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Set Your Gong Meditation Timer for The Meditation That May Boost Short-Term Visual Memory

Set Your Gong Meditation Timer - Dama tocando el Samisem -artista Shunsui Katsu-Miyagawa

Set Your Gong Meditation Timer - Dama tocando el Samisem -artista Shunsui Katsu-Miyagawa

A certain type of meditation may help the brain retain images for short periods, says a new study on visual-spatial abilities.

When people view an object, they usually retain a clear picture of it in their visual short-term memory for only a few seconds before the details fade. An experiment by George Mason University researchers, though, found that people who practice Deity Yoga (DY) do much better at visual-spatial tasks shortly after they meditate.

The study’s authors, writing in a recent issue of Psychological Science, said the finding may have “many implications for therapy, treatment of memory loss and mental training.”

Practitioners of DY meditation zero in on an image of their deity, conjuring up a vivid, three-dimensional mental picture of it while honing in on the deity’s emotions and environment.

In the experiment, led by psychologist Maria Kozhevnikov, meditation and non-meditation practitioners performed two visual-spatial tests: imagining the rotation of a 3-D object and viewing an image, then trying to identify it from among several other similar images. After a first round of tests, the participants spent the next 20 minutes either meditating or performing non-meditative tasks before being tested again.

All the subjects had similar scores on the first round of tests, suggesting that meditating in general causes no overall, long-term improvement in visual-spatial skills.

However, those who performed DY meditation between rounds did much better on both tasks in the second phase of tests than those who did non-meditative activities or practiced Open Presence (OP) meditation. OP practitioners, rather than focusing on a specific thing, try to achieve awareness by contemplating a wider array of experiences, images or thoughts that may come to them.

Choose a Gong Meditation Timer for Your Mindfulness Practice

Choose a Gong Meditation Timer for Your Mindfulness Practice

The study authors concluded that further investigations should be done to see if other visual meditation techniques can produce similar improvements in visual-spatial memory or if the results are specific to DY meditation.

Use our unique “Zen Clock” which functions as a Yoga & Meditation Timer.  It features a long-resonating acoustic chime that brings your meditation or yoga session to a gradual close, preserving the environment of stillness while also acting as an effective time signal.

Our Yoga Timer & Clock can be programmed to chime at the end of the meditation or yoga session or periodically throughout the session as a kind of sonic yantra. The beauty and functionality of the Zen Clock/Timer makes it a meditation tool that can actually help you “make time” for meditation in your life. Bring yourself back to balance.

More information

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has more about the health benefits of meditation.

SOURCE: Association for Psychological Science, news release, April 27, 2009

Set Your Gong Meditation Timer for Your Mindfulness Practice

Set Your Gong Meditation Timer for Your Mindfulness Practice

Now & Zen – The Gong Meditation Timer

The Gong Meditation Store - Boulder, CO

The Gong Meditation Store - Boulder, CO

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

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Posted in Well-being, Yoga Timers by Now & Zen, Zen Timepiece by Now & Zen, Zen Timers