Molding Our Brains for Greater Well-Being

"Between the stimuli (what happens in life) and the response (what you give back in the form of words, thoughts, behaviors, actions, character), is a space, and in the space is your power and your freedom."
- ​Victor Frankl

Let’s start off with some brain trivia about an organ that processes information via massive networks so that you are able to comprehend the world in which you live. So here we go:

• Weighs 3 pounds
• 1.1 trillion neurons
• 100 billion neurons with the gray matter (processing occurs here)
• 20-25% of blood flow, oxygen, glucose used by your brain
• 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year– it never stops (thankfully)
• 600 million years ago evolution of the Nervous System
• 150,000 thousand years ago Homo Sapiens
• 50,000 thousand years ago Ultra-Modern Humans 

The most impressive part of our brains is that it is neuroplastic. Meaning, this amazing structure once thought in science to be fixed and unchangeable, does have the ability throughout your life to be molded, transformed, upgraded, adaptable, and rejuvenated. The flip side of course, is that you may stay exactly as you are even if it doesn’t seem to be working for you and life has shown you evidence that you need to change.

UCLA Neuroscientist Marco Iacoboni, MD, PhD, states, “The brain has an almost boundless capacity for reshaping itself over the years, for adapting, for expanding its power, while accumulating knowledge and recording experiences. Modern neuroscience tells us that the aging brain is no longer the declining brain, but rather a learning organ whose limits are still unexplored.”

So how do we change and mold our brains so we have greater well-being (which translate to better sex lives)? According to Richard Davidson, PhD, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Waisman Center for the Studies of Neuroscience, says, "What we found is that the trained mind, or brain, is physically different from the untrained one," he said. In time, "we'll be able to better understand the potential importance of this kind of mental training and increase the likelihood that it will be taken seriously."

Mind training in meditation, yoga, Tai-Chi, and breath work, are methods for such training that from studies have proven to create thickening in the grey matter (remember we want to increase this and keep it our lifetime). Also, evidence of reducing inflammation in the body, reducing stress which reduces cortisol levels (stress hormone), improve immune function, and increases our sense of well-being. Remember, neurons that fire together, wire together. Begin cultivating neurons that fire and wire together through practicing methods that are proving to generate a healthy state of mind. When we have a healthy state of mind, the texture of our life will reflect our inner world. So do a 30-day challenge with a practice in meditation, yoga, Tai-Chi, or breath work and see for yourself how your well-being shifts.

Here are some resources to get you started:
http://www.yogajuicebox.com
http://www.yogalokareno.com
http://diamondheartreno.org/tag/reno-meditation-class/ http://www.soundstrue.com/shop/welcomehttp://www.merchantcircle.com/business/Tai.Chi.Chuan.Mark.Lord.Reno.NV.775-827-3744http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART00521/three-breathing-exercises.html