At Minded, we are deeply invested in understanding how yoga cues and related mind-body practices affect the brain, body, and mental health. We draw from neuroscience not to validate yoga, but to refine our approach and stay accountable to what truly supports wellbeing.
Recently, a compelling study led by Dr Sara Lazar and Dr Sat Bir Khalsa prompted us to reflect further on the importance of the yoga cues we use to direct attention in practice. Both researchers are internationally recognised for their work in contemplative neuroscience, and in this study, they set out to compare the effects of different mind-body interventions on both perceived stress and brain activity in individuals experiencing chronic stress.
The Study: Three Interventions, One Question
Participants were assigned to one of three 8-week interventions, each consisting of 60-minute weekly one-to-one sessions and 20 minutes of daily home practice. The three approaches were as follows:
- Focused Attention Meditation: The first few weeks trained participants to notice when their minds had wandered and to return to a neutral internal anchor, such as the breath or a silently repeated phrase. In the later weeks, the practice evolved to include loving-kindness meditation, a form of open-hearted attention that directs warmth and compassion towards the self and others.
- Kundalini Yoga: This intervention included physical movement sequences typical of Kundalini practice, pranayama (breathing techniques), deep relaxation, and brief periods of meditation. It integrated physical and energetic work with mental focus, but did not explicitly emphasise returning the mind to a single point over and over.
- Psychoeducation: The third group received structured education about stress and its psychological effects, including behavioural strategies for coping.
At the end of the 8 weeks, all three groups reported a reduction in perceived stress, suggesting that each intervention had benefits at the level of lived experience. However, the researchers also explored something deeper: resting-state brain activity.
What Happens When the Mind Is at Rest?
Using neuroimaging, the team examined connectivity between two key brain regions: the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and the left hippocampus. These regions are part of the default mode network, which becomes active when the mind is not engaged in a task, such as when we are daydreaming, worrying, or ruminating. In individuals experiencing anxiety, depression, or trauma, this network can become overactive, leading to habitual patterns of negative self-referential thought.
The specific metric investigated was resting-state connectivity—how strongly these regions communicated when participants were not doing anything in particular. In other words, how “busy” the rumination network was when the mind was supposed to be at rest.
The Surprising Finding
Only the focused attention meditation group showed a statistically significant reduction in connectivity between the PCC and the hippocampus. Their brains, not just their self-reports, reflected a measurable decrease in the default activity associated with rumination.
The Kundalini Yoga and psychoeducation groups did not show this same neurological change, despite feeling less stressed. This finding does not negate the benefits of yoga or psychological education, but it points to something worth deeper examination: repetition, redirection, and attentional training.
Our Response at Minded
We were, understandably, a little taken aback. At Minded, we have long championed yoga as a deeply therapeutic modality, capable of regulating the nervous system, supporting psychological healing, and shifting ingrained mental habits. So why did this study not show a similar change in brain activity for the yoga group?
Rather than feeling discouraged, we saw an opportunity for honest reflection. This finding reminds us of something essential: what we practise repeatedly is what we neurologically reinforce. In the focused meditation group, the primary instruction was to notice distraction and return to a single point of focus. This act of attentional redirection was not an element of the practice; it was the practice.
In contrast, the yoga group moved through a rich combination of techniques—movement, breath, relaxation—but it is unclear whether they were asked to bring their attention back to one internal anchor throughout. If that element of sustained redirection was not present, it may explain why the same neural shifts did not occur.
Yoga Cues and Their Relevance for Yoga Teachers and Therapists
This insight reinforces a core principle in our own teaching model. At Minded, we train yoga therapists to structure sessions around a clear internal point of focus—often the breath, the sensation of movement, or a meaningful internal phrase—that participants are invited to return to repeatedly throughout the session. We believe this not only supports presence, but builds attentional stability, which is essential for long-term mental health and neuroplastic change.
We also wonder whether the results might have been different had the interventions lasted longer, or if the yoga sessions had been explicitly structured around attentional redirection. Could the multidimensional richness of yoga combined with sustained focus lead to even greater change?
The Bigger Picture: Why Yoga Cues Matter
This study does not challenge the therapeutic value of yoga. Instead, it challenges us to be more precise and intentional in how we teach. It invites yoga professionals to consider the mental training component of the practice, not just its physical, energetic, or emotional aspects.
If we want yoga to support meaningful change in patterns such as rumination, we may need to emphasise not only what people do on the mat, but how they are guided to engage with their internal experience throughout.
The cues we use matter. They may be doing far more than directing attention. They may be shaping the brain itself.
