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Archive for the ‘Meditation’ Category

Meditation reduces cancer survivors’ fear of disease coming back, study finds – The Guardian

Posted: June 3, 2017 at 12:42 pm


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Meditation can help cancer survivors fight fears the disease will recur, a study finds. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

Practicing meditation and other relaxation techniques can reduce cancer survivors fear that they will face a recurrence of the disease, a new study has shown.

The findings, presented on the first day of the worlds largest annual showcase for the latest cancer research, are part of a new push by specialists to improve the psychological wellbeing of patients.

Patients reduction in fear was large enough to improve survivors psychological and emotional wellbeing, said Dr Jane Beith, a medical oncologist at the University of Sydney in Australia.

The study was conducted primarily with young survivors of breast cancer, and used muscle relaxation, meditative relaxation, and visualization to try to reduce fear of cancer recurrence.

Fear of recurrence is significant, especially in young survivors of breast cancer. The studys authors said 70% of this group had a fear of recurrence so distressing that it negatively affects medical follow-up behavior, mood, relationships, work, goal-setting, and quality of life.

Fifty per cent of all cancer survivors characterized their fear of recurrence this strongly.

Researchers randomly split 222 cancer survivors into two groups. In one group, a trained therapist delivered five sessions of 60- to 90-minute relaxation sessions. The second group received no psychological interventions.

Researchers used a standard metric to measure fear of cancer recurrence (called an FCRI test), in which higher scores indicate more fear, and scores for patients in the relaxation group dropped significantly. The average FCRI score for the group that went on to receive relaxation treatment was 82.7 before it started, versus 85.7 for the group that received no treatment. After the sessions, scores of patients in the Conquer Fear program reduced by 18.1 points on average, versus 7.6 points for the group that did not receive therapy.

The gains also appeared to appreciate over time. Patients who had received therapy reported a drop of 27.2 points after six months, compared to 17.8 points on average for the group that did not receive therapy.

Meditation is just one of several psychological treatments being presented to cancer specialists at the American Society of Clinical Oncologys (ASCO) annual conference, the worlds largest such gathering. Increasingly, oncologists have looked to psychologists to treat depression, anxiety and fear borne out of a cancer diagnosis.

In a way, were rediscovering the wheel, said Gary Rodin, a psychiatrist, head of the department of supportive care at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, Canada, and the lead author of another study presented at ASCO. The medical advances in cancer care became much more developed, medicine became more technologized, and I think until recently there was less attention to the psychological and social aspects of cancer quality of life.

It really was a movement from patients and families to have this aspect of cancer care be taken as seriously as the other aspects, chemotherapy and surgery, he said.

At least three studies presented at ASCO highlight oncologists move toward psychology in treatment, ranging from face-to-face psychotherapy to relaxation techniques to online programs.

Modern psychologists first began work with cancer specialists by designing awareness campaigns about preventable cancers. For example, nearly one-quarter of worldwide cancer deaths are attributable to tobacco alone, according to the World Health Organization.

Psychologists then began surveying and treating the emotional well-being of cancer patients, part of a steady rise in psychology research centered on cancer prevention and treatment in the 1990s. The studies presented at ASCO represent both psychologists most recent work to improve the emotional lives of cancer patients and oncologists increasingly mainstream adoption of such techniques.

Another study presented at ASCO, authored by Rodin, found patients with advanced cancer could benefit from psychotherapy. The Canadian study of 305 cancer patients found up to six sessions of therapy delivered over the same period of months reduced depressive symptoms in 52% of patients, versus 33% who received usual cancer care.

The sessions were delivered by nurses, oncologists, psychologists or social workers, and were meant to prepare patients for end-of-life care. Rodin said he has trained workers in 20 countries on the model, with hopes to continue studying the therapeutic model internationally.

Although cultures differ, religions vary by country the closer one gets to being a patient with advanced disease, the more similar the problems, he said. If youve had a family member go through an advanced and progressive cancer, you know this.

A third study looked at the possibility of using the internet to deliver some psychic relief to cancer patients. The study of 129 cancer patients looked at whether an eight week, online psychology program could relieve some cancer patients most potent psychological symptoms: fatigue, anxiety and depression.

