Monday, June 17, 2013
10 Reasons Why Every Athlete in the World Should Meditate
With all the scientific evidence coming out in the past several years, meditation is becoming something that can't be overlooked. As anyone who's ever played a sport knows, the biggest opponent is always inside. Meditation gives you ways to come to terms with this opponent.
It doesn't matter what sport you play, any athlete can benefit from the positive benefits of meditation. Meditation research on athletic performance is still very much in its infancy. However, meditation has been shown to help in other areas that could relate to athletic performance.
Every professional coach in the world should be looking at the thousands of studies that have shown the effectiveness of meditation. Phil Jackson, one of the all-time winning coaches in the NBA, has been using meditation for years with his players -- he won 11 NBA championships.
Here are a few reasons why every athlete should consider the practice. (MORE)
Source: Huffington Post
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
7 Ways Meditation Can Transform Your Life
We were teaching a workshop in southwest England when Ed asked the group: "If you like to suffer, then raise your hand." No one raised a hand. So why do we create suffering for both ourselves and others?
Seems like we love to suffer, as all the ways out of suffering are staring us in the face. If not, then why do more people drink alcohol than meditate, or why do more people eat fast food than get exercise? Smoking cigarettes is a major cause of death in the U.S., as is sugar consumption leading to obesity, so why do we love everything that is bad for us and keep away from things that do us good?
Presumably, it's because we really don't like ourselves too much and live in such a way that our own needs take second place. Or we believe we're invulnerable and will go on forever: "Things like that don't happen to me!" But once a cycle of self-denigration gets started, it takes a huge amount of determination and motive to make real changes. The mind is a perfect servant, as it will do whatever it's told, but it's a terrible master, as it fails to help us help ourselves.
This can be even harder when our mind is like a deranged monkey, leaping from one thought or drama to the next, never allowing us time to be quiet, peaceful and still. Meditation can make a huge difference to this, which may sound farfetched, but it's a direct way to cut through the chaotic monkey mind that's constantly making excuses and supporting our resistance. Yet so many people pay it so little attention. Drinking alcohol can kill and meditation can save, yet there are far more people who drink. (MORE)
Source Huffington Post
Seems like we love to suffer, as all the ways out of suffering are staring us in the face. If not, then why do more people drink alcohol than meditate, or why do more people eat fast food than get exercise? Smoking cigarettes is a major cause of death in the U.S., as is sugar consumption leading to obesity, so why do we love everything that is bad for us and keep away from things that do us good?
Presumably, it's because we really don't like ourselves too much and live in such a way that our own needs take second place. Or we believe we're invulnerable and will go on forever: "Things like that don't happen to me!" But once a cycle of self-denigration gets started, it takes a huge amount of determination and motive to make real changes. The mind is a perfect servant, as it will do whatever it's told, but it's a terrible master, as it fails to help us help ourselves.
This can be even harder when our mind is like a deranged monkey, leaping from one thought or drama to the next, never allowing us time to be quiet, peaceful and still. Meditation can make a huge difference to this, which may sound farfetched, but it's a direct way to cut through the chaotic monkey mind that's constantly making excuses and supporting our resistance. Yet so many people pay it so little attention. Drinking alcohol can kill and meditation can save, yet there are far more people who drink. (MORE)
Source Huffington Post
Sunday, March 3, 2013
5 Simple Steps For Making Meditation A Habit
Meditation is a beautiful method to relax the mind and body, but difficult to practise regularly. Develop the habit with this 5-step guide.
When we are unaware of our thoughts and urges, which arise in the back of our mind mostly unnoticed, they have a power over us. We are unable to change if these unbidden thoughts control us. "But when we learn to observe them, we can then release their power over us. Meditation is practice for observing those thoughts, for being more mindful of them throughout the day," says San Francisco-based Leo Babauta, a published author and creator of popular wellness blog Zen Habits. He suggests five simple steps for making it a daily ritual:
1. Commit to just two minutes a day: Start simply if you want the habit to stick. You can do it for five minutes if you feel good about it, but all you're committing to is two minutes each day.
