Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Om In The Army: The US Military Gets Yoga
Meditation may help with PTSD, but some yogis are dismayed that their peace-loving practice is now turned to combat training
Is yoga just for suburban baby-boomers and urban stress junkies seeking a hipper way to stay youthful and fit? Not if a growing number of yoga fanatics inside the US military get their way.
That's right, everyone from grunts in basic training to elite warrior units like the US Navy Seals have caught the yoga bug, and now some top commanders are planning to incorporate the ancient mind-body practice into the military's official training. The US Training and Doctrine Command (Tradoc), which oversees instruction of soldiers in everything from how to salute to the right way to hold a rifle, is proposing the largest overhaul of military fitness training in more than 30 years – and for the first time, yoga, as well as Pilates and martial arts, are being highlighted.
Tradoc commanders, joined by military health experts, say that traditional exercise models may make soldiers "fit" in the sense of more muscular, but often leave them too bulked up and vulnerable to injuries that yoga, which emphasises flexibility, helps prevent. And yoga's focus on meditation and maintaining calm, they say, fits perfectly with the military's broad new emphasis on instilling "mental toughness", as well as physical strength, to ensure that soldiers can succeed on the modern technology-intensive battlefield pursuing elusive and nerve-wracking adversaries. (MORE)
Source: The Guardian
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Yoga and Meditation May Complement Medical Fertility Treatments
In the United States, about 7.3 million women suffer from infertility. Both the struggle to get pregnant and the treatment for infertility itself can be very stressful, and stress has been shown to reduce the probability of conception. As natural healing remedies are gaining acceptance among Western medicine practitioners, stress-relieving activities such as yoga and meditation are being recommended more often as a complement to medical fertility treatments. (MORE)
Source: eMaxHealth.com
Monday, August 29, 2011
Your Brain on Meditation
Studies have shown that meditating regularly can help relieve chronic pain, but the neural mechanisms underlying the relief were unclear. Now, researchers from MIT, Harvard, and Massachusetts General Hospital have found a possible explanation.
Researchers study how meditating helps improve focus and minimize pain
In a recent study published in the journal Brain Research Bulletin, the researchers found that people trained to meditate over an eight-week period were better able to control a specific type of brain waves, called alpha rhythms.
"These activity patterns are thought to minimize distractions, to diminish the likelihood stimuli will grab your attention," says Christopher Moore, PhD '98, an investigator at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT and senior author of the paper. "Our data indicate that meditation training makes you better at focusing, in part by allowing you to better regulate how things that arise will impact you." (MORE)
Researchers study how meditating helps improve focus and minimize pain
In a recent study published in the journal Brain Research Bulletin, the researchers found that people trained to meditate over an eight-week period were better able to control a specific type of brain waves, called alpha rhythms.
"These activity patterns are thought to minimize distractions, to diminish the likelihood stimuli will grab your attention," says Christopher Moore, PhD '98, an investigator at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT and senior author of the paper. "Our data indicate that meditation training makes you better at focusing, in part by allowing you to better regulate how things that arise will impact you." (MORE)
Source: MIT Technology Review
Sunday, August 28, 2011
The Once and Future Yoga
September is almost upon us, and that means it's once again Yoga Month. Started in 2008 and designated a national observance by the Department of Health and Human Services, its organizers define it as "an awareness campaign to educate about the health benefits of yoga and to inspire a healthy lifestyle." If you've been meaning to take a yoga class, this is your no-excuses opportunity, since one Yoga Month feature is the one week free yoga for new students at over 1200 studios.
One of the glories of the yoga tradition is that there's something in it for everyone, whether you're secular or spiritual, and whether you want flexible joints, a trim butt, a calm mind, a loving heart or a faster lane to enlightenment. At its best, yoga can deliver on those rewards and others, depending on the student's dedication and the knowledge and skill of his or her teachers.
That versatility means you will find a huge variation in style, approach, specialty and emphasis. But, despite the diversity, you will probably find that at least 90 percent of every class is devoted to the stretches, bends and postures (asanas) that are now virtually synonymous with the word yoga. That fact has brought American yoga to an interesting moment in its brief and hugely successful history. (MORE)
One of the glories of the yoga tradition is that there's something in it for everyone, whether you're secular or spiritual, and whether you want flexible joints, a trim butt, a calm mind, a loving heart or a faster lane to enlightenment. At its best, yoga can deliver on those rewards and others, depending on the student's dedication and the knowledge and skill of his or her teachers.