The majority of patients in the study were women with early stage breast cancer. Though anxiety and depression were not quelled by the online program, a scale used to measure fatigue, seen as a major quality of life marker for cancer patients, improved significantly.

Delivery of psychological support to patients at this early time in the course of their cancer care is hampered with lack of access, time, and resources on both the patients and the providers side, said the lead author of the study, Viviane Hess, a medical oncologist at the University Hospital in Basel, Switzerland. With this online intervention, we aim to close that gap.

Authors of the study on fear of recurrence also acknowledged that therapy was time intensive. Authors who used relaxation techniques and therapy hoped other formats, such as delivery via internet, in a group, or by phone, may be possible.

For Hess, the success of an online program pointed to a need to standardize and translate such programs for the next generation of patients at-risk of cancer: millennials.

Online psychological support will be much more important in the years to come, as the digital generation reaches the age when they are at higher risk of cancer, Hess said. This, she said, was an intervention that could deliver much-needed psychologist support in the comfort of the patients living rooms or other favorite wifi spots.

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Meditation reduces cancer survivors' fear of disease coming back, study finds - The Guardian

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June 3rd, 2017 at 12:42 pm

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How meditation powers the brain and boosts concentration – Hindustan Times

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Do you have trouble concentrating or recalling information when youre stressed or under deadline pressure? If so, youre not alone. It happens to everyone at one time or another, from students to professionals, elite sportspersons to military personnel.

Stress forces the brain into alertness overdrive to deal with unexpected situations in what it perceives to be a hostile environment, be it an exam hall, boardroom, stadium or conflict zone.

The situation may vary, but everyones physical and emotional response is the same. Fear takes over the amygdala, the area in the brain that controls emotion and motivation. Neurotransmitters carry the fear impulse from the amygdala to the sympathetic nervous system, which controls the bodys fight or flee response, which kicks into action by diverting the blood away from the brain to the muscles, and releasing hormones like adrenaline that push up blood pressure, heartbeat and breathing to physically prepare the body to confront the crisis.

As the body takes charge to fight or flee in order to survive, memory and attention falter.

Since we cant wish away stressful situations or allow our minds to wander just when we need them functioning at their best, we have to learn how to control this. Two new studies involving India, one using meditation and the other teaching adults to read, show that the brain is never too old to adapt to new tricks, and situations.

Thought control

Brain training can improve concentration in four short weeks, found a US study that recommends the ancient Indian technique of meditation for peak brain performance.

It found that meditation works better than online games and apps that promise to train your brain, especially in high-stress situations when memory falters and concentration dips.

Using meditation or mindfulness, where people are trained to focus attention on the present moment and dispassionately observe their thoughts and feelings, boosts concentration in high-stress situations far better than relaxation techniques, found a US Army-funded study led by University of Miami neuroscientist Amishi Jha.

The study found that in four weeks, meditation made college football players mentally and emotionally tougher and more resilient when faced with intensive academic and physical demands. Regular doses of breathing exercises and mindful-awareness sessions sustained their concentration and prevented attention lapses under duress.

The study also found that while simple relaxation exercises, place-guided imagery and music did not improve concentration, they prevented stress-related mood problems such as anxiety and depression, much like meditation does.

Reading between the lines

Learning a new language or simply learning how to read alters the wiring of the adult brain, noted scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany, after studying brain scans of a small group of illiterate adults taught to read and write in India.

Brain scans of 21 adults in Uttar Pradesh before and after the six-month Hindi literacy project showed an increase in activity in the cortex, the outermost layer of the brain, which is involved in learning, researchers reported in the journal Science Advances.

The surprise finding was that the thalamus and the brain stem, two parts of the brain not involved in learning, also showed changes, in regions that process vision. These two brain parts coordinate information from the senses, movement and environment, and get stimulated by reading and writing because these activities involve close hand-eye coordination. The most dramatic changes were seen in those people who progressed the most in their reading and writing skills, showing that practice makes perfect.

Fighting fit

While all types of exercise improves brain function, aerobic activity is the quickest way to boost brain power. Walking, running, cycling and other forms of aerobic exercise that push up the heart rate increase brain size and function in six months, found US researchers who used high-resolution magnetic resonance images to measure anatomical changes in the brain before and after six months of aerobic exercise four times a week.

