Alternate Breathing Exercise

February 1st, 2010 By: Brittany

I really love this simple breathing exercise. It is great for anytime in any place. Alternate breathing is a great way to calm the mind and relax emotions.

The exercise involves alternate breathing through each nostril.

Breath in through left nostril only for 4 seconds
Keep both nostrils closed for 4 seconds
Breath out through the right nostril for only 4 seconds
Breath in through right nostril only for 4 seconds
Keep both nostrils closed for 4 seconds
Breath out through left nostril for only 4 seconds

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If You Want Brain Power Add Meditation

January 30th, 2010 By: Brittany

Brain research is beginning to produce concrete evidence for something that Buddhist practitioners of meditation have maintained for centuries: Mental discipline and meditative practice can change the workings of the brain and allow people to achieve different levels of awareness.

Those transformed states have traditionally been understood in transcendent terms, as something outside the world of physical measurement and objective evaluation. But over the past few years, researchers at the University of Wisconsin working with Tibetan monks have been able to translate those mental experiences into the scientific language of high-frequency gamma waves and brain synchrony, or coordination.

“What we found is that the longtime practitioners showed brain activation on a scale we have never seen before,” said Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist at the university’s new $10 million W.M. Keck Laboratory for Functional Brain Imaging and Behavior. “Their mental practice is having an effect on the brain in the same way golf or tennis practice will enhance performance.”

Davidson’s research is consistent with his earlier work that pinpointed the left prefrontal cortex as a brain region associated with happiness and positive thoughts and emotions. Using functional magnetic resonance imagining (fMRI) on the meditating monks, Davidson found that their brain activity — as measured by the EEG — was especially high in this area.

Davidson concludes from the research that meditation not only changes the workings of the brain in the short term, but also quite possibly produces permanent changes.

Source: Washington Post

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Meditation On A Schedule

January 10th, 2010 By: Brittany

This is a good meditation to do on a schedule. It is 3 minutes and can be used anywhere you have internet. I gave this to my husband and his co-workers and they love to use it at work. It is also a good way to take a 3 minute break away from hyper kids and stressed out friends.

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Boost Energy With This Stretch

December 21st, 2009 By: Brittany

Everyday stress can throw your entire system off kilter; your muscles tighten, your heart races, and your stomach starts acting up — again. A simple seated forward bend can activate a reserve of sustaining energy that, according to Chinese medicine, rests between the kidneys. “It calms the nervous system, gets the organs fully functioning, and clears up obstructions in the kidneys and adrenal glands,” explains Daniel Max, nutrition counselor, shiatsu practitioner, and yoga instructor with Max Sense of Self in Watertown, Massachusetts. Get your qi back in no time with this quick stretch.

What It Does
Calms the mind; relieves stress; stretches the spine, shoulders, hamstrings, and back; stimulates the kidneys and adrenal glands; improves digestion; and reduces fatigue.

How to Do It
1. Sit with your legs extended straight in front of you, feet parallel with toes pointing up. Press the back of your legs into the floor.

2. Inhale deeply and lift through the upper body. With your spine straight and shoulders back, pull the navel in slightly toward the spine, creating space in the abdomen. Exhale, release, and lean forward, bending from the hip, not the waist.

3. Fold forward only as far as you can (keep your knees bent if that’s more comfortable). With each inhalation, lift and lengthen the front torso slightly; if you feel able to go further, release a little more fully into the bend on an exhale. Try not to crunch; maintain length through the spine.

4. Hold for a few breaths, allowing your body to open up. Direct your breath toward the kidneys, breathing deep into the lower back. Then inhale and sit up slowly, lifting your torso away from the thighs until your back is straight. Repeat 2 to 3 times.

Source: Body and Soul April 2008

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Helping PTSD Patients Thru Meditation

December 12th, 2009 By: Brittany

While PTSD is now being fully recognized as a mental health condition, helping professionals are still struggling to find viable and evidence-based treatments for PTSD (Foa, Keane, & Friedman, 2000). Conventional treatment efforts involve mostly cognitive-behavioral therapy, which has received the greatest research attention and support for its efficacy (Please refer to Foa & Meadows, 1997, and Rothbaum, Meadows, Resick, & Foy, 2000 for detailed reviews). Findings, however, revealed that PTSD subjects with prolonged histories of interpersonal abuse responded adversely to prolonged exposure and cognitive restructuring treatment.

Dr. Mo Yee Lee in partnership with Dr. Amy Zaharlick (Anthropology) and Dr. Deborah Akers (Miami University) has been investigating the effectiveness of a six-week meditation curriculum on mental health outcomes among female trauma survivors who also have substance use problems.  Dr. Lee’s research team works in collaboration with Amethyst Inc., a local organization that serves to break the cycle of addiction, poverty, and violence for women and their children.  The team’s work explores the utility, cultural adaptability and appropriateness of using meditation, a primarily Eastern-based practice, as an intervention with clinical populations in the U.S. A preliminary study examined two specific questions: (1) Is a 6-week meditation curriculum effective in reducing PTSD symptoms and improving functioning of female trauma survivors who have histories of prolonged interpersonal abuse? (2) How did participants understand and perceive their meditation experience and its potential benefits? [ continue reading ]

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Make Your Own Relaxing Space

November 30th, 2009 By: Brittany

Naples Grande Resort and Club in Naples

Kithaus Meditation Room

Killenure Castle

Meditation Room at the Bellagio

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Heart Strengthening Meditation

November 28th, 2009 By: Brittany

Take a few minutes to synchronize your breath with your beat to reduce stress instantly. Susanna Bair, cofounder of the Institute for Applied Meditation in Tucson, Arizona, and coauthor of “Energize Your Heart,” designed this meditation to invigorate the heart with conscious breathing and loving intention. “I’ve worked with people who have lowered their own blood pressure just by doing this exercise,” Bair says.

How to Do It
Adopt a Noble Stance
Sit upright, chest forward, shoulders back, spine straight, and head level.

Hone Your Focus
Close your eyes and become aware of your breath flowing in and out. You can put your hands on your heart or rest them by your sides.

Listen for Your Heartbeat
Draw in a deep breath and hold it for a moment. Become aware of your heart pulsing inside you (this may take some practice); then exhale. If you can’t hear your heartbeat, feel for your pulse in your chest or on the inside of your wrist.

Synchronize Your Breath
Allow your breath to fall in sync with your heart. Try inhaling for eight heartbeats and then exhaling for eight. Continue this for five to 10 minutes.

Repeat
Try this meditation once in the morning to energize you and again in the evening to clear tension and create a renewed calm.

Source: Whole Living

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