Not your everyday meditation sesh.

When you think of meditation, you think of soothing sounds and calm voices. If you're a fan of the uber-popular Headspace app, you likely associate meditation with the might-as-well-be-a-Tibetian-gong-its-so-calming voice of founder Andy Puddicomb.

But Kevin Hart is here to remind you that breathing deep because you're laughing hard is good for you as well.

I had the opportunity to chat with Kevin about the new partnership between LOL! Studios and Headspace. He's excited about the opportunity "to be just myself and push the narrative of mindfulness while highlighting the platform."

To that end, Kevin's LOL! Studios is bringing its unique brand of comedy to Headspace.

First off is "Energy Shots with Kevin Hart." If you're a fan of "The Wake Up" (and if you're not, you really should be), you'll be treated to positive, inspirational, and, yes, funny messages from Kevin Hart. They focus on being good to yourself and taking steps to being more mindful. I especially appreciate the first clip that dropped on the app today in which Kevin talks about accepting his height. As someone who's 5'5 in, I can relate. These are available to Headspace Plus subscribers and great way to start out your day, no matter how early.

"Getting up early gives me the opportunity to zen out." said Kevin, an avowed early riser. "I'm up before the rest of the world. I'm doing stuff before anyone else does. I'm working on myself while other people are asleep. When others get up, I'm already four or five steps ahead. But it's not about competing with others, it's about being my best self.

If you're a fan of working out with the Headspace app, you'll want to check out the Mindful Cardio runs, also with Kevin Hart. These, I'm extremely excited about. Having caught the runs he narrated in the Nike Run Club app, I can confirm that he's uniquely qualified to get you over whatever running slump you might be stuck in. There's nothing like a good laugh to get you out of your head and forgetting about whatever discomfort you're experiencing on your run.

Talking about his runs, Kevin said, "The goal was to find humor and put personality into a space where people have forgotten it can exist. Don't hide stuff like feeling you need to go to the bathroom. Happens to me on every run. Instead you talk about it and you identify with it. It makes it all easier. You can find room and space to just enjoy and be OK in the moment. Working on yourself is a beautiful thing. Look at what your sweat can and should mean - it's you working on you. Time, energy, and effort to work on you. Sweat equity."

Rounding out the content push is the new "Meditate With Me" YouTube series where you come along with Kevin and other comedians from LOL! Studios like Tiffany Haddish, Hasan Minhaj, Amanda Seales, and Deon Cole and get a glimpse at their inner dialogue as they meditate.

After watching Kevin's video, I was struck by how similar he and I are in that we both consider running to be a form of meditation. I was curious what his thoughts were about that and traditional meditation.

"My running is for sure going to be my go-to. Rowing too. I love my Hydrow. Other modes of mindfulness work for me as well. Having my eyes closed, turning off the music, shutting out the world. Thinking about what I'd like to do and being true to that.

I want to bring more awareness to something so strong and powerful, mindfulness. I want folks to understand that they can work on their mental state just like they'd work on the rest of their body. Your mind is extremely important. It's a muscle that can improve like anything else."

I asked if he thought this new content would help those who might be fearful or dismissive of meditation. "It's not about being scared but a lack of understanding. It's easier to be dismissive when you don't understand something. Giving people insight and better info, that's what this partnership is about."

And it's true. There's a relatability to the "Meditate With Me" videos that demystify meditation. While they're definitely funny, they also help break down the stereotype of the zen master, dressed in flowing white, perched on a hilltop. They show that all the weird, random thoughts that creep into your head while meditating are just as normal as finding inner peace. And they're just as important to the process as anything else.

When asked if this was a one-time content push or if we'll be seeing more of Kevin and LOL! Studios in the Headspace app in the future, he finished our call with this. "It's a partnership and I'm looking forward to continuing it. We're just getting started."

You can find Kevin Hart's new meditation content in the Headspace app, available on Android and iOS. Find out more about Headspace here.

See more here:

Kevin Hart Invades Headspace And Your Meditation Will Never Be The Same - Forbes

A friendly suggestion for the anxious and heavy-hearted (and, these days, who isn't?): a bedtime story read by Harry Styles.

