Latest Issue of the MindBrainEd Think Tank + (ISSN 2434-1002) 7 MindBrained Bulletin Think Tank V4i7 Exercise J | Page 22

she came across a class called intenSati (intention + sati “mindfulness” in Pali),
which is a combination of aerobic exercise and positive affirmations, a workout class
with a message! As she started seeing the effect of the “essential exercise,” as she
calls it, and the positive affirmations on herself, she decided to shift her research
from memory to the effect of exercise on brain.
While planning a new course, “Can exercise change your brain?” she decided to
incorporate exercise and an engaging form of intenSati, as is discussed at 11:40 in
this TED Talk.
She employed both the physical and mental aspects of it, drawing on the power of
mind-body connection. The positive self-affirmations have been shown to buffer us
from stress and to improve mood. Moreover, since the students learn the effect of
exercise on the brain while engaging in it, they see the real effects, and they too
become part of the research. She mentions that by incorporating powerful
affirmations into our thoughts, we start to think and believe them and they become
even more powerful. She could see the excellent state of mind of her students during
the lecture and discussion part after the workout, and the students reported that the
exercises had helped them to stay more focused and to perform better during the
course.
Suzuki points out that there are still many unanswered questions regarding how
exercise impacts different parts of the brain. For instance, in her research on the
effects of exercise on young brains, she mentions that it is unclear whether it was the
effect of exercise, the effect of affirmations, or both which helped the students to
perform better, or whether exercise improves memory or not. Nevertheless,
indisputably, as research has shown, exercise enhances the mood and feelings of
well-being. It reduces the risk of cognitive decline, decreases stress and depression,
improves attention, reaction time and creativity, is correlated with lower incidence of
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