.png)
Unravel with Elaine Clark
Unravel, hosted by Elaine Clark, explores the intersection of mental health and physical health. Through expert interviews and insightful conversations, we uncover science-backed tools and practices for well-being and personal growth.
Whether you’re seeking to cultivate resilience, challenge misconceptions, or reconnect with your innate wisdom, Unravel offers the insights and guidance to support your journey.
Science meets embodiment. Let’s explore what it means to unravel the layers—together.
Unravel with Elaine Clark
19- How Meditation Can Reshape Our Brains with Dr. Sara Lazar
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
What if the calm you feel after yoga or meditation isn’t just emotional—but structural?
In this episode, world-renowned neuroscientist Dr. Sara Lazar joins me to explore how meditation and yoga create measurable changes in the brain. Dr. Lazar was one of the first researchers to use brain imaging to understand mindfulness—and her findings have shaped the global conversation on mental health, neuroplasticity, and the power of presence.
We dive into her personal story of walking into a yoga class purely for physical therapy (and very skeptically), only to discover that something far deeper was happening—something that sparked a 25-year career in contemplative neuroscience.
Together, we unravel:
🧠 How meditation and yoga change brain structure and function
🌿 Why neuroplasticity makes healing possible at any age
🌀 The default mode network and why a wandering mind fuels anxiety, rumination, and low mood
🔥 How stress shrinks certain regions of the brain—and how mindfulness can reverse those effects
💛 Why mindfulness increases emotional regulation, compassion, and resilience
✨ Whether yoga or meditation is “better,” and how to choose the practice that fits your nervous system
⏰ How much practice you actually need to see changes (hint: even small doses matter)
Whether you’re new to mindfulness or deep in your practice, this conversation offers both scientific insight and grounded encouragement—showing how everyday practices can literally reshape the brain toward calm, clarity, and wellbeing.
🔗 Connect with Dr. Sara Lazar
TED Talk: How Meditation Can Reshape Our Brains
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8rRzTtP7Tc
Stay Connected
🌿 Follow the show: @elaineclark_
📩 Email: info@elaineclark.ca
🎧 Subscribe on Apple, Spotify & iHeartRadio
🌐 Explore more at www.elaineclark.ca