"Tonight I'm going to help you drift off to sleep with some soothing words and calming music," the rakish British musician will purr into a listener's ear with his lilting baritone. "A sleep story just for you." Mmmm

Sadly, he's not curled up next to the beholder in bed but merely an audio apparition, introducing a 40-minute guided bedtime tale from Calm, a meditation and relaxation app.

If Morgan Freeman can be the de facto voice of God, why can't Styles be the voice of a good night's sleep? Or, for that matter, Lakers star LeBron James as the aural manifestation of a winning mindset? Those are exactly the bets being placed by the rising tide of mindfulness apps that are leveraging celebrity talent to help bridge the gap between self-actualization and Hollywood entertainment.

Meditation app Headspace, for example, released a new Netflix show in early January, Headspace Guide to Meditation (with two more series planned) and, last year, inked a deal with Kevin Hart's production company to produce content, on the principle that laughter is the best medicine. The Calm app has used famous voices in addition to Styles, there's Matthew McConaughey, Idris Elba, Laura Dern, Kate Winslet and Lucy Liu, to name just a few for its Sleep Stories, atmospheric tales aimed at lulling listeners into a peaceful slumber. Last year, Calm also debuted a 10-episode series, A World of Calm, on HBO Max, awash in atmospheric imagery with narration provided by the likes of Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Keanu Reeves. Audible (owned by Amazon) also has calming bedtime stories, some read by familiar names like Nick Jonas, Tony Shalhoub or Sean "Diddy" Combs. And Chris Hemsworth's health and fitness app, Centr, features guided meditations read by Thor himself.

Calm was launched in 2012 by co-founders Alex Tew and Michael Acton Smith as an app focused on meditation. But when data indicated that usage spiked before bed, Sleep Stories was launched to fill a void. "I think it's about broadening, taking the tools of mindfulness and making them available to a larger audience," says Chris Advansun, Calm's head of Sleep Stories. Adding a narrative structure naturally led to using actors, like Winslet. "She was a Calm user and interested in Calm, and did a story for us," Advansun says. "She's connected to this in her personal life." He adds, "I see the Sleep Stories as taking inspiration from meditation but being separate from mindfulness."

And while the intentions are wholesome, even the most Zen'd out guru knows that using celebrities is an easy way to attract new customers and grow brand awareness.

Calm no doubt is under pressure to expand its reach after a December round of outside investment led to a valuation at just over $2 billion. Things seem promising, though: The company, which has been profitable since 2016, boasts more than 4 million paying subscribers with plans ranging from $14.99 a month to $399.99 for a lifetime option. Calm, too, was poised to benefit from a fraught political year compounded by the pandemic. As such, during 2020, daily downloads doubled and consumers listened to more than a billion minutes of meditations, stories and calming aural soundscapes a 100 percent year-over-year increase.

Within that banner year, Styles was a highlight: The day his Sleep Story, titled "Dream With Me," was released in July, the app crashed for a whole day because of heavy traffic.

Meanwhile, Headspace, which started as a meditation app in 2010, is sounding more like a studio-streamer. Sam Rogoway, chief product and content officer, calls Headspace Studios a "multi-platform content studio creating and distributing mindful living content through premium TV and film projects, thought-provoking podcasts, inspirational digital content and partnerships with world-class talent and experts." As far as what opportunities lie beyond classic exercises like body scans or focusing on one's breath, Rogoway adds: "We believe that mindfulness should incorporate all areas of one's life, not just when we sit to meditate. So we're constantly expanding our offerings to make Headspace as valuable for our members as possible."

That translates into playlists curated by chief music officer John Legend and a series called Monster Meditations for children made in partnership with Sesame Street. By partnering with Hart's production company, LOL Studios, Headspace also is looking to command a piece of the fitness space (with "Mindful Runs" that will be part of the app's Move Mode) and even comedy a YouTube series called Meditate With Me will feature talent like Tiffany Haddish and Hasan Minhaj talking about their own relationships with meditation and sharing lighthearted takes on their inner monologues while trying to reach mental nirvana.

"We have always been committed to demystifying meditation and introducing mindfulness concepts and making them approachable and available to as many people as possible," Rogoway says. "Comedy is a way for us to reach new audiences and help break those barriers. We know laughter plays a role in people's overall sense of happiness and joy, and we feel that there is a place to merge both comedy and wellness, which made Kevin an ideal partner for us."

