Brain Mechanisms of Yoga & Mindfulness which affect Behaviour & Anxiety

"Our brains do not contain fixed hardwiring; the neural pathways and circuits can in fact change with learning and with mental exercises, and meditation may be a harmless way to encourage the growth of new neurons (neurogenesis) along with the formation of new connections between existing neurons (synaptogenesis).

By tying together the neurobiological effects of neurotransmitters, brain waves, mental exercise and the empirical evidence from the psychological experiments, it is evident that meditation is an effective treatment for anxiety, and it does not suffer from any side effects. It may also function as a preventive medicine; therefore, it is highly recommended to everyone and not limited to patients suffering from disease.

This review has only highlighted observations from the several studies already conducted. However, it is imperative to conduct many more studies on a larger scale to substantiate the reported effects of the overall meditation approach, and by probing into the different effects of the various meditation techniques to see if differences in technique make a difference to the outcomes."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4769029/