Meditation Articles

A growing body of research evidence is supporting the claim that meditation is good for our health. With benefits ranging from fewer colds to pain management, meditation seems to allow people to cultivate a sense of clarity and calm that can permeate all aspects of life and that improves with practice.newsletter_teaser: Research is supporting the claim that meditation is good for our health. With benefits ranging from fewer colds to pain management, meditation seems to allow people to cultivate a sense of clarity and calm that can permeate all aspects of life and that improves with practice.

Meditation People with fibromyalgia may want to try meditation to help them cope with challenging symptoms like pain and depression, suggests a study published in Current Pain and Headache Reports (2012; 16: 383–87; doi: 10.1007/s11916-012-0285-8).

Many mind-body movement and wellness professionals have discovered the power of meditation and are introducing it to clients. One experience that particularly stands out in my teaching career occurred when I was leading a walking meditation.

In the past decade, researchers have been using modern technology to study how meditation affects the structure of the brain. They have found that between controls and meditators, there are differences in both gray matter (tissue containing neuronal cell bodies) and white matter (the connective tissue between regions of the brain).

A new mind-body study is shedding light on the biological reasons why daily meditation can successfully lower stress.

Mindful breathing [MB] may reduce negative reactions to repetitive thoughts more effectively than practices such as progressive muscle relaxation [PMR] or loving-kindness meditation [/fitness-library/loving-kindness-meditation-nurtures-positive-feelings] [LKM], according to a study published in the journal Behaviour Research and Therapy (2010; doi10.1016/j.brat.2010.06.006).newsletter_teaser: Mindful breathing may reduce negative reactions to repetitive thoughts more effectively than practices such as progressive muscle relaxation or loving-kindness meditation, according to a study published in the journal Behaviour Research and Therapy. The study was an effort to understand why mindfulness-based interventions are helpful in reducing feelings of stress and increasing positive feelings of well-being. Researchers from Simmons College in Boston and Duke Integrative Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, decided to test whether mindful breathing has a unique effect on "decentering"

If you've never been to the Inner IDEA® Conference, it will be hard for you to envisage how holistic the programming is. Imagine beginning your day outside with a series of sun salutations by the waterfall or inside with a seamless blend of tai chi, qigong and yoga, taught by a master. After breakfast you spend 2 hours becoming intimately aware of your psoas, or you discover how a transfusion of sound and light and visual beauty and even taste can turn your Pilates reformer classes into a feast for the senses.newsletter_teaser: If you've never been to the Inner IDEA® Conference, it will be hard for you to envisage how holistic the programming is. Imagine beginning your day outside with a series of sun salutations by the waterfall or inside with a seamless blend of tai chi, qigong and yoga, taught by a master. After breakfast you spend 2 hours becoming intimately aware of your psoas, or you discover how a transfusion of sound and light and visual beauty and even taste can turn your Pilates reformer classes into a feast for the senses.

What is happening in the minds of people who have developed a greater capacity for forgiveness and compassion? Can a quality like love-—whether it’s shown toward a family member or a friend-—be neurologically measured in the brain?

Miami and Ohio State university researchers are using an ancient technique to address a modern problem. With a $98,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Mental Health, Deborah Akers, Miami visiting assistant professor of anthropology