And while it might not be raking in the profits of Hollywood's Golden Age, the company has venture capitalists foaming at the mouth. With more than 2 million paid subscribers (costs are $12.99 monthly or $69.99 yearly), Headspace raised$93 million in Series C funding last February. Four months later, it secured anadditional $47.7 million.

According to a source familiar with these types of deals, the paycheck for talent is anything but sleepy. Guided meditations and short stories (as opposed to full-length audiobooks) typically only require one at-home recording session and pay around $25,000, with some stars being paid as much as $100,000. Those figures are abaseline, however, and big names can command higher fees. All of which is great for talent looking for COVID-friendly opportunities not to mention an easy paycheck.

These types of collaborations, of course, shed light on a broader evolution: Celebrities used to merely entertain, then they sold products, and now, one supposes, they help people find inner peace.

This commingling of fame and wellness speaks to macro trends that are defining the social media age, the first being how far celebrities will go to push their healthy lifestyles upon the masses. This ostensibly started with Jane Fonda's spirited workout videos but reached its current apotheosis with Gwyneth Paltrow's website Goop. Paltrow's site a mix of content, commerce and city guides takes a holistic, metaphysical approach to well-being, promoting Eastern modalities and spiritual practices, then wrapping them in a patina of cashmere-swaddled glamour. Sharing a meditation practice can be seen as akin to sharing one's diet or workout regimen and, more crucially, sharing a bit of themselves.

There also are the complex ways in which storytelling is changing and how audiences consume their entertainment. Twitter threads are the new articles, Instagram Live is the new QVC, and TikTok is the new MTV. Boundaries that once were firm are now blurring, and today, everything even meditation is a form of content. So why can't a meditation app be the new vanguard of ambient amusement? Some people fall asleep to The Great British Bake Off others may prefer Nick Jonas on Audible.

And if these past four years 2020 in particular have taught any lessons, it's that the U.S. is a country in dire need of self-care. Market research firm NPD noted late last year that stress-relieving self-care products as a category experienced a sizable upswing. The election, social unrest and a widespread pandemic have everyone on edge and looking for ways to find serenity. "In a time of uncertainty and added stress, we have seen a dramatic increase in appetite for mindfulness-related content from consumers as well as networks and streaming services," Headspace's Rogoway notes.

In the meantime, with political and cultural turmoil coming from all sides, meditation apps are here to provide people with tranquil thoughts and calming whispers. And there's nothing more soothing than a familiar voice.

This story first appeared in the Jan. 20 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.

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From Harry Styles to Kevin Hart: New Content Studios Are Selling Meditation and Sleep With Stars' Help - Hollywood Reporter

Moguls from Bill Gates to Ray Dalio to Jerry Seinfeld all say meditation has been a key to their success. But not everyone meditates the traditional way.

"I used to [meditate]," Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson tells CNBC Make It.

But Johnson realized that finding alone time was just as valuable.

"In essence, it's meditating, but it's just really quiet time and just having a moment where I really just shut off my brain," he says.

Finding quiet time isn't so easy for Johnson, who is a father of three and the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, and who runs several companies, including tequila brandTeremanaand energy drinkZOA, which he launched during the pandemic.

But Johnson says he takes advantage of the "that sweet window of about 11 p.m. to about 1 a.m. in my world, in my household, where everything is so quiet. Babies are asleep. Everyone's asleep," Johnson says.

He also finds his early morning workouts meditative. (Johnson, who wakes up at 4 a.m. to start his routine, told Variety in 2017 that his sleep patterns "are always funky and off" and typically only needs three to five hours of sleep.)

"My gym time and this sounds crazy because the music is so loud, it's sweaty, it's intense but I am alone and it becomes a meditative process for me," Johnson says.

Johnson isn't alone in valuing quiet time. Tennis star Serena Williams utilizes it too, she told CNBC Make It in February.

"Something I do every day is [to] completely turn my brain off, which sounds weird but because I work so much.... But it's a lot so I just need to turn my brain off and not think about anything," Williams said.

"Sometimes it's meditation. Sometimes it's watching a program [on TV] that has nothing to do with anything, like something that is silly or fun," Williams said.

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Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has his own way of meditatinghere's what he does - CNBC

Ashley Wray never thought she'd be the CEO of a modern meditation brand.

