Of Monks and Moms

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times speculates that there is a neurological link between meditating Buddists and moms caring for their children. Say what? I'm a mom and I use yoga and meditation as something to help me recover from my childcaring activites, not something I would have compared them too, so I was slightly skeptical. Apparently, according to Richard J. Davidson, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconson, brain scans of meditating monks and moms looking at pictures of their babies both produce elevated activity in the left prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with deep happiness.

Apart from the biased fact that Davidson is an avid meditator and linked closely to the Dalai Lama, that's a pretty measly cross section for an entire study. If you want a full scientific picture, try scanning the moms when they are dealing with a full blown tantrum for the fourth time in six hours. I don't think I'll be meditating on this theory anytime soon.