This is episode 1,960 of the Daily Meditation Podcast. I'm Mary Meckley and I welcome you back to our series on trusting yourself as you create change. In today's

episode you are going to discover a meditation technique called a chakra.

Chakra's are commonly referred to in Chinese traditional medicine as well as Indian Ayurvedic medicine.

And chakras essentially are areas within your body where you harbor certain emotions. And I want to share with you an article called The

Neuroscience of Learning to Trust yourself. This is by Dr. Alicia Goldstein. In the article, she refers to research by Helen Mayberg, who's a neuroscientist from Emory University.

She calls depression, emotional pain without context.

In other words, Dr. Goldstein says,

Here is this emotional pain and the brain can't figure out where it's coming from, and

so it feels lost, stuck, and helpless.

There's a strong lack of self-trust in these moments.

The hippocampus is a part of our brain that is involved in memory, learning,

and also in giving us a sense of context. So the hippocampus is part of what tells us it's not

appropriate to burst out in tears at work and yell at people, even if we feel like doing it.

This area of the brain also tells us that it may be more appropriate to let our guard down with someone who feels safe.

It's been demonstrated through past studies that there are many ways to create neural growth in the

hippocampus to help you better manage your reaction to stress triggers and anxiety.

One of those ways is by creating an enriching environment.

Spending time in environments where you feel enriched

and supportive has been shown to connect strong

neurogrowth in the hippocampus. This kind of growth has taken place with consistent eight-week

practices of meditation such as you are doing right now. The more you can surround yourself with enriching environments, the more you can begin to trust yourself.

When it comes to trusting ourselves, Dr Goldstein reports,

...