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Meditation Slows AIDS & Effects Your Genes
July 22, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · 2 Comments
Interestingly this article on American research onto the effect of meditation on the AIDS virus shows up in the Times of India
Meditation may slow the worsening of AIDS in just a few weeks, perhaps by affecting the immune system, US researchers reported.
If the findings are borne out in larger studies, it could offer a cheap and pleasant way to help people battle the incurable and often fatal condition, the team at the University of California Los Angeles said on Thursday.
They tested a stress-lowering program called mindfulness meditation, defined as practicing an open and receptive awareness of the present moment, avoiding thinking of the past or worrying about the future. The more often the volunteers meditated, the higher their CD4 T-cell counts – a standard measure of how well the immune system is fighting the AIDS virus. The CD4 counts were measured before and after the two-month programme.
"This study provides the first indication that mindfulness meditation stress-management training can have a direct impact on slowing HIV disease progression," said David Creswell, who led the study.
His team tested 67 HIV-positive adults from the Los Angeles area, 48 of whom did some or all of the meditation. Most were likely to have highly stressful lives, Creswell said.
While the Huffington post carries this interesting interview with Dr Susan Smalley a geneticist and founder of the Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) at UCLA in which she speaks about the formation of MARC and it’s work. Below are selected extracts.
PF: What are some of the goals and visions for MARC?
SS: Our primary goal is education and research.
Our center is committed to teach practices that are secular and have empiric scientific research backing their wellness benefits and to teach them by well qualified people.
I’m sure we will add other methods that enhance mindfulness, like various other forms of meditation (in addition to mindfulness meditation) as well as some forms of yoga and even self-hypnosis.
We want to offer a host of different kinds of practices, all with scientific support, well-trained instructors, and taught in a secular fashion.
PF: What are some interesting areas of research for mindfulness?
Mike Irwin’s group is doing a lot of research on the neurobiology and the immune changes associated with mindfulness. They’ve written several interesting papers on the topic. A recent study by David Creswell, a research scientist who worked in Mike Irwin’s group, used a self-report questionnaire that measures how mindful you are – as a trait in the population.
Then they studied brain function and its relationship to these mindfulness scores – how do people that are very highly mindful vs. not so mindful differ in brain function?
They used an fMRI scan (functional magnetic resonance imaging) during what is called an affect labeling task. So they had people do this task where they have to label someone’s emotional expression (e.g. fearful or surprised). There are certain parts of the brain that are known to be involved in doing that task, particularly the prefrontal cortex modulating the emotional center which is the amygdala. When they did this study they found that the more mindful people were, the more activity in the frontal cortex quieting down the emotional center.
In other studies, mindfulness is shown to change brain activity and even structure with practice. For example, Sara Lazar’s research found that the structure of parts of the brain differed in long-time meditators compared to non-meditators. There are now many studies supporting brain changes with various sorts of meditation, including mindfulness meditation.
Read the full interview text here
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Meditation Improves Insomnia & Depression
June 10, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · Leave a Comment
Meditation may be an effective remedy in treating insomnia, according to new research.
Dr. Ramadevi Gourineni, principal study investigator and director of the insomnia programme at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Illinois, says insomnia is thought to be a 24-hour problem of hyper-arousal. As such, elevated measures of arousal are seen throughout the day. By teaching people how to relax and clear their minds during the day, they sleep better at night.
"Results of the study show that teaching deep relaxation techniques during the daytime can help improve sleep at night," said Dr. Gourineni.
The study collected data from 11 healthy subjects between the ages of 25 and 45 years who suffered from chronic primary insomnia. Participants were divided into two intervention groups for two months.
The first group was taught Kriya Yoga, a form of meditation that is used to focus internalized attention and has been shown to reduce measures of arousal. The second group received health education.
Both groups received sleep hygiene education; members of the health education group also received information about health-related topics and how to improve health through exercise, nutrition, weight loss and stress management.
The results certainly suggested that participants had improvements in subjective sleep quality. The meditation group experienced improvements in sleep quality and quantity, according to their sleep diaries. They also took less time to fall asleep, slept longer, woke fewer times, over all had better sleep quality and had fewer symptoms of depression.