Ashley Wray never thought she would be the founder and CEO of one of the most popular meditation companies. A few years ago, she was an award-winning journalist covering one of these least zen topics: murder trials. But after a chance encounter with a woman on a plane from Bali to Thailand, that all changed.

"Meditation was new to me and something I was incredibly curious about but felt I was doing wrong," Wray told me. "We bought mala beads, crystals and took classes and lessons while in Bali. And on the flight from Bali to Thailand, we had a serendipitous encounter on the plane, sitting beside a woman whose mission was to spread mindfulness and meditation to the West something her guru asked her to do through mala beads. They were the very same mala beads we had purchased that week. It was a chance encounter that has forever changed my life."

That meeting got Wray curious about new ways to bring meditation into her daily life and led her to India, Nepal, and Bhutan. There she worked on her practice and was drawn to designing the products that supported it, knowing that these tools made it easier for a meditation novice. Wray startedMala Collectivein 2011, by offering Mala beads, then designing meditation cushions, crystal kits, and more.

"Mala Collective's pieces and tools are meant to support you in starting, deepening, or returning when you fall away from your practice," said Wray. "In all honesty, you don't need any products to have a meditation practice. All you need is your breath. But if you find that a mala helps to hold your focus, or the crystals help you set an intention, and the cushions help inspire you to take a seat then that's what we are there for."

Now it's clear Wray wasn't the only one who needed these tools. In the last 10 years, she's developed a massive following with a list of celebrity fans like Justin Bieber, Molly Sims, Haylie Duff, Whitney Port, and more. The company also offers free online content from guided meditations to videos on starting a practice to paid classes. "I truly believe in the education of meditation. I want to help inspire people to meditate. To breathe. To slow down," said Wray.

She also recently startedcoachingwomen on how to start and scale their own purpose driven businesses, which is a huge passion for her.The Canadian's next mission? Bring mindfulness to children.

This spring, she is launching a kid's line that came to her in a vision during a meditation two years ago. "The vision was to create fun and playful pieces to help kids to slow down, connect to their breath, and have a "positive time-out," she said. "The goal of the line is that it will help kids' thoughts float away like clouds, which inspired our cloud cushion. It's a fun and playful introduction to meditation."

With so much success, it's hard for Wray to imagine what her life could have been if she hadn't traveled to South East Asia and sat next to that woman on the plane. "It was a chance encounter that has forever changed my life. Serendipity can truly change our lives if we are open to it," she said. "It's been a beautiful journey all sparked by one trip to Bali."

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A Chance Meeting In Bali Sparked This Celebrity-Favorite Meditation Brand - Forbes

It is as easy as breathing, apparently, but experts have told how meditation is helping the world cope with the stress of lockdown.

The pandemic has promped a huge surge in interest in the holistic Eastern practice most associated with Buddhism and hippies searching for Enlightenment.

But the calming mindfulness is, it turns out, exactly what we need to keep an even keel during the stress and strain of Covid and is fast becoming as mainstream as yoga, backed by celebrities such as Russell Brand and Fearne Cotton, and now even prescribed by the NHS for stress and anxiety.

Described by meditation practitioner Ken Jamieson as a mental break from your worries and stresses, meditation puts the focus on something else so our minds have no space to think about the grind and churn of everyday life.

And in the past 10 months a time where we have been unable to escape waves of bad news meditation has been a mental escape for millions of people worldwide. Since the start of the coronavirus crisis, meditation app Headspaces courses have had a 1,000% spike in users.

In the UK alone, 10 times more people are following Headspaces Reframing Anxiety At Home course, and it now has 65 million users worldwide. Now the app is on TV with Netflix streaming Headspace Guide To Meditation, fronted by co-founder Andy Puddicombe, bringing a whole new concept to the phrase Netflix and chill.

Scottish meditation organisations like Glasgow Transcendental Meditation have also seen an increase in their online service users throughout lockdown and Glasgow Meditation has launched its very own app, MindGem.

So what exactly is meditation, and how can it help us? Meditation is simply about training the mind to become more aware of the present moment in order to gain perspective, explained Ken Jamieson. Its not about trying to turn off your thoughts or feelings, but being able to recognise them for what they are just thoughts and feelings.