That versatility means you will find a huge variation in style, approach, specialty and emphasis. But, despite the diversity, you will probably find that at least 90 percent of every class is devoted to the stretches, bends and postures (asanas) that are now virtually synonymous with the word yoga. That fact has brought American yoga to an interesting moment in its brief and hugely successful history. (MORE)
Source: Huffington Post
Friday, August 26, 2011
Health Blog: Experience the Rewards of Meditation
It's been one year since I asked a simple (or maybe not so simple) question to mountaineer and snowboarder Stephen Koch: How do you deal with fear?
I reckoned back then that if this athlete had snowboarded down the highest peaks of the world, he would know a thing or two about how to face fear, which was something that gave me difficulty. He recommended that I try meditating (see earlier post).
Well, that has taken a lot of work, time and effort, especially at the beginning. But the payoff has been so immeasurable, that I cannot imagine life without it.
These days, even if I am going riding or climbing early in the day, I will make sure to get up 20 minutes beforehand just so I can meditate.
Meditating gives you peace, warmth, an all-encompassing feeling that everything is fine, that you are enveloped in goodness and nothing can go wrong.
When you close your eyes and see, or imagine, "light," it takes hold of you, and it runs throughout your body, limb by limb, cleansing you of any leftover aches or unnecessary thoughts of the previous day. It's cleansing, energizing, healing and leaves you ready to do metta meditation, if you choose. (MORE)
I reckoned back then that if this athlete had snowboarded down the highest peaks of the world, he would know a thing or two about how to face fear, which was something that gave me difficulty. He recommended that I try meditating (see earlier post).
Well, that has taken a lot of work, time and effort, especially at the beginning. But the payoff has been so immeasurable, that I cannot imagine life without it.
These days, even if I am going riding or climbing early in the day, I will make sure to get up 20 minutes beforehand just so I can meditate.
Meditating gives you peace, warmth, an all-encompassing feeling that everything is fine, that you are enveloped in goodness and nothing can go wrong.
When you close your eyes and see, or imagine, "light," it takes hold of you, and it runs throughout your body, limb by limb, cleansing you of any leftover aches or unnecessary thoughts of the previous day. It's cleansing, energizing, healing and leaves you ready to do metta meditation, if you choose. (MORE)
Source: Jacksonville.com
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Do You Need a Teacher to Learn How to Meditate?
There's no shortage of opportunities for learning practices called "meditation." You can pick one up during yoga class, on YouTube, here on The Huffington Post or at the grocery store -- seriously, last week a guided meditation was going on ("All Shoppers Invited!") in the cafe of my local market.
In Western culture, meditation has reached a new height of respectability, partly because scientific research has shown that an effective meditation technique can yield transformative, lifesaving benefits.
Many of my meditation students say they've tried meditating before on their own. When I ask what kind of meditation, they sometimes say, "Oh, just something I made up from things I've read." The accessibility of so many practices suggests that learning meditation doesn't require an expert teacher. (MORE)
In Western culture, meditation has reached a new height of respectability, partly because scientific research has shown that an effective meditation technique can yield transformative, lifesaving benefits.
Many of my meditation students say they've tried meditating before on their own. When I ask what kind of meditation, they sometimes say, "Oh, just something I made up from things I've read." The accessibility of so many practices suggests that learning meditation doesn't require an expert teacher. (MORE)
Source: Huffington Post
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Meditation for Inner Peace
Studies have shown that people who meditate regularly postpone ageing, relieve nervous tension, stress, improve immune strength, normalise blood pressure and help produce and balance growth hormones. Here’s a great way to calm your nerves.
Step 1: Sit cross-legged. Keep your spine upright and shoulders relaxed. Gently place your hands on top of your knees with your palms facing up and fingers curled.
Step 2: Bring your attention to your body. Close your eyes gently as if going to sleep and then take a few seconds to consciously relax your entire body starting from the forehead. Relax your jaws, lips, neck, shoulders, arms, fingers, chest, abdomen, legs, back, neck and head. Once you relax your whole body, slowly bring your awareness to your breathing. As you inhale, become aware that you are breathing in. As you exhale, become aware that you are breathing out. Don’t rush! Just let your mind flow with your breath.