Findings of this study were presented at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.
Another new report gives further evidence to support that Meditation may reduce depression
For people struggling with severe depression, practicing meditation may offer mood-lifting benefits. In a recent pilot study, researchers randomly assigned 28 people dealing with depression (all of whom had previous depression episodes and thoughts of suicide) to two groups: One group continued their usual treatment, while the other paired standard care with mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (or MBCT, a healing approach that combines mindfulness meditation with cognitive behavior therapy). Results showed that symptoms of depression decreased from severe to mild levels in the MBCT group, but remained the same in the group of participants receiving conventional care only.
Even in the most severe cases, depression is a highly treatable disorder. While it’s critical to work with a physician in treating depression, certain self-care strategies—such as exercising regularly, practicing yoga, and using nutritional therapy—may produce mood-improving effects and ease depression symptoms.
“Living Liberation - Meditation Training, and so much more" "It changed my life"Find out moreThe Magic Of DOING What You Are Doing! (2)
April 25, 2009 by Kate Mathers · 1 Comment
By Kate Mathers www.magicofallowing.com
Some more ‘spot meditations’, this time oriented to those that may be as relevant for men as for women. ‘Spot’ or ‘Mini-Mindfulness’ Meditations work to defuse tension on the spot by bringing you right into the present. Note that they all involve tuning in to the world of the senses and allowing yourself to really notice what you are doing while you are doing it!
Tuning in to the present moment this way can rejuvenate soul, mind and body in seconds. The power of the present moment cannot be overestimated.
TRY: doing a mini-mindfulness or spot meditation when you clean your teeth each morning: mindfully note how your arm and hand reaches for your toothbrush, how the brush feels in your hand, the texture and shape and colour of it; and do the same with the toothpaste tube and its contents; observe the colours and design on the tube, the way it yields its contents as you squeeze the paste out of the tube, and the minty aroma; notice the sensation of the brush and the paste once in your mouth; is there a zinging sensation? Enjoy it. Check to make sure you are not already holding unnecessary tension in
Complementary And Alternative Medicine On The Rise
March 7, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · Leave a Comment
A report released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in December of 2008 showed that the use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) has increased significantly between 2002 and 2007. Specifically, the number of adults using acupuncture, naturopathy, massage therapy, yoga, deep-breathing exercises and meditation was seen to grow significantly.
In 2002, 2.1 million adults reported seeing an acupuncturist compared to 3.1 million in 2007- and increase of about 50% over five years. The most commonly used forms of CAM were (listed in order of prevalence) nonvitamin, nonmineral natural products (such as herbs and fish oils), deep-breathing exercises, meditation, chiropractic and osteopathic manipulation, massage and yoga.
The complaints that patients (both adults and children) most commonly sought out CAM therapies for were musculoskeletal problems such as back and neck pain or arthritis. And of the patients that used CAM, it seems that the therapies were used in more of a complementary fashion, not as alternates to other forms of care. As the report states: “The overwhelming majority of patients using CAM approaches do so to complement conventional care rather than as an alternative to conventional care.”
“Living Liberation - Meditation Training, and so much more" "It changed my life"Find out moreThe Magic Of DOING What You Are Doing!
March 2, 2009 by Kate Mathers · Leave a Comment
By Kate Mathers www.magicofallowing.com
More on the freedom and joy of being in the present moment – Spot Meditations: Doing What You Are Doing!
As part of the Mindfulness Meditation courses that I teach, I show participants how to incorporate ‘Spot Meditations’ as part of their daily routine. These involve taking some simple activity and making a meditation out of it. You can ‘spot’ the opportunity at any point during your day, no matter how busy. And literally anything can become a beautiful exampleof mindfulness – of living with awareness – in the present moment. This is the magic of DOING what you are doing!