Exercise boosts brain function by increasing blood flow, which prevents brain cells from age-related atrophy by stimulating the formation of new brain cells. Until recently this was not believed possible in adult brains.

All three studies underline the fact that the mind, like the body, needs regular exercise if it is to stay cognitively and emotionally fit.

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How meditation powers the brain and boosts concentration - Hindustan Times

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June 3rd, 2017 at 12:42 pm

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Meditation vs Hypnosis: Which Is Better? | Reader’s Digest – Reader’s Digest

Posted: June 2, 2017 at 9:41 am


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Some people just dont get meditation. The devotion, the time commitment: Meditation asks a fair amount of youthough the payoffs in stress relief and improved health make it worthwhile. But if youre not the meditating type, dont lose hope: Hypnosis may offer an alternative. This mental techniquefocuses on the subconscious mind and can produce results in just one session, while meditation is a life-long practice that allows results to happen in a more spontaneous way. Put simply, meditation is deep relaxation and hypnosis is deep relaxation with added suggestion, says Orlando, Florida-based hypnotist Richard Barker.

Both practices treat a variety of conditions such as anxiety, stress, depression, chronic pain, and insomnia, but if you are looking for proven research, meditation has the upper hand. Numerous studies have shown that meditation has positive neurological effects. While hypnosis has a history that dates back to the 18th centurywhen German physician Franz Mesmer used hypnosis to treat patients in Vienna and Parisit hasnt been until recently that research has uncovered the areas of the brain affected by hypnosis. Psychology has a curriculum but hypnosis is not yet regulated in the Unites States, mostly because we do not understand it, says Barker.

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What is understood about hypnosis, however, are the results. Like meditation, hypnosis has been tapped by professional athletes to help with performance. Hypnosis is also used to eradicate certain phobias (such as fear of public speaking), to help people stop smoking, sleep better, and help those who are grieving. The number of sessions varies depending on the person, says Barker, but it usually takes just one. Once I find the root cause of whats making you do what you are doing, I can change the script, he says. Another option for people trying to manage emotional issues that cant be dealt with in one or two sessions is self-hypnosis, which shares many of the same characteristics as guided meditation.

Many of Mt. Vernon, Washington-based hypnotist Kelley Woods clients with long-term anxiety have tried meditation without success. She uses Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), a process that identifies the way we have been programmed to think, act, and feel, and then changes the behavior through hypnosis. In meditation the ultimate goal is to quiet the mind, in hypnosis, we use the ability of your thoughts to focus on what you would like to happen, and then we change the way you think about your challenges, says Woods. If you want to give hypnosis a try, you can find a certified hypnotherapist through the National Guild of Hypnotists, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the practice. While treatment varies based on each individuals condition, many conditions require just one session. A typical therapy session lasts about 90 minutes and can cost anywhere from $200 to $1,500.

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Meditation vs Hypnosis: Which Is Better? | Reader's Digest - Reader's Digest

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June 2nd, 2017 at 9:41 am

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6 Relaxation Hacks For People Who Hate Meditating – HuffPost

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If you suffer from stress and anxiety, odds are someone in your life has mentioned meditation as a way to cope with it.Psychiatrists often recommendthis therapy, and for good reason research based on 19,000 meditation studiesfound mindful meditation can in fact ease psychological stress.

Despite that data, however, meditation isnt for everyone. And it may not serve some people who experience the most severe bouts of stress.

I have chronic generalized anxiety, which means Im always experiencing a level of tension or stress. For the most part I can manage it, but every now and then, itll hit hard without warning, and uproot my day completely.

In college, my therapist recommended I try meditation to curb my anxiety. At first, I was happy to oblige. I tried a variety of styles, from Zen meditation, which has you focus on breathing, to primordial sound mediation, which involves, well, making primordial sounds.

It didnt work. Id often find myself more anxious at the end of a 15-minute meditation session than I had been at the beginning.And Im not alone: In general, it can be more difficult for people with chronic anxiety to meditate, because they have more stress-ridden thoughts than the average person,according to clinical psychologist Mitch Abblett.

