Mind-body practices such as meditation are increasingly practiced by the public to improve health

(Clarke et al., 2018), and train qualities of attention such as sustained focus, nonjudgment, and
compassion to both internal and external stimuli (Kabat-Zinn, 2013; Gunaratana, 2010; Lutz et al.,
2015). Through practicing these attentional qualities to internal bodily sensations such as the breath,
meditation practices may strengthen interoception (awareness of internal bodily sensations; Farb et
al., 2015; Khalsa et al., 2017), cognitive processes (including sustained attention, cognitive
monitoring, and meta-awareness; Lutz et al., 2008; Dahl et al., 2015; Tang et al., 2015), and emotion
regulation (less judgment and more equanimity with internal experiences; Chambers et al., 2009;
Desbordes et al., 2015). With practice, these skills may lead to better monitoring and regulation of
physical, emotional, and social processes, contributing to improved health decisionmaking and
behaviors (Farb et al., 2015; Khalsa et al., 2017).

“A human being is a part of the whole, called by us ‘universe’, a part limited in time and space. He
experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest – a king of optical
delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal
desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to you.
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace
all living creatures and the whole nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but
the striving for such attainment is in itself a part of the liberation, a foundation for inner security.”

Albert Einstein