The benefits? Tension diffuses on the spot. Your mind slows down. You bring all five senses to bear on what you are actually doing. And if your mind wanders off, just bring your focus and your senses – sight, touch, sound, smell, taste – back to whatever you are actually doing, and really BE THERE for WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU ARE DOING at that time! Most of the time we are either living in the past and thinking or worrying about something that we have or haven’t done, or we are away in the future thinking or worrying about some event that may or may not happen….. so try nourishing yourself daily (hourly if you like) with gifts of the present moment. Notice how liberating it feels. The scary thing is discovering how little of our time we actually spend in the present moment!
The transformative effect of this simple bringing of attention to the present moment is profound. In addition
to the diffusion of tension in our body and mind, we feel relief and joy and a sense of freedom when we bring our entire focus, our entire attention - including all our senses - to the present moment. This can be especially powerful when it concerns some routine activity that we usually carry out automatically, like cleaning our teeth, washing up, feeding the dog, answering the telephone, driving in traffic, eating a meal, preparing a meal, going for a walk, ironing, standing in a queue at the bank, gardening, walking up stairs……
You can use your senses to tune in at any given point during your day as to how you are sitting in your chair at your desk, how you are holding your pen, how you are using your computer keyboard, how you get up from your chair… and so on. Are you hunched over the desk? Are your fingers tense from gripping your pen too tightly? Are your wrists aching from bad positioning at your computer keyboard? Could you do what you are doing more effectively, expending less energy, if you were fully present?
As you can see, the range of possibilities is limitless!
Spot Meditations: Doing What You Are Doing!
Very broadly speaking, the following suggestions for spot meditations are biased towards those that might be more relevant for women in daily life. The next article will have suggestions oriented towards men. (Though, of course, all overlap.)
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For example, you can ’spot’ meditate by consciously doing a simple activity such as hanging out the washing. Mindfully hanging out the washing means using your body with respect – balancing your stretching and bending movements equally left and right, enjoying the fresh clean smell of washed clothes, being grateful that you have two arms that can reach upwards, that you have a machine to do the washing; sensing the energy of the trees and plants around you, the sky above you, feeling the earth beneath your feet and the sun’s warmth on your back; it’s the difference between resenting the whole task as a chore and exploring it in mindfulness, moment by moment, and returning to the house enriched and balanced by the experience. If you use a dryer instead, incorporate the same sort of ideas in mindfully moving through the drying/folding process in a similar manner. See how many things you can identify to keep you in the present moment throughout the task. You can carry the same sort of ideas through to doing the ironing. With all of these, you can discover for yourself the magic of Doing What You are Doing!
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You can do a ‘spot’ meditation when you prepare fruit. BE THERE for the task. Really Do What you are Doing! This can involve noticing the way in which you hold, say, a mango, in between your hands, and feeling the shape, and then the texture and smoothness of the skin; being aware of the sensation of the knife as it pares into the flesh; the soft, yielding texture of the flesh as you cut into it, smelling the fruity aroma floating upwards; seeing and experiencing the orange energy of the colour; feeling the taste and texture once in your mouth;being grateful to all the people who have worked to bring that mango to your plate; being grateful that you have a mango to eat; it’s all about being fully in the moment as you prepare the fruit. The preparation and eating are themselves the meditation, when you are doing what you are doing!
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You can even make a spot meditation out of washing up. Make a point of actually being there as you wash the pots and pans, noticing the colours of the dishes or the gleam of the pan; aware of the texture of the food sticking to it, and the heat of the water; taking in the sound of the tap running, the smell of the dishwashing liquid, the texture of the bubbles;being grateful that you have food to cook; appreciating the fact that you have two working arms and two strong legs that enable you to carry out the task of washing up; it’s all about being fully in the present rather than somewhere in the future or the past. You’ll be amazed at how rewarding it is, at the reduction in tension, and the feeling of relaxation and peace. This is the magic of doing what you are doing – even when it is the washing up.