That said, there are plenty of ways to achieve the same level of relaxation without sitting cross-legged on the floor. Theyre all rooted in a technique called the distraction method.Its part ofDr. Albert EllisRational Emotive Behavioral Therapy, which works under the assumption that a persons way of thinking is intrinsically tied to their emotional functioning.

The method consists of doing basic activities can help you take a step back from your anxiety. Psychologist Anjhula Mya Singh Bais explains the distractions can help people to objectively view issues causing disturbances in a manner that is both pragmatic and helpful in a low intensity, low pressure and low stakes environment.

What she means is by doing something simple and functional, you may be able to relax, regroup and perhaps reexamine the issue that was causing your anxiety from a much more levelheaded place.

Here are six suggestions for activities that may calm your brain without meditation, based on expert opinions and my personal experience:

Working with your hands diverts energy into something productive, and often results in a cool or even beautiful creation.

Being artistic calms the nervous system because when were focused on creative activities, our attention moves away from constant worrying, New York therapist Kimberly Hershensonsays. This helps the nervous system regulate, allowing our brain to clear space to process difficult issues.

There are a multitude of benefits that come from practicing yoga, and a quieter mind is just one of them. Its basically active meditation, which is great for the anxiety-prone, because it allows you to focus on your breathing and body without getting stuck in your head.

Yoga helps build concentration and is a great way to improve overall focus, explainsSilvia Polivoy, clinical psychologist and co-founder of the Thevine Spiritual Center. In addition, it enhances memory and improves brain power.

If youre new to yoga, I highly recommend starting with Lesley Fightmasters online videos.

It may sound simple, but similar to yoga, walking outside (without your phone) allows you to refocus your anxious energy on a physical act and take in the world around you. Heres a great way to start, courtesy of psychotherapist Melissa Divaris Thompson:

The more you can get into nature the better. Walk with consciousness. Notice how your breath feels. Notice your feet walking on the surface with each step.

I often sing and whistle to bring myself back into the present. It automatically lightens my mood and regulates my breathing if Im hyperventilating. The best part is you dont have to be a good singer for it to work for you.

This ones especially great for people with anxiety that affects their sleep. David Ezell, the clinical director and CEO of therapy providerDarien Wellness, recommends writing with a pen and paper to get away from distracting screens.

The objective is to relieve the pressure of thoughts analogous to a water tank too full of H2O, he writes in an email. I tell my patients to see their arm as a pipe and the notebook the reservoir into which the water flows.

Cooking is filled with basic tasks that let you focus on all sorts of sights, smells, tastes and textures. Once youre done, you can practice mindfulness while you eat.

Your personal distraction method may not be on this list. But if you keep experimenting with different strategies, youll be sure to find it.

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6 Relaxation Hacks For People Who Hate Meditating - HuffPost

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June 2nd, 2017 at 9:41 am

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Meditation can actually cause distress, study finds – Fox News

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Meditation is widely considered a worthwhile practice, particularly as it relieves stress. But it can also cause stress, forcing practitioners to experience fear and even relive traumatic experiences, according to a new study.

To put a spotlight on the little-discussed side effects associated with the practice, researchers at Brown University interviewed 60 people who'd encountered difficulty in Theravada, Zen, or Tibetan Buddhist meditation, per Quartz and Live Science.

These meditators described 59 unexpected types of experiencessome good, some not so goodranging from feelings of unity with others and hypersensitivity to light to cardiac irregularity and hallucinations, while more than 40 percent said they had been forced to relive past trauma, per the study in PLoS One.

They also described experiencing insomnia, irritability, panic, fatigue, as well as a distortion in time and space and a loss of emotions, with the effects lasting a few days to more than a decade, reports Todaythough as the participants were chosen based on the challenges they'd faced, they aren't indicative of the larger meditation community.

Hesitant to try meditation anyway? Don't be. It's a "positive and beneficial" practice overall, a researcher tells Quartz. A meditation teacher tells Today that some meditators "may go through some degree of difficulty. But it's not everybody" and "the quality of instructor, the nature of the community, and the ongoing support system [make] a difference in how we handle the feelings that arise." (One Buddhist thinker claims meditation changes the brain.)

