Dr. Jasung Kim has served as a psychiatrist in South Korea and the United States for more than three decades. In addition to treating patients with a wide range of conditions, Dr. Jasung Kim has received special training in psychoanalysis, and completed a Schizophrenia and Neuro-imaging fellowship at Yale University. During his spare time, Dr. Kim enjoys singing and reading, and practices Zen meditation.
Regular meditation has been found to offer a host of benefits, from better sleep to relief from physical pain, and there are many mental advantages to the practice as well. Zen meditation requires the practitioner sit quietly with their eyes open, focusing on breathing rather than on shutting down thinking altogether. A 2008 study on Zen meditation compared brain scans of individuals who had been meditating for more than three years, and newcomers to the practice. The results suggested meditation may enhance the brain’s ability to block distraction.
The ancient Buddhist practice of mindfulness meditation, which encourages practitioners to remain present in the moment, noticing and accepting feelings as they appear, has also proven mentally beneficial, and can help individuals with anxiety or depression.
MRI scans of people practicing mindfulness meditation have shown a reduction in the size of the amygdala - the part of the brain that prompts the “fight or flight” response. This shrinkage allows the part of the brain used in awareness, concentration and decision-making to expand. In effect, meditation seems to enable humans to react more thoughtfully to stressful situations.
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