It works for stress and anxiety by calming the mind enough to deal better with worry or anything that is overwhelming us, and being present fully in the current moment.

With origins in Buddhism going back around 2,600 years, meditation has long been thought of as a religious practice, similar to prayer. Although stemming from a religious faction and related to spirituality and enlightenment, its impact on our physicality has now also been proven.

Scientific studies have shown regular and sustained meditation alters the brains physical make-up, and medical professionals now take it far more seriously as a treatment. Meditation can decrease respiratory rate, decreases heart rate, decreases blood pressure, and decreases muscle tension, said former nurse Angela Landers, director of Glasgow Transcendental Meditation.

Having taught transcendental meditation for 20 years, I find that people no longer need to be convinced of meditations practical benefits. Meditation is now more mainstream. It is being taught in schools and businesses and prescribed by doctors as well as being popularised by lots of celebrities. People are now meditation shopping and often want to know the difference between different types of meditations for different problems.

As well as helping improve mental wellbeing, meditation can also be used to alleviate physical maladies worsened by anxiety. Meditation has been shown to help with skin conditions like eczema and even cancer, because a lot of our ailments are accentuated by stress, said Jamieson.

It can also really help with insomnia, which is largely in part due to the worry of not being able to sleep. With mental health issues so high, meditation is one of the most under-utilised and free tools we have to help our brains.

As social activist and Buddhist Mahatma Gandhi said, If you dont have time to meditate for five minutes, then meditate for an hour.

A lot of meditations benefits stem from simply taking time out of our hectic and busy lives and spending 10-20 minutes for ourselves to just be, to stop doing anything.

And, as Puddicombe puts to us at the beginning of his new Netflix series when you really think about it when was the last time you took time to just breathe?

Headspace Guide to Meditation, streaming now on Netflix.

Like many things in the last 12 months, it was all triggered by coronavirus.

I was in New Zealand about as far away from Scotland and home as I could be when lockdown hit and the world as we knew it was no more.

With money going fast and unsure whether to stay put or try to fly home in the midst of the pandemic, severe anxiety started to take over and before I knew it I wasnt sleeping at night.

Eventually, when sleeping pills and remedies just werent doing the trick and I was feeling completely overwhelmed, I decided to try meditation as Id read it could help and had friends who swore by it.

I downloaded Headspace app and a 30-day programme specially designed to help with sleep and anxiety. I lay down for 20 minute intervals once or twice a day and listened to the instructions provided including relaxing visualisation and breathing techniques.

Within just a couple of days, I slept normally again. I wasnt sure if it was a fluke, but the longer I continued to meditate teamed with a bit of exercise the sleep just kept coming and the calmer I became.

Any other worries were quashed by the fact that when I was focussing on the visualisations within meditation, I had no room to think of anything else. I started to look forward to my daily meditation. It was like pressing a reset button on my brain a mental massage for my knotted mind.

With tips and advice also relaxingly narrated in the programme, I learned it wasnt that the meditation had made me sleep, it was that it had calmed my mind down enough to not really care whether I slept or not. This in turn meant I was far more relaxed when it came to bedtime and so then nodded off easily.

Now, I dont need to meditate every day, but as soon as I find myself getting a little overwhelmed with lockdown worries or I cant sleep, I simply do the meditation exercises I have learnt, and let the anxiety melt away.

Find a comfortable and quiet place where you wont be disturbed and lie down or sit in a comfy position.

Breathe in deeply through your nose and out through your mouth ten times, and with the final out breath, close your eyes.

Let your breathing return to normal, and then scan down your body, visualising your head to your feet.

Next, turn your attention to your breathing, counting each one as it passes until you reach 50.

Now, imagine a strong ray of warm, gentle sunlight beaming down on your body.

Watch it with your mind, as it slowly fills up each part of you, beginning with your toes and working its way up.

If your mind wanders, dont get frustrated this is normal just allow yourself to bring your focus back to the visualisation.

Let your mind wander for a few moments, then bring your attention back to the body, slowly becoming aware of the room and your position once more.

Open your eyes and relish in how relaxed you feel.

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Just breathe: How meditation is helping the world keep calm and carry on through lockdown - The Sunday Post

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has added many challenges to our everyday lives, and at times it can seem overwhelming.