2. Pick a time and trigger: Not an exact time of day, but a general time, like morning when you wake up, or during your lunch hour. "The trigger should be something you already do regularly, like drink your first cup of coffee, brush your teeth, have lunch, or arrive home from work," says Babauta. (MORE)
Source: Times of India
When we are unaware of our thoughts and urges, which arise in the back of our mind mostly unnoticed, they have a power over us. We are unable to change if these unbidden thoughts control us. "But when we learn to observe them, we can then release their power over us. Meditation is practice for observing those thoughts, for being more mindful of them throughout the day," says San Francisco-based Leo Babauta, a published author and creator of popular wellness blog Zen Habits. He suggests five simple steps for making it a daily ritual:
1. Commit to just two minutes a day: Start simply if you want the habit to stick. You can do it for five minutes if you feel good about it, but all you're committing to is two minutes each day.
2. Pick a time and trigger: Not an exact time of day, but a general time, like morning when you wake up, or during your lunch hour. "The trigger should be something you already do regularly, like drink your first cup of coffee, brush your teeth, have lunch, or arrive home from work," says Babauta. (MORE)
Source: Times of India
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Transcendental Meditation Helps Military Veterans Combat Stress
Deployed to Afghanistan in 2009, 34-year-old Luke Jensen says his nearly two-month experience as a military police officer took its toll on his mental health. Once back home in Ohio, things continued to spiral down.
"I had put a gun to my head in front of my wife and children. That's how intense it was," Jensen says. "Everything was setting me off. Punching holes through my walls. Punching holes through doors. My children walking on eggshells around me."
Counseling, various therapies and medications didn't work. But in 2011, Jensen says he got his life back with transcendental meditation.
"I noticed very soon, I started sleeping better, and just that alone was huge," Jensen says.
Jensen shared his story at a recent conference exploring meditation as a means of overcoming posttraumatic stress disorder and preventing suicides in the military.
"You have one veteran committing suicide every hour in the United States," says Bob Roth, executive director of the David Lynch Foundation. "Thirty times more vets commit suicide then die in combat."
The David Lynch Foundation organized the conference. The nonprofit launched Operation Warrior Wellness three years ago to provide veterans, military personnel and their families free training in transcendental meditation. (MORE)
Source: manhattan.nyi.com
"I had put a gun to my head in front of my wife and children. That's how intense it was," Jensen says. "Everything was setting me off. Punching holes through my walls. Punching holes through doors. My children walking on eggshells around me."
Counseling, various therapies and medications didn't work. But in 2011, Jensen says he got his life back with transcendental meditation.
"I noticed very soon, I started sleeping better, and just that alone was huge," Jensen says.
Jensen shared his story at a recent conference exploring meditation as a means of overcoming posttraumatic stress disorder and preventing suicides in the military.
"You have one veteran committing suicide every hour in the United States," says Bob Roth, executive director of the David Lynch Foundation. "Thirty times more vets commit suicide then die in combat."
The David Lynch Foundation organized the conference. The nonprofit launched Operation Warrior Wellness three years ago to provide veterans, military personnel and their families free training in transcendental meditation. (MORE)
Source: manhattan.nyi.com
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Mindfulness-Based Meditation May Help Reduce Inflammation
Mindfulness meditation techniques designed to reduce emotional reactivity also reduce poststress inflammatory responses and might be useful in chronic inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, and asthma, according to a study by Melissa A. Rosenkranz, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
In an article published in the January issue of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, the authors present a comparison between an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction program (MBSR) and an 8-week active control health enhancement program (HEP) that included walking, balance, agility, core strength, nutritional education, and music therapy in 49 community volunteers randomly assigned to 1 of the 2 groups.
The intervention and active-control groups had similar levels of stress-evoked cortisol response and similar reductions in psychological distress, but the group trained in mindfulness-based stress reduction had significantly smaller poststress inflammatory responses. (MORE)
Source: Medscape Today
In an article published in the January issue of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, the authors present a comparison between an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction program (MBSR) and an 8-week active control health enhancement program (HEP) that included walking, balance, agility, core strength, nutritional education, and music therapy in 49 community volunteers randomly assigned to 1 of the 2 groups.
The intervention and active-control groups had similar levels of stress-evoked cortisol response and similar reductions in psychological distress, but the group trained in mindfulness-based stress reduction had significantly smaller poststress inflammatory responses. (MORE)
Source: Medscape Today
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