NEWS

“Meditation and competition … it hardly gets more contradictory. And yet these worlds collide in an Art Nouveau house in Geneva” at All Here Meditation Institute, where fundamental neuroscience and brain imaging technology are applied. 

These are the opening words from Stephanie Schnydrig, Science Editor at Aargauer Zeitung, capturing how Swiss media portrayed our very first sporting endeavor at All Here Geneva co-organized with the World Meditation League — asking who could reach the deepest meditative states. 

It’s a beautiful prelude as we now gear up for the Tokyo Meditation Challenge — stay tuned for updates! 

Let’s take a peek at AARGAUER ZEITUNG’s feature on “Measuring  Meditation”

Ms. Schnydrig shares a rare, first-person glimpse into how All Here is pushing the boundaries of meditation science. She vividly recounts the Geneva Meditation Challenge, where advanced practitioners competed to reach the deepest meditative states. 

Using our Meditation Index along with other metrics measured through 64-electrode EEG caps, participants’ brain activity was tracked and displayed live—turning meditation into a visible, measurable experience.

Prof. Christoph Michel noted: “It’s astonishing. People can enter deep meditation within seconds and stay there, with brainwave patterns similar across beginners and professionals, just expressed differently.” Some even reached patterns usually seen in deep sleep or anesthesia—while remaining fully awake and focused. 

Ms. Schnydrig herself stepped into the Meditation Hall, donning an EEG cap, meditating, and later seeing her own brain activity report—bringing the science to life in real time. 

Her in-depth interview with Prof. Michel illuminates the science behind meditation — connecting her personal observations to the broader neuroscience behind self-awareness, attention, and altered states of consciousness.

In their conversation, they explore how our research shows that meditation strengthens attention, deepens self-awareness, and reduces mind-wandering. On the millisecond scale, we observe “microstates” or “thought atoms,” whose stability reflects meditation’s impact on the mind. 

These findings, as discussed in the interview, could pave the way for future studies on ADHD treatment — via improved attention span, memory enhancement, and even the potential for prevention in Alzheimer’s. 

Read the full article and in-depth interview with Prof. Christoph Michel (in German) in Aargauer Zeitung