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Meditations like this can literally be just a few seconds long. For example, it’s raining while you’re wai
ting in car line
to pick up your child after school. Try focusing on the raindrops running down the windscreen. You could choose to focus on one raindrop only, and then on the next, and the next…….; or you could make the entire windscreen of raindrops your focus; whenever your mind wanders off, just come back to the focus of watching the raindrops running down the windscreen….. what they look like……. what they might feel like ……… be aware of any sound they make ………… imagine how the rain might smell ……..by the time your child is ready to get into the car, you will feel soothed and rejuvenated and refreshed. As opposed to irritated that you have had to wait,and resentful about the things you could have been doing instead. The Magic of Doing What you are Doing!The beauty of these ‘spot meditations’ is that we cannot help but Do What We Are Doing! This simple act brings us straight back into the present moment, where true peace, freedom and happiness lie. After all, the past is gone, and the future hasn’t arrived. All we actually have, at any given time, is the present.
email: kate@magicofallowing.com
“Living Liberation - Meditation Training, and so much more" "It changed my life"Find out moreThe Magic Of The Present Moment
March 1, 2009 by Kate Mathers · Leave a Comment
March 8, 2009 By Kate Mathers www.magicofallowing.com
Many of us run through much of our day without much focus on the present moment. In fact, we’re far more likely to be in the past or the future – often either beating ourselves up for what we haven’t done or achieved, or else worrying and stressing about what might be about to occur – and we miss the beauty and powerof the present moment entirely. Yet the restorative power of being in the present moment – even if only a few times a day – is truly magical.
Much is written about the power of tuning in to our breath, as it is a very convenient process to support awareness in our day-to-day life. As Jon Kabat-Zinn says in his book Full Catastrophe Living “As long as we are alive, it is always with us. We can’t leave home without it. It is always here to be attended to, no matter what we are doing or feeling or experiencing, no matter where we are. Tuning in to it brings us right into the here and now. It immediately anchors awareness in the body – in a fundamental, rhythmic, flowing life process.” The effect of just two or three conscious outbreaths can be remarkable. It’s often all we need to defuse tension, lower the metabolic rate a few notches and shift into a healthier state.
However, rather than trying to add more to a subject that is already well covered, I thought it would be interesting to talk about other ways of how we can tune in to being in the present moment, at any point during the course of our day – no matter what it is that we are doing. And reap the benefits of that restorative, re-grouping, powerful, centering energy that the present moment, and only the present moment, can provide. For example, try really being with yourself, mindfully, moment by moment, while having a shower first thing in the morning. This is how it might go……
Taking a Shower Mindfully
TRY: being aware of the way you step into the shower, what the floor feels like beneath your feet, how your arms and hands reach out to turn on the taps, the sound of the water flowing, the feel of the water as it flows over your body – each part of it, from the head right down the toes… be with the feelings of the water on your body, focusing on each body part in turn. Be aware of the smell of the water – can you smell chlorine, perhaps?… feel the sensations of the water on your eyes, your lips, on your face –the pressure, the pace…..be aware of allowing your feet to be fully grounded on the floor, letting the floor take your full weight………being fully ‘in your ribs’ will help you become completely grounded, so just put your attention in your ribs for a while, and feel how the body relaxes down, from head to chest, and from chest to feet, into the floor……….. be aware of the sensations of the soap in your hands and on your body, how it mixes with the water, what it feels when the soap is being rinsed off…..be aware of the movements you are making with your arms and hands, and your body in general, as you are washing yourself………be with your arms and hands as they reach out for the shampoo bottle, as you place the shampoo on your hair, as you massage it into your head….note the different movements, and what they feel like………and continue to pay attention in this way, right until you have finished the shower, and have mindfully turned off the taps and mindfully stepped out onto the bath mat…………and
TRY: seeing how long you can remain fully awake and conscious to each moment as you start to dry yourself and get dressed………
As the day moves along, there are limitless moments to tune in to, that can bring us back into the restorative space of mindfulness, return us to the magic of the being space – as opposed to the ‘doing’ – of the present moment. Life lived that way is all about the magic of allowing that to occur; minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, year by year ………
To finish, what better than a quotation from Jon Kabat-Zinn, that master of mindfulness and the present moment:
“The momentum of unbridled doing can carry us for decades, even to the grave,
without our quite knowing that we are living out our lives and that we have only moments to live.”