This article originally appeared on Newser: Meditation Has Drawbacks, Too

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Meditation can actually cause distress, study finds - Fox News

Written by simmons

June 2nd, 2017 at 9:41 am

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Living through meditation is essential to mental health – North Texas Daily

Posted: June 1, 2017 at 4:48 am


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by Garron Weeks

Growing up as a teenager in the 21st century, I felt constantly under pressure to have an image and social status. As I made mistakes and ran through a gamut of imperfections, these worries would keep me up at night. Id toss and turn in bed thinking about every little detail of my life and would do anything to distract myself from that feeling of anxiety. My mistakes and imperfections piled on top of each other through the years and as a result, my anxiety and depression led me to hit rock bottom. But it wasnt until I hit rock bottom that I saw the world in a different light.

Growing up through grade school feels like an eternity, as if the boring classes, bullies and social anxieties would never end. Because as kids, thats all we knew. Once I graduated high school, I felt liberated. But my demons would later return, as I continued to dwell within my thoughts.

I tried enrolling in therapy to talk about my problems, but I still dwelled on them. I tried prescription pills, but they would numb my emotions, cloud my head or make me groggy. I tried connecting more with religion, but still felt my anxieties controlling me. But it wasnt until I began researching on the internet how to better my mind that I came across meditation.

Meditation seems intimidating at first because of the way that our brains have been developed to operate. With our cell phones, we have the world at our fingertips. With clocks, we live by times and schedules.

Meditation, however, is where one relaxes and becomes in the present moment. I had always grown up with this weird perception that meditation was only something monks did and seemed like a waste of time in such a short life. Yet, the technique of meditation is simple and straightforward. But it is our own expectations and judgments that make the practice complicated.

The easiest way to get into a state of meditation is to listen to the world around you and focus on your breath. Listen to the hum and buzz of the world, and your breath going in and out. Its easy to forget that breathing is natural and it just happens to us. We dont need to focus on it, but once we do, it seems unfamiliar and very much in the present. Once one enters the meditative state, sensations of relaxation and clarity will come upon the person.

However, negative thoughts may creep back into the head. As contemporary philosopher Alan Watts once said, Its important that you dont try to repress those thoughts by forcing them out of your mind. Because that will have precisely the same effect as if you were trying to smooth rough water with a flat iron. The brain will create thoughts regardless, since it is a reflexive organ towards its environment and experiences.

I believe that its essential for human beings especially college students to understand the importance of living in a meditative state, as it allows you to let go of the worldly desires and anxieties. You do not have to sit cross legged in a field to meditate. One can come into this state at any time by just focusing on the breath in the present moment.

Beginning to practice meditation can seem very foreign, but fortunately in Denton, there are many places offering guided sessions in meditation and yoga. For myself, I studied for many months before I really grasped the practice. Thanks to meditation practice, I am finally at peace with myself.

Featured Illustration: Samuel Wiggins

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Living through meditation is essential to mental health - North Texas Daily

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June 1st, 2017 at 4:48 am

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Ellen Schwindt to offer another Music as Meditation June 4 – Conway Daily Sun

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CONWAY Ellen Schwindt will offer another Music as Meditation event on Sunday, June 4, at 5 p.m. Enjoy music presented with its connection to human hearts in mind, and with time for contemplation interspersed between musical offerings.

Schwindt is planning improvisations based on a concerto for violin, piano and strings that she is writing.

Sylvia Chandler will sing Schubert's "Ave Maria" and Schwindt will reprise Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata."

Schwindt began Music as Meditation as a way for her to share her newest music with listeners and to share a meditative spirit with attenders. The series has blossomed into an opportunity for community musicians to share music with each other.

Music as Meditation takes place on first Sundays of each month at Christ Episcopal Church on the corner of Pine and Main Streets in North Conway. Free admission.

