. I will research and discuss the biological processes that underlie these effects.

I like how she thinks like a scientist, looking for evidence before claiming a causal relationship:

I would like to find out if meditation produces health benefits directly, or if it does so indirectly via increased psychological functioning.

I'm also interested to see what she finds out.

Her writing style is smart, clear, sophisticated, and well-matched to the subject matter (since she is looking at these issues from a scientific/medical standpoint, she uses a more academic writing style). Also, she is clearly doing her research, as she cites information she has found and provides links.

After reading her blog, I am more interested in meditation and its benefits, as well as curious about the physiological explanations for its benefits. Thanks Roo!