From The Full Catastrophe, by Jon Kabat-Zinn
email: kate@magicofallowing.com
“Living Liberation - Meditation Training, and so much more" "It changed my life"Find out more
Yoga A Treatment For Depression?
February 27, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · Leave a Comment
Feeling depressed or down? Don’t automatically reach for an anti-depressant. Do some yoga. These days, the typical treatment for depression comes in the form of a pill, which can often lead to serious side effects and dependency. Prior to modern drug companies, however, sages from the East discovered a method of calming the mind and soothing the spirit. These physical exercises, called "asanas," are what modern Westerners typically think of when they hear the term "yoga."
…Western studies have shown that regular exercise can provide relief from depression. In addition, yoga postures have been specifically shown to increase levels of the neurotransmitter GABA, which may alleviate depression. Furthermore, as many enthusiastic practitioners of yoga will tell you, yoga seems to go beyond the benefits of general exercise and helps increase overall happiness.
….On a physical level, yoga postures are designed to massage the internal organs, increasing and decreasing blood flow to targeted areas. This circulates the blood and lymph, thus removing stale bodily fluids from vital organs and helping flush toxins. The physical movement can also stimulate certain hormones and neurotransmitters, leading to positive feelings and emotions.
Additionally, according to the Eastern medical model, yoga exercises are also designed to specifically move the "prana" or life force energy in the body (traditional Oriental medicine calls this "chi"). Keeping this life force fresh and alive is vital to well-being, according to Eastern philosophy.
Above are short exerts from Yoga: An Alternative Treatment for Depression
You can also combat depression by altering your diet
YogaFit Launches National Program To Help At-Risk Health Groups
January 29, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · 1 Comment
Press Release:
January 26, 2009 Torrance Ca — YogaFit, arguably the largest training institute of mind/body fitness education in the U.S., this month launched a national community outreach program designed to help at-risk groups and individuals take back control of their health with, what else, yoga.
The concept is to partner with those non-profit groups focusing on various health issues in the U.S. Issues such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, eating disorders among others will be addressed. In addition to free yoga classes, YogaFit will provide educational tools to help these at-risk groups better manage their lifestyle.
"We want to do our part to ensure that every person, regardless of weight, strength, age and fitness level, has a cost-effective and reliable option to improve their health."
~ Beth Shaw, Founder and President of YogaFit
Yoga for Health
Yoga is a mind-body workout that can improve the health, athletic performance and mental acuity of people of all ages and any fitness levels.
"We see a huge need to help fight this terrible struggle that many Americans go through with obesity and other health-related problems," said Beth Shaw, founder and president of YogaFit. "We want to do our part to ensure that every person, regardless of weight, strength, age and fitness level, has a cost-effective and reliable option to improve their health."
The Children’s Institute and YMCA Host First Sessions
YogaFit will host the first free training for The Children’s Institute, Inc. in Torrance, CA at the YMCA. The Children’s Institute works with at-risk children and their families in Los Angeles County.
YogaFit overcomes the mystery of yoga by delivering a style which is accessible, understandable, and doable by individuals at any level of fitness.
The YogaFit style tightens and tones the entire body, enhances balance, improves flexibility and builds core strength by combining traditional fitness training, focused breathing and strength building through yoga poses. The result is a mind-body workout that improves health, athletic performance and mental acuity in people of all ages and fitness levels.
The YogaFit community outreach program will provide free classes to groups in need and offer additional tools such as YogaFit DVDs, books and seminars to educate about the importance of yoga in improving community health.
"Many people turn to YogaFit because we offer all-inclusive programs designed for every type of person," said Shaw. "At a time when the economy is poor, people are losing jobs, obesity is on the rise, and healthcare costs are very high, there is no better way to reduce stress and get fit than yoga."