Call (603) 447-2898 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

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Ellen Schwindt to offer another Music as Meditation June 4 - Conway Daily Sun

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June 1st, 2017 at 4:48 am

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This Tech Entrepreneur Was So Stressed She Created a Meditation App – Brit + Co

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There are so many reasons (both totally obvious and completely unexpected) as to why youre feeling anxious on the regular (politics, anyone?), even if youre already eating all the right foods to manage your stress and youve learned how to leave work stress at the office. Which is why we are major proponents of meditation. It can help you achieve your fitness goalsandsleep better evenstrengthen your relationship. And thats to say nothing of the calming effects meditation can have on your mind.

To get the scoop on all the good meditation stuff, we chatted with tech entrepreneur and Simple Habit meditation app founder Yunha Kimabout her personal meditationjourney and easy ways even the mostmeditation-adverse among us can use mindfulness to create zen wherever we go. (And dont forget to check out the app for free oniOS and Android!)

Brit + Co: We recently read a study from the University of Waterloo that just 10 minutes of meditation can significantly increase focus for anxious people, in part because it promotes mindfulness. Youve mentioned before how being present is key to maintaining calm. What does that mean, exactly?

Yunha Kim: Stress has the ability to consume our minds with negative thoughts and affect our mood, physical health, and relationships. Simply being aware of your own stress can help prevent you from reacting to things instead of responding. (Photo via Yunha Kim)

B+C: What made you decide to create a meditation app? Was it a response to something going on in your life, or have you always been a zen chaser?

YK: I was so stressed at my previous startup and went through a period of burnout that inspired me to try meditating. At the time, I was working 24/7 and often found it hard to relax, step away from work, or sometimes fall asleep at night. Short, daily meditation worked for me, and I actually became a power user of some of the meditation apps out there. I found myself meditating periodically throughout my day, like during my commutes and before meetings, and it allowed me to be more productive and stress less.

B+C: Can you explain how the Simple Habit app works and what makes it stand apart from the meditation app crowd?

YK: Simple Habit is a freemium on-demand meditation platform that specializes in five-minute meditations for busy people. Our meditations are designed around your situations and moods. It has over a thousand topics from meditation specifically designed for engineers, meditations before work, or even going on a date. The meditations are guided by the worlds leading mindfulness teachers.

A feature that we have on the app is the On-the-Go wheel, which allows new meditators to select what theyre feeling or doing (walking, eating, feeling frustrated) and listen to a meditation corresponding to that like Spotify for meditation.

B+C: Ironically, meditationcan beintimidating for newbies often, we feel like weve failed if we cant completely rid our minds of all thoughts on the first go. Can you give us three beginner tips to make meditation easier?

YK: Start with five minutes. Its a common misconception that to meditate, you need to sit for long periods of time in the morning, but thats not true. You can meditate anytime and anywhere, even while commuting, while eating, or before giving a presentation.

Try meditating in different situations or stressful moments throughout your day (e.g., before a presentation or before an exam). You can try some of our On-the-Go meditations.

Try doing it at the same time every day. I like to meditate first thing in the morning and right before bed. Putting five minutes of mindfulness every day into your calendar or setting a daily reminder for yourself really works and you can do both through the Simple Habit app, and it will remind you on daily basis.

B+C: So basically youre telling us we have no excuse not to meditate! To play devils advocate here lets say, somehow, youre still strapped for time and cant use the app or one of the techniques listed above but want to get in some mindfulness. Do you have any on-the-go mantras you like to use in stressful situations?

YK: Focusing on breathing is one of the simplest ways to bring a sense of attention to yourself and slow down your thoughts. (This is a great breath meditation to start with.) Taking a few deep breaths with long exhales can immediately create a sense of calm in your physical body and emotional state and bring clarity in your mental thoughts. A simple exercise I do when Im in a middle of something (for instance, on stage, right before giving a talk) is repeating inside my head, Breathing in breathing out I usually do it 3-5 times.

How do you get yourself into the mindfulness zone? Tweet us your meditation secrets@BritandCo!

(Photos via Getty; featured photo viaYunha Kim)

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This Tech Entrepreneur Was So Stressed She Created a Meditation App - Brit + Co

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June 1st, 2017 at 4:48 am

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Meditation Isn’t Necessarily Good – Inverse

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Mindfulness has been heralded as practically a body hack that rolls productivity, anti-anxiety, and focus into one, its therapeutic benefits ranging from easing addiction and quieting mood disorders.