With so much stress, it can be difficult to find relief. But an increasing number of people are turning to meditation to get their stress under control.

Allie Henderson, wellness consultant for Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah says, Meditation is a great way to just be more comfortable and to just be in control while also feeling calm and at peace while were living in a world that is very out of control."

Henderson says the principles of meditation, while basic, can have broad, far reaching and life changing effects.

The benefits are more focused on being in control of our thoughts and emotions. We also see improved psychological benefits , improved self-esteem, there can be help when coping with illnesses and even decrease in pain.

The meditation trend is growing. In the last decade, the number of those practicing some form of meditation has tripled. Henderson says the current world health crisis is fueling the rapid uptick.

This is something that people are turning to because of the pandemicwhich they should, because during this year were feeling a lot of difficult emotions."

There are many ways to meditate, and technology is making it easier than ever. Downloads of apps like Calm, Headspace, and Meditopia along with others have seen a 25 percent increase from one year ago. Not surprising says Henderson.

"Things like fear, anxiety, stress, frustration, anger, depression, loneliness. All of these things that sometimes we label as bad. We feel like we shouldnt be feeling this way and we try to shove them aside."

Experts caution shoving deep, personal discomforts aside, as it can often lead to bigger problems.

"We want to remove judgment, remove those labels and understand what these emotions are trying to tell us, so that we can respond rather than react.

Henderson says anyone can make significant gains through meditation, and stresses it's a gradual learning curve with overall benefits that can last a lifetime.

"Remember, your mind is going to wander, but this is a practice and even those whove been doing it for years, are still learning. So, give yourself grace and just enjoy the process.

Tap here for more Healthier Together stories to help you live your best life. And if you want more information or have a health questions, send us a message at healthiertogether@fox13now.com.

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Healthier Together: meditation for stress relief - fox13now.com - fox13now.com

Samantha Akkineni shared a picture of herself glowing and looking happy post her meditation session.

South beauty Samantha Akkineni, who is fitness freak and makes sure to hit the gym daily, is also practicing meditation. She has made this simple yet powerful routine a part of her life. The Majili actress recently shared a picture of herself glowing and looking happy post her meditation session. The actress took to Instagram and wrote, "post meditation bliss...#shambhavimahamudra...make meditation a part of your life...it will transform you." One can see, Sam lying on the floor and is smiling for a happy picture post her meditation session.

Earlier, Sam practised Isha Kriya meditation for 48 days and promoted its benefits. The Oh Baby actress took to Instagram and posted a picture of herself trying a new form of yoga and meditation. "Today i begin my 48 days of the Isha kriya journey I invite you to join me ... Isha kriya brings health, prosperity and well-being. It is a powerful tool to cope ... and is meant to empower us to live life to our fullest potential ... it is a free guided meditation ... I wish you peace," wrote Samantha on Instagram.

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On the work front, Samantha Akkineni is making her Hindi web series debut and is playing an antagonist in The Family Man season 2. It features Manoj Bajpayee in the lead role.

She will be seen in Vignesh Shivan's Telugu-comedy Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kadhal, co-starring Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi.

Also, there is no stopping, Sam is also playing Shakuntala in director Gunasekhars Telugu mythological drama Shakuntalam.

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Samantha Akkineni enjoys bliss post her meditation session; Tells fans to make it a part of their life - PINKVILLA

Join the Woodbridge Public Library as long time meditator Arvind Naik, MBA February 16 at 7PM as he offers this engaging workshop on how to use the practice of meditation to transform the heart. The workshop will include how to incorporate more love and peace in your life which will have a profound transformation on your overall well-being. Learn how to let go of anger, fear and worry in order to create more harmonious relationships, improve work and home environments, and experience a deep sense of personal peace and love. The workshop will include a short meditation session.

This program will be presented virtually over Zoom.

Register online here--https://bit.ly/3iai8or or call 732-634-4450.

Arvind Naik, MBA in Global Business Management from NYIT, is educated as an Electronics Engineer and works as a Data Architect and Business Professional in Information Technology.

