About this episode

Dr. Richard Davidson discusses how meditation and exercise can enhance resilience and impact the gut microbiome and inflammation.

Get access to more than 200 episodes of my premium podcast (The Aliquot) when you sign up as a FoundMyFitness Premium Member Five minutes of daily meditation can measurably lower a marker of inflammation and alter pathways in the gut microbiome. In this episode, Dr. Richard Davidson explains how exercise and meditation can work together to shape resilience and support the biology of flourishing. He also shows how meditation can be folded into exercise and ordinary routines, with benefits comparable to formal sit-down practice. Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (05:22) Why meditate when you can exercise? (09:05) How loneliness and connection alter our biology (10:44) Can compassion be trained like a muscle? (13:14) Does timing meditation around exercise matter? (16:30) What are the four pillars of well-being? (22:38) The six emotional styles that shape well-being (30:11) Can an emotional style become too extreme? (32:02) Can we intentionally shape neuroplasticity? (34:45) When increased neuroplasticity backfires (36:33) Does doing hard things build resilience? (40:19) Why children may be more resilient than adults (42:14) Why strength training may be a form of mindfulness (48:15)…

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