Blissful Brain

The Blissful Brain is published by Gaia Thinking. For more information on how to order your copy, please click here.

Guardian G2: Mind over matter by Andy Darling

"Neuroscientist Shanida Nataraja has proven meditation does more than clear your head, it can put both halves of your brain to work, improving your concentration, memory, and decision-making...". To read more, please click here.

The Times: Calm down dear by Angela Pertusini

"Claims by the neuroscientist Shanida Nataraja regarding the benefits of meditation have been backed up by rigourous scientific research and are explained in her acclaimed book The Blissful Brain: Neuroscience and Proof of the Power of Meditation". To read more, please click here.

Just this Day event: A Day of Silence and Stillness at St Martin's in the Field on 23rd of November 2011

Shanida Nataraja will be participating in this exciting event that aims to explore the power of silience and stillness in our busy world. For more information, please click here or visit the Just This Day website.

Mindfulness in the Workplace: Brain based approaches to improving employee resilience and productivity at Robinson College, Cambridge on 10 February 2012

Shanida Nataraja will be speaking at this day event that brings together leading experts in mindfulness to discuss how it could help organisations improve productivity & resiliance. Speakers include Professor Mark Williams, Michael Chaskalson, Ruby Wax, Margaret Chapman, and more (for more information, please see click here.

Shanida Nataraja

Dr Shanida Nataraja has a BSc (First Class Hons) in Human Science and Neuroscience and a PhD in Neurophysiology, both from University College London. In her final year of undergraduate studies, in order to gain a better understanding of human behaviour, Shanida wrote a dissertation on brain plasticity and its implications for learning and memory. Her interest whetted, Shanida investigated the processes underlying learning and memory for her PhD thesis, and continued in this field of research for a further two years, holding a post-doctoral research position at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.

After five-years in research, Shanida abandoned the isolation of the laboratory for the relative comforts of a career in medical communications. She is currently Editorial and Scientific Director in a global healthcare consultancy firm where she provides scientific, strategic and editorial input into a wide range of different medical communication initiatives in cardiology, oncology, respiratory diseases and urology. As part of her professional responsibilities, Shanida has been involved in the development of: original research and review articles in peer-reviewed journals; slide presentations and meeting materials for scientific symposia; product monographs, clinical compendia, sales aids, sales rep training materials and other promotional materials; patient information leaflets and other materials and patient support websites. Shanida also has experience in delivering communication strategy, positioning and messaging workshops. Shanida is also an experienced trainer being both responsible for in-house medical writing training at her current company and a number of training workshops for the European Medical Writer’s Association (EMWA). She has also sat on EMWA's Executive Committee since 2005 as the organisation's Web Manager.

Shanida regularly meditates and practices yoga, and has received basic instruction in tai chi and chi gung. Her interest in understanding the effect of meditative practices on the brain, and the body, of the practitioner led Shanida to start research into this topic. The end result of this research is The Blissful Brain. Shanida is also a member of the Scientific and Medical Network, an organisation promoting open exploration in science and human experience whose common objective is to deepen understanding in science, medicine, and education through both rational analysis and intuitive insights.

To see a copy of Shanida's CV, please click here.