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The study was based on 14 practitioners who specialise in a specific meditation technique which is known as Acem Meditation / photo: shutterstock.com/Vinogradov Illya
Brain activity is greater during meditation than during periods of idle rest, refuting the idea that meditation is used to empty the mind – according to a study by neuroscientists from Norway and Australia*.
Scientists from The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, The University of Oslo and The University of Sydney used functional magnetic resonance image scanning to see what goes on in the brain during Acem Meditation – a mindful relaxation technique based on modern psychology and research.
Acem is a non-directive meditation technique which involves the mental repetition of a soothing, yet meaningless sound combining vowels and consonants. At the same time it allows spontaneously-occurring thoughts, images, sensations, memories and emotions to pass freely through the mind.
The method is thought to facilitate mental processing of emotional experiences, thereby contributing to wellness and stress management. Fourteen experienced practitioners of the Acem Meditation technique took part in the study.
The predominant resting system in the brain is called the ‘default mode network’ which is responsible for our wandering mind. Interestingly, the research found that this wandering mind mode is activated on a greater level during meditation than when the mind is resting normally.
The study highlighted that the brain simply activates different networks when it rests, compared to when someone concentrates or attends to an external task.
The default mode network is considerably less active when the spontaneous flow of wandering thoughts is restricted by a more concentrated focus of attention during concentrative meditation – not common to non-directive Acem Meditation. The areas of the brain which are less active during meditation include those which are involved in processing memories and emotions.
The results were published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
* Xu J and Davanger S et al. Nondirective Meditation Activates Default Mode Network and Areas Associated with Memory Retrieval and Emotional Processing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2014
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2014 issue 3
Letters: Letters
Bill Bensley gives his opinion on where spa design is heading in the future
Luxury brands: The high life
We take a look at the spa concepts of luxury brands such as Dior, Guerlain, Armani and Versace
Country focus: The Maldives
Neena Dhillon takes a look around Cheval Blanc Randheli and Velaa Private Island – two of the hottest new spa destinations in the Maldives
Q&A: Morgan Lefrançois
The spa business development manager at Clarins on working with Velaa Private Island; plus a first-person account of the resort by Liz Terry
Therapy: Well seasoned
An underground salt mine offering subterraneotherapy and herb spas feature in this report by Sophie Benge
Holiday village spa: Full steam ahead
The unique hydrothermal spa concept at Center Parcs UK attracts 300,000 guests a year and brings in £15m in revenue. Katie Barnes visits its latest site
Marketing: Screen star
Professional spa brands are using TV shopping channel QVC to increase footfall in spas and can sell up to £4m of products in just one day
Mineral Spa: Mission accomplished
With 168 pools and 90 treatment rooms, Mission Hills Haikou has one of the world’s largest spa and mineral springs. Jennifer Harbottle finds out more
Fitness: Cool customer
We explain the science behind Vasper, a high-tech fitness system that’s being used by athletes and astronauts
In today’s premium spa environment, every detail shapes the guest experience – right down to
the softness of towels and the freshness of linens. [more...]
The study was based on 14 practitioners who specialise in a specific meditation technique which is known as Acem Meditation / photo: shutterstock.com/Vinogradov Illya
Brain activity is greater during meditation than during periods of idle rest, refuting the idea that meditation is used to empty the mind – according to a study by neuroscientists from Norway and Australia*.
Scientists from The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, The University of Oslo and The University of Sydney used functional magnetic resonance image scanning to see what goes on in the brain during Acem Meditation – a mindful relaxation technique based on modern psychology and research.
Acem is a non-directive meditation technique which involves the mental repetition of a soothing, yet meaningless sound combining vowels and consonants. At the same time it allows spontaneously-occurring thoughts, images, sensations, memories and emotions to pass freely through the mind.
The method is thought to facilitate mental processing of emotional experiences, thereby contributing to wellness and stress management. Fourteen experienced practitioners of the Acem Meditation technique took part in the study.
The predominant resting system in the brain is called the ‘default mode network’ which is responsible for our wandering mind. Interestingly, the research found that this wandering mind mode is activated on a greater level during meditation than when the mind is resting normally.
The study highlighted that the brain simply activates different networks when it rests, compared to when someone concentrates or attends to an external task.
The default mode network is considerably less active when the spontaneous flow of wandering thoughts is restricted by a more concentrated focus of attention during concentrative meditation – not common to non-directive Acem Meditation. The areas of the brain which are less active during meditation include those which are involved in processing memories and emotions.
The results were published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
* Xu J and Davanger S et al. Nondirective Meditation Activates Default Mode Network and Areas Associated with Memory Retrieval and Emotional Processing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2014
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2014 issue 3
Letters: Letters
Bill Bensley gives his opinion on where spa design is heading in the future
Luxury brands: The high life
We take a look at the spa concepts of luxury brands such as Dior, Guerlain, Armani and Versace
Country focus: The Maldives
Neena Dhillon takes a look around Cheval Blanc Randheli and Velaa Private Island – two of the hottest new spa destinations in the Maldives
Q&A: Morgan Lefrançois
The spa business development manager at Clarins on working with Velaa Private Island; plus a first-person account of the resort by Liz Terry
Therapy: Well seasoned
An underground salt mine offering subterraneotherapy and herb spas feature in this report by Sophie Benge
Holiday village spa: Full steam ahead
The unique hydrothermal spa concept at Center Parcs UK attracts 300,000 guests a year and brings in £15m in revenue. Katie Barnes visits its latest site
Marketing: Screen star
Professional spa brands are using TV shopping channel QVC to increase footfall in spas and can sell up to £4m of products in just one day
Mineral Spa: Mission accomplished
With 168 pools and 90 treatment rooms, Mission Hills Haikou has one of the world’s largest spa and mineral springs. Jennifer Harbottle finds out more
Fitness: Cool customer
We explain the science behind Vasper, a high-tech fitness system that’s being used by athletes and astronauts
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam, has put together a Global Wellness Day
(GWD) agenda with activations rooted in nature and shaped by four pillars of Joy – in
alignment with the day’s theme #JoyMagenta.
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the 2026 event in
Phuket, Thailand, later this year with the theme: The Science, Art and Soul of Wellness.
Auko, an all-inclusive development, is opening in Phong Nha in Vietnam in Q3 2026, with a
series of 30 tented eco-lodges and wellness hospitality operations by Lumina Wellbeing.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort, has opened a 2,800sq m spa called The Sanctuary,
with the design and concept inspired by the Native American people that populated Florida’s
Southwest coast – the Calusa.
Swire Hotels’ luxury hospitality brand Upper House has revealed it will roll out its two-day
House of Healing retreats at its three hotels in Hong Kong, Chengdu and Shanghai.
LVMH-owned beauty house Guerlain will launch up to five spas with partners a year as part of
its plan to expand globally, according to the brand’s international spa and wellness director,
Diane Davody.
A new global study by Kevin Kelly and Peter Yesawich, called WELLSurvey 2.0, has revealed
more than half of consumers in the UK, US and Germany would not choose numerous high-
profile wellness resort brands for a future trip.
Luxury hospitality and wellness pioneer Jeremy McCarthy has launched Leisure Alchemy, a
digital platform that will provide professionals with strategic guidance on how to build
transformational leisure experiences that drive profit.
In today’s premium spa environment, every detail shapes the guest experience – right down to
the softness of towels and the freshness of linens. [more...]