But researchers are dousing water on meditations glamorization as a miracle cure-all. In a paper published May 24 in the open-access journal PLOS One, psychiatrist Willoughby Britton and her colleagues interviewed Western Buddhist meditation practitioners and found that mindfulness-based meditation can have unintended negative consequences. Practitioners of Buddhist meditative traditions, like Theravda, Zen, and Tibetan style show that using meditation as a psychological therapy is much more complicated than it seems, and can come with long-lasting consequences.

Britton and her fellow researchers conducted interviews with 60 meditation practitioners about their challenging, difficult, distressing, or impairing experiences associated with meditation. These issues spanned seven different areas: cognitive, perceptual, affective, somatic, conative, sense of self, and social.

Mindfulness meditation programs, in particular, show small improvements in anxiety, depression, and pain with moderate evidence and small improvements in stress/distress and the mental health component of health-related quality of life, write the researchers. They found no evidence of negative side effects but most of these studies did not look for negative effects.

The vast majority (88%) of participants reported that challenging or difficult meditation experiences bled over into daily life or had an impact on their life beyond a meditation retreat or beyond a formal practice session, they wrote. Seventy-three percent of the subjects told researchers that they experienced moderate to severe impairment in at least one area. These results are especially significant when considering the fact that 60 percent of these people are meditation teachers, not just casual practitioners.

Its not that traditional Buddhist literature wasnt aware of the potential negative consequences of meditation: Ancient literature documents multiple experiences and effects, some causing long-lasting distress or difficulty.

In Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the term nyams refers to a wide range of meditation experiences from bliss and visions to intense body pain, physiological disorders, paranoia, sadness, anger and fear which can be a source of challenge or difficulty for the meditation practitioner, write the researchers.

That avoidance of addressing potential negatives might be the reason why meditations positive benefits have been overhyped. Every medical intervention has a possible risk of harm, and when prescribing part of a religious practice such as Buddhist mindfulness meditation, which carries an inherent possibility of negative effects, that risk seems to increase.

Abstract: Buddhist-derived meditation practices are currently being employed as a popular form of health promotion. While meditation programs draw inspiration from Buddhist textual sources for the benefits of meditation, these sources also acknowledge a wide range of other effects beyond health-related outcomes. The Varieties of Contemplative Experience study investigates meditation-related experiences that are typically underreported, particularly experiences that are described as challenging, difficult, distressing, functionally impairing, and/or requiring additional support. A mixed-methods approach featured qualitative interviews with Western Buddhist meditation practitioners and experts in Theravda, Zen, and Tibetan traditions. Interview questions probed meditation experiences and influencing factors, including interpretations and management strategies. A follow-up survey provided quantitative assessments of causality, impairment and other demographic and practice-related variables. The content-driven thematic analysis of interviews yielded a taxonomy of 59 meditation-related experiences across 7 domains: cognitive, perceptual, affective, somatic, conative, sense of self, and social. Even in cases where the phenomenology was similar across participants, interpretations of and responses to the experiences differed considerably. The associated valence ranged from very positive to very negative, and the associated level of distress and functional impairment ranged from minimal and transient to severe and enduring. In order to determine what factors may influence the valence, impact, and response to any given experience, the study also identified 26 categories of influencing factors across 4 domains: practitioner-level factors, practice-level factors, relationships, and health behaviors. By identifying a broader range of experiences associated with meditation, along with the factors that contribute to the presence and management of experiences reported as challenging, difficult, distressing or functionally impairing, this study aims to increase our understanding of the effects of contemplative practices and to provide resources for mediators, clinicians, meditation researchers, and meditation teachers.

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Meditation Isn't Necessarily Good - Inverse

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June 1st, 2017 at 4:48 am

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Meditation Has Drawbacks, Too – Newser

Posted: May 31, 2017 at 11:42 am


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Newser
Meditation Has Drawbacks, Too
Newser
(Newser) Meditation is widely considered a worthwhile practice, particularly as it relieves stress. But it can also cause stress, forcing practitioners to experience fear and even relive traumatic experiences, according to a new study. To put a ...

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Meditation Has Drawbacks, Too - Newser

Written by grays

May 31st, 2017 at 11:42 am

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