Organizations Are Encouraged to Participate
Organizations that are interested in helping at-risk groups of people, should contact YogaFit for details. Call Jennie Santos 310-320-0110 ext.232, or email media@yogafit.com
Yoga For Hormonal Balance
December 29, 2008 by Ray Baskerville · 5 Comments
WHILE A great number of women in our society develop various hormonal imbalances, many are confused about what it takes to achieve hormonal health. Our hormones are the messengers of our body, they tell our physiological systems what to do and when, they direct our emotions, they sustain us mentally, they tell us when to rest and they can even sustain our transcendental nature. Many people are under the impression that the aging process naturally creates “problems” in the endocrine system. However, endocrinologist Michael Borkin says that women’s hormonal problems are often formed, but remain unseen, during the adolescent years. So, by the time we reach pre-menopause and menopause, it is actually the cumulative physiological and psychological effects of stress over time, that disrupts hormonal balance. So what do we do with this information?
The Problem – Stress The Answer – Meditation
December 10, 2008 by Ray Baskerville · Leave a Comment
Every week we seem to hear about another illness in which stress is a significant factor. The understanding of the impact of stress is becoming more widespread, as the pressures and demands of modern living takes its toll.
Stress can originate anywhere and the causes are pretty much limitless. Rushing from place to place, bills in the post, poor relationships, feelings and beliefs of lack, need for approval, criticism, pressure, lack of appreciation or understanding the list goes on and on.
What is negatively stressful for one person may be perfectly acceptable to another, indeed some people seem to thrive on stress and others seem to go to pieces over the slightest little thing. Stress, it seems, is not triggered by an actual event, but how we, as an individual react to that event. The situation that makes us feel stressed one day could have no impact the next. More usual though, is that there is a gradual build up of stress, which may or may not, eventually exceed personal tolerance levels.
Not all stress is bad, we need a certain amount of it to motivate us, to get the best out of us. Without stress we can become apathetic, lethargic, lazy. Stress is activating. It’s a case of balance and appropriateness.
There are two main types of stress, Eustress is the positive and Distress of course, the negative. There is also Post Traumatic Stress, which, as its name suggests, can occur as a consequence of a past traumatic experience, which really needs professional help.
You might feel yourself to be under constant pressure and unable to cope with the demands of today’s hectic lifestyle. It seems strange that when we have so many time-saving, labour saving devices, washing machines, microwaves, tumble dryers, dishwashers, remote controlled everything, to name but a few, many of us still find it difficult to enjoy quality time doing what we really want to do. How much time have we actually gained from these inventions? Have they together added to the complexity of our lives? When we do have the spare time, how many of us feel guilty when we are inactive or doing something for ourselves?
In addition many people today are suffering from ‘information overload’ too much information for the mind to cope with. We wake up with busy minds and we go to bed with busy minds. We are bombarded everywhere we go with images an dinformation.
Primitive man was governed by the need to hunt for food and the animal body is designed to act or react as in the ‘fight or flight’ response. When faced with danger the blood flows away from the stomach and to the limbs, (hence that sinking feeling) to enable man to run or fight; the digestion shuts down, which is why it is never a good idea to eat when under stress, otherwise you could suffer from indigestion. The muscles tense ready for action, the glands secrete adrenalin, a powerful chemical eventually, when the threat of an attack is over the body returns to a state of near normal, but it is still on the alert – remaining vigilant.
Technology has advanced at a far greater speed than human beings have. And the stressors of yesteryear are very different from the ones of today. We rarely need to fight or flee these days, but our body is still prepared every time the stress triggers are pushed.
In consequence all that negative energy accumulates in the muscles. It may cause ulcers, migraine, tension headache, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety or panic attacks, perhaps just feelings of general unease. There could be dizziness, irritability, a feeling of being constantly ‘on edge’.
Too much stress results in failure of the immune system to produce those important T cells that help to fight off infection. The immune system then attacks itself, resulting in arthritis, ME, MS, allergies, asthma, to name but a few.
If we look at the physical and psychological benefits of meditation we can see that this ancient spiritual practice is the perfect antidote to the stresses we face in the modern world. Even beginning with as little as ten minutes a day will have benefit.
“Living Liberation - Meditation Training, and so much more" "It changed my life"Find out more
