On meditation- do I have a homunculus in my head?

Know thyself- through yoga we aim to learn our true nature, and mediation is one part of this journey. 

I’ve been practicing meditation as long as I’ve been practicing yoga asana. 

Through practice I've found that meditation is like training the focus muscles of the brain. As well as being more calm, I’m unquestionably more focused when I’ve been practicing. We use strength resistance to train our muscles, cardio to increase the capacity of our lungs and hearts... meditation is training for the mind.

What is the mind, really, and what influence does it have over our sense of self? 

Meditation can influence how we process and react to emotions

Recent research has shown that meditation changes how we respond emotionally by affecting brain systems involved in emotional reactivity (1).

The 26 participants the completed the study had no prior meditation experience. To begin they undertook a two-week meditation-training course, in which they practiced breath attention meditation for 20 minutes a day.

The mental processing behind meditation

Here’s a summary of an interesting article written by researchers based in Wisconsin that has classified meditation types into three broad categories based on their underlying brain processes.

1. Attentional

2. Constructive

3. Deconstructive