Step 3: To end the meditation pay gratitude to God, parents, family and friends and then slowly become aware of your body and the surrounding. Open your eyes gently. Take a few seconds before you get to your daily routine.
Please note: Empty your bladder before performing meditation and do not practise it on a full stomach.
Step 1: Sit cross-legged. Keep your spine upright and shoulders relaxed. Gently place your hands on top of your knees with your palms facing up and fingers curled.
Step 2: Bring your attention to your body. Close your eyes gently as if going to sleep and then take a few seconds to consciously relax your entire body starting from the forehead. Relax your jaws, lips, neck, shoulders, arms, fingers, chest, abdomen, legs, back, neck and head. Once you relax your whole body, slowly bring your awareness to your breathing. As you inhale, become aware that you are breathing in. As you exhale, become aware that you are breathing out. Don’t rush! Just let your mind flow with your breath.
Step 3: To end the meditation pay gratitude to God, parents, family and friends and then slowly become aware of your body and the surrounding. Open your eyes gently. Take a few seconds before you get to your daily routine.
Please note: Empty your bladder before performing meditation and do not practise it on a full stomach.
Source: Decan Chronicle
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Stress for Success: Meditation Helps Balance the PTSD Brain
After experiencing horrific events where physical harm either occurred or was threatened such as violent assaults, natural disasters, health emergencies or military combat, some people develop post-traumatic stress disorder.
Managing such trauma is significantly easier for those who experienced only mild early childhood threats that were followed by physical activity to burn off stress hormones and by periods of calm and security, and received supportive parenting (more on this at stressforsuccess.blogspot.com.)
For some soldiers, this means their vulnerability to war trauma actually began in childhood. The more childhood upheaval, the more vulnerability to:
- Overreacting to challenges because their stress hormones are too easily triggered. (MORE)
Managing such trauma is significantly easier for those who experienced only mild early childhood threats that were followed by physical activity to burn off stress hormones and by periods of calm and security, and received supportive parenting (more on this at stressforsuccess.blogspot.com.)
For some soldiers, this means their vulnerability to war trauma actually began in childhood. The more childhood upheaval, the more vulnerability to:
- Overreacting to challenges because their stress hormones are too easily triggered. (MORE)
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Lifting The Lid on Meditation
No longer solely associated with crossed legs and humming noises, more and more people are reaping the benefits of meditation.
Find a moment of calm in a hectic world
Enjoying a moment of complete calm in the hectic world of today can be increasingly hard to come by. But learning how to clear your head from the babble of everyday thoughts for just 15 minutes a day could improve your concentration, reduce your stress levels and boost your wellbeing.
Meditation originated 5,000 years ago in India but became popular in the West during the swinging sixties by Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Gwyneth Paltrow and Gisele Bundchen are both celebrity fans and Paul McCartney has even spoken of the stabilising influence it had on The Beatles during the height of their fame.
Jonathan Hinde, of the Cambridge transcendental meditation centre, has been practising meditation for over 30 years and sees first hand the impact it can have on a person’s life:
“Doctors say 70 to 80 per cent of people that they see suffer from stress related conditions. We are talking about problems like high blood pressure, insomnia, ulcers, and migraines. These conditions are our body’s response to overload,” explains Jonathan. (MORE)
Find a moment of calm in a hectic world
Enjoying a moment of complete calm in the hectic world of today can be increasingly hard to come by. But learning how to clear your head from the babble of everyday thoughts for just 15 minutes a day could improve your concentration, reduce your stress levels and boost your wellbeing.
Meditation originated 5,000 years ago in India but became popular in the West during the swinging sixties by Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Gwyneth Paltrow and Gisele Bundchen are both celebrity fans and Paul McCartney has even spoken of the stabilising influence it had on The Beatles during the height of their fame.
Jonathan Hinde, of the Cambridge transcendental meditation centre, has been practising meditation for over 30 years and sees first hand the impact it can have on a person’s life:
“Doctors say 70 to 80 per cent of people that they see suffer from stress related conditions. We are talking about problems like high blood pressure, insomnia, ulcers, and migraines. These conditions are our body’s response to overload,” explains Jonathan. (MORE)
Source: Cambridge News
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