Welcome back to Reading the Research, where I trawl the Internet to find noteworthy research on autism and related subjects, then discuss it in brief with bits from my own life, research, and observations.
Today's article is both a significantly valuable activity for autistic people and others, and at least some scientists' attempt at understanding the benefits of mindfulness. This is a meta-analysis, which is to say that instead of doing their own science, these scientists instead reviewed the existing studies on the subject. Such studies are done in hopes of locating an overall trend in the data, and to help direct future research.
It's been known, at least unscientifically, that yoga is good for you. It hasn't been known precisely how. Practitioners themselves have opinions, of course, but nothing you could show on a graph, brain scan, or chart. Apparently some of the studies that were reviewed here included brain scans, so various parts of the brain have been called out here as being affected positively by the practice.
Effectively, yoga apparently helps you develop a more efficient, effective brain. Mostly what they focus on here is how the effects are somewhat similar to aerobic exercise, which is unusual since yoga doesn't usually have much in common with jogging, swimming laps, etc.
My best guess? This is an intensive world we live in. Distractions abound. We don't get enough exercise. Participating regularly in a structured form of mindfulness strikes me an as excellent counterbalance to our society's normal. Practicing mindfulness on a regular basis can improve your ability to handle stress (which autistic people usually have more of), anxiety (same deal), emotions (sometimes difficult for us), and self-awareness (also sometimes difficult).
It's something I'd like to do better with, and I'm trying daily journaling on an app on my tablet in hopes of starting the process. I'm a little overwhelmed with the sheer variety of yoga classes available, and the last time I tried a proper class at a friend-recommended place, it wasn't a beginner's class and I exhausted myself and finished the class frustrated and angry about being so terrible at it. So perhaps I should do more research and find someplace that actually offers beginner classes...
(Pst! If you like seeing the latest autism-relevant research, visit my Twitter, which has links and brief comments on studies that were interesting, but didn't get a whole Reading the Research article about them.)
Today's article is both a significantly valuable activity for autistic people and others, and at least some scientists' attempt at understanding the benefits of mindfulness. This is a meta-analysis, which is to say that instead of doing their own science, these scientists instead reviewed the existing studies on the subject. Such studies are done in hopes of locating an overall trend in the data, and to help direct future research.
It's been known, at least unscientifically, that yoga is good for you. It hasn't been known precisely how. Practitioners themselves have opinions, of course, but nothing you could show on a graph, brain scan, or chart. Apparently some of the studies that were reviewed here included brain scans, so various parts of the brain have been called out here as being affected positively by the practice.
Effectively, yoga apparently helps you develop a more efficient, effective brain. Mostly what they focus on here is how the effects are somewhat similar to aerobic exercise, which is unusual since yoga doesn't usually have much in common with jogging, swimming laps, etc.
My best guess? This is an intensive world we live in. Distractions abound. We don't get enough exercise. Participating regularly in a structured form of mindfulness strikes me an as excellent counterbalance to our society's normal. Practicing mindfulness on a regular basis can improve your ability to handle stress (which autistic people usually have more of), anxiety (same deal), emotions (sometimes difficult for us), and self-awareness (also sometimes difficult).
It's something I'd like to do better with, and I'm trying daily journaling on an app on my tablet in hopes of starting the process. I'm a little overwhelmed with the sheer variety of yoga classes available, and the last time I tried a proper class at a friend-recommended place, it wasn't a beginner's class and I exhausted myself and finished the class frustrated and angry about being so terrible at it. So perhaps I should do more research and find someplace that actually offers beginner classes...
(Pst! If you like seeing the latest autism-relevant research, visit my Twitter, which has links and brief comments on studies that were interesting, but didn't get a whole Reading the Research article about them.)
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