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…5 ways yoga and meditative practices can change negativity bias

Rick Hanson, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist and author of Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom, outlined the brain’s “negativity bias” in an article in Psychology Times.

“Do positive experiences stick to your ribs?” he asked. The question seems to suggest a ingesting of positive experiences, which is the premise of the principle that Dr. Hanson outlines.

“The brain is like Velcro for negative experiences,” says Dr. Hanson.

The brain is built to retain the negative, and it takes conscious effort to train it toward positivity.

Why? Survival. According to Donald Altman, M.A., LPC, psychotherapist and former Buddhist monk, the brain’s “programming constantly scans for anything that might go wrong. And when it does, the brain remembers this so it can avoid it next time.” Less concerning for our basic survival, according to our instinctive brain, is happiness.

So it’s harder. Harder to just be happy. It takes…practice. You’ve probably heard the word practice associated with Yoga, meditation, and mindfulness. These modalities recognize the force of the negativity bias, but offer effective approaches to shift the bias with conscious effort. Not an effort of struggle or labor, but of endeavor and intention…one that will become easier, with practice. Yoga Sutras I.13-14 say, “Practice is the effort to secure steadiness. This practice becomes well-grounded when continued with reverent devotion and without interruption over a long period of time.”

So how do we get the positive to “stick to our ribs?” By mindful “eating”…a conscious consumption and digestion, so to speak, of the positive events we experience. When something good happens, it is important to notice it, take it in, consider it, allow encouraging feelings, revel in them, maybe it would be helpful to talk about it, write it down, share it somehow. Let it sink in. The continued practice will actually change the neurological pathways in the brain to be less negatively biased!

We can take a cue from the Virgin Mary. She had a lot of hardship and negativity she could have ruminated on! In Luke chapter 2 of the Bible, Mary had just given birth to her son, Jesus, and instead of worrying on the fact that she was in a barn and people were on the march to kill her newborn son, she instead reveled in the glory of the event. She noticed, considered, and meditated. Verse 19 says, “And Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

How can we ponder the positive, too? Here are a few Yoga inspired practices and ideas to cultivate a change of bias in the brain:

• Following the Yoga Yamas and Niyamas can help us breed “mindful positivity” in our lives. Tapas for example encompasses the principle of training the senses through discipline and practice. Svadhyaya suggests study on sacred words, often an uplifting experience. Santosha proposes practicing contentment, which can help us notice the “little things” in life that are positive and important.
• Gratitude is a practice that fosters a force to overcome the negativity bias. Try keeping a gratitude journal in the morning or evening, logging events and occurrences that were positive. After a time, you may notice yourself paying more attention throughout your day to things you could write down, bringing the positive immediately into your present awareness.
• Present moment breath focus can help generate a positive-calm feeling in the midst of a negative experience. Swami Svatmarama wrote, “When the breath wanders the mind also is unsteady. But when the breath is calmed the mind too will be still, and the yogi achieves long life.”
• Practice karma yoga, actions of unattached service. Doing selfless action brings one toward enlightenment, according to Gita Sloka 3:25: “The unenlightened do things with attachment (wanting some results for themselves). An enlightened person does things with the same zeal, but without attachment, and thus guides others on the path of selfless action (Karma Yoga).”
• Meditate on Mettā, or loving-kindness. According to this University of Wisconsin study, consistent mettā meditation practice actually changes the brain to allow for more empathetic and compassionate mental states and thought patterns.

Have you noticed a negativity bias in your brain? What tools do you use to shift it?