The science of mindfulness – Soul Search

‘Mindfulness meditation’ has become an increasingly popular concept in the West, with hospitals, schools, businesses and even defence forces adopting the technique.

Helping to focus attention and awareness, mindfulness meditation actually developed as a religious practice over 2500 years by Buddhist monks and Hindu yogis.

But as it become more and more mainstream, what happens to meditation when it gets abstracted from its religious roots?

And how does mindfulness affect the mind and its cognitive function?

Producer Geoff Wood spoke to Dr Peter Malinowski and Dr Jim Rheingans, two experts in Tibetan Buddhist studies.