Mindfulness & Meditation
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Posted: April 01, 2016
Read more »Okay, not only did this article by Anita Ashland get 4.5 BR stars for wit, irony and arch social commentary, it served as a great reminder that it's never a great idea to take yourself or what you do too seriously.
This applies to all Mind-Body Missionaries, my own self included.
This piece appeared in the Herald Independent of Cottage Grove, Wisconsin, and I think it deserves wider exposure, so here we are at hj, doing our part in letting more people enjoy it.
Let us know how you feel about one funny, non-meditating woman's reaction to all the mind-body advice going around the zeitgeist, on how to best practice yoga, meditation, guided imagery and relaxation.
A hearty OMMMM to you and enjoy!
Belleruth
p.s. If you liked this post, you might enjoy getting our weekly e-news with other articles just like it. If so, sign up here!
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Posted: February 11, 2016
Read more »Researchers from Nova Southeastern University examined the impact of a one-week, at home, mindfulness meditation training, as compared to an active control condition, on improving working memory, decreasing mind-wandering and reducing the impact of stress on working memory.
The results suggest that mindfulness meditation does not increase working memory or decrease mind wandering, but it does prevent stress related working memory impairments.
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Posted: July 16, 2015Categories: Posttraumatic Stress (PTSD), Depression, Anxiety, Panic, Phobias, Hot Research, Mindfulness & MeditationTags: vha
Read more »Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine reported on the long-term effects of a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
Of the study participants, 73% returned to the clinic for a single-session follow-up assessment of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and mindfulness after 2.5 years.
Repeated measures mixed regression analyses revealed significant long-term improvements in depression, PTSD, anxiety symptoms, and mindfulness scores. The magnitude of intervention effects at 128 weeks ranged from d = .5 to d = 1.1.
The investigators conclude that MBSR may be an effective long-term treatment for adults who have experienced childhood sexual abuse. Further investigation of MBSR with this population is warranted, given the durability of treatment effects described here.
Citation: Earley MD1, Chesney MA, Frye J, Greene PA, Berman B, Kimbrough E. Mindfulness intervention for child abuse survivors: a 2.5-year follow-up. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2014 Oct;70 (10):pages 933-41. doi: 10.1002/jclp.22102. Epub 2014 May 20.
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Posted: May 13, 2015
Read more »Meditation means different things to different people. For some, it involves spirituality and ritual. For others it is as simple as gazing at a beautiful sunset.
The Zen philosophy came from Zen Buddhism but the word Zen is often used to describe things that are paradoxical. No matter what type of meditation you choose, there is no denying that meditation is so Zen. It's so easy it's difficult and the very highest pinnacle to which you can aspire in terms of meditation is that of a beginner.
"In the mind of the Beginner, there are many possibilities. In the mind of the expert, there are few."-- Shunryu Suzuki, from Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind.
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Posted: April 02, 2015Tags: yoga
Read more »Researchers from the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, compared the effectiveness of two different interventions for distressed survivors of breast cancer – group mindfulness meditation training with yoga vs. supportive-expressive group therapy.
This multisite, randomized controlled trial assigned 271 distressed survivors of stage I to III breast cancer to either a Mindfulness Based Cancer Recovery group (MBCR), a Supportive-Expressive Therapy Group (SET), or a 1-day stress management control condition.
MBCR focused on training in mindfulness meditation and gentle yoga, whereas SET focused on emotional expression and group support. Both intervention groups included 18 hours of professional contact.
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Posted: November 20, 2014Read more »
Researchers from the University of Siena in Italy and Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital/Harvard Medical School studied the neuro-anatomical and psychological impact of an 8-week mindfulness based stress reduction program (MBSR) on 23 subjects who were new to meditation.
The investigators analyzed several morphometric indexes at both cortical and subcortical brain levels, as well as multiple psychological dimensions, before and after the 8-week training, comparing the meditators to age-gender matched subjects.
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Posted: April 14, 2014Read more »
Question:
Dear BR,I feel the opposite of the person who avoids rejection by avoiding people. I think I'm TOO outgoing and turn off people by being too in the middle of everything. How can I balance my social need with more subtle behavior? I’m in my forties.
Suzannah
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Posted: February 20, 2014Read more »
Researchers from the School of Psychology, University of Sussex in Falmer, UK, explored in this feasibility study whether a brief, online, mindfulness-based intervention could increase mindfulness and reduce perceived stress and anxiety/depression symptoms within a student population.
One hundred and four students were randomly assigned to either immediately start a two-week, self- guided online, mindfulness-based intervention or to a wait-list control.
Measures of mindfulness, perceived stress and anxiety/depression were taken, before and after the intervention period. -
Posted: February 20, 2014Read more »
Okay, so what could be worse than being a newscaster on Good Morning America and having a paralyzing panic attack, right there, before a national audience? This is the stuff of performance anxiety nightmares, right?
Dan Harris says it’s the best thing that could have happened to him. Check it out. (Good thing he had a knowledgeable doc who knew exactly what was going on…)
