How Self-Awareness and Brain Function Help Us Understand and Treat Anxiety
Dr. Judson Brewer’s research with Tiny Blue Dot Foundation explores a compelling question: How does the brain change when we engage with the world from an expanded versus contracted Perception Box? This work is deeply personal for Dr. Brewer. After facing severe anxiety and panic attacks and finding limited relief through conventional treatments, he turned to meditation and discovered its powerful effect on his own mind. That experience inspired his mission to help others. Today, Dr. Brewer combines digital therapeutics and brain imaging to study how different brain states shape our perceptions. His goal is to help people cultivate more open, expansive experiences through awareness and curiosity.
2:40 Series: Tiny Blue Dot Foundation ResearchRelated Videos [03]
How Heated Yoga Affects Overthinking and Builds Mindfulness
Psychologist Maren Nyer studies the impact of heated yoga on depression and rumination. After experiencing its benefits firsthand during graduate school, Dr. Nyer led two clinical studies showing significant improvements in mood among people with depression who practiced heated yoga in community settings. Now, with support from Tiny Blue Dot Foundation, her team is conducting a new study to break down which elements of heated yoga are driving these effects, specifically looking at whether reducing rumination, or a constricted perception box state, is a key mechanism behind the positive changes she’s observed.
2:13 Series: Tiny Blue Dot Foundation Research
Relieving Chronic Pain by Helping People Transcend the Self
Researcher Adam Hanley studies self-concept complexity and self-transcendence in relation to chronic pain. Through his project, he explores how expanding a person’s sense of self beyond pain-centered identity can reduce both physical and emotional discomfort. By combining mindful breathing with direct pointing techniques that guide people toward experiencing awareness as expansive and interconnected, Dr. Hanley's work investigates new ways to help chronic pain patients reorganize their self-concept and develop greater resilience.
3:09 Series: Tiny Blue Dot Foundation Research
Does Breathing Resistance Training Relax the Body and Calm The Mind?
Researcher Paul Macey explores how inspiratory muscle training (IMT) can strengthen breathing muscles while expanding body awareness and well-being. Using simple devices that create resistance while inhaling, IMT helps people breathe more fully without requiring meditation or focused attention. His work looks at how this accessible, low-effort practice can improve both physical and mental health by helping people connect more consciously with their breath throughout daily life.
3:04 Series: Tiny Blue Dot Foundation Research