He has been giving lectures and workshops on the topic of meditation, where he discusses how incorporating meditation into our daily routine can be life changing. In his programs Arvind, explores how this practice can help each of us develop physically, mentally, and spiritually. Arvind led a meditation program at Target and regularly speaks at libraries all across the country and local community centers. Most recently he spoke at Boston Scientific to introduce meditation as a tool for stress reduction in the workplace and he was invited by the Columbia Heights Police Department to give talks on the many benefits of meditation and how it can help the Officers with their day to day stress. Arvind lives in Minnesota and is married with two teenage sons.

On the day before the program you will be sent the Zoom meeting information by email. Please note that if you are using Zoom on a tablet or smartphone you will need to download the Zoom app.

Woodbridge Library

7326344450

ngrimes@woodbridgelibrary.org

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Filling Our Hearts with Love Through Meditation - TAPinto.net

Jennifer Wallis explores the theory behind the physical and mental benefits of daily meditation

Meditation is a tried and tested tool used by many across the world to help improve their overall mental health and wellbeing. According to research from Bupa, 26% of UK adults say they have meditated as a way to improve their mental wellbeing in the past five years[1].

Figures from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) revealed that 828,000 workers were suffering from work-related stress, depression and anxiety in 2019/2020[2]. And that's before the pandemic hit. Even by 2020, the ONS had revealed that instances of reported depression had doubled from pre-Covid rates - from one in 10 to one in five[3].

On a personal level, my life is infinitely better now that I have developed a daily meditation practice. I am able to notice when anxiety taps on my window and attempts to scare the living daylights out of me. I am able to acknowledge it and sit with it. I am better equipped at dealing with most of the stresses of day-to-day life. When someone says something that I might perceive as out of turn', I don't find myself bubbling up with red hot anger and nor do I find myself sulking - or ruminating for hours - if someone doesn't do something in the way that I expected them to (I'm by no means perfect, but I'm certainly calmer and for longer periods these days). I also am able to react to people with more empathy and more compassion. And I can say with conviction that meditation has been key to all of this.

Improved quality of breath leads to improved physiological functions... and helps to improve symptoms of chronic pain and mental health conditions such as anxiety, stress and depression.

Why? Because over time we learn to bring awareness to our breathing; taking slower, fuller and deeper inhales and exhales. Not only does this improve our quality of breath, but in turn this improved quality of breath leads to improved physiological functions, such as cognitive function - our ability to learn and concentrate on tasks - and it helps to improve symptoms of chronic pain and mental health conditions such as anxiety, stress and depression.

According to a study by Harvard University, the physiologic benefits of meditation - in this instance the relaxing form of transcendental meditation - relate to quieting the sympathetic nervous system and the activation of the parasympathetic branch - otherwise known as rest and digest'. Medical studies have shown that individuals who practice transcendental meditation daily had lower blood levels of epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol.[4]

Brainwaves

When we meditate, we experience particular brainwave states. Brainwaves, which happen when we experience thoughts, emotions or behaviours, are the result of the neurons in our brains communicating with each other. Each type of brainwave will lead us to a certain state of being, such as being alert or being asleep, and these can enhance our mental state or increase our productivity. There are five main types of brainwaves - beta, alpha, theta, delta and gamma - and they are measured using a device called an electroencephalogram, or EEG, and are measured in hertz (Hz). They range from low frequency (delta) to high frequency (gamma).

Beta waves range from 12-38Hz and are the brainwaves that we experience in our normal waking state when we are active, alert and focused. High-beta waves measure at around 20.5Hz and these are experienced during high levels of stress. Perhaps many of us are experiencing this state right now. Alpha waves range from 8-12Hz and this is the frequency that occurs when we are in a wakeful, resting state, when we are daydreaming or in light meditation. Theta waves - 4-8Hz - happen during cycles of sleep or when we reach deeper, meditative states. When we are in the theta state our focus is inward and we are better able to tune into our inner voice. Vivid imagery may occur. We may have great flashes of inspiration. Theta waves are also used during healing and hypnosis. Delta waves come in at 0.5-4Hz and these happen during deep, dreamless sleep. During this state, healing and regeneration occurs within the body. A good reason to make sure you're getting enough quality sleep.

Gamma waves are the highest frequency of brainwave ranging from 38-100Hz, the highest of these is known as hyper-gamma. Gamma waves are produced by the brain when we are intently and deeply focused on a task or project, or engaged in problem solving. During gamma activity our brain is simultaneously processing information from different areas of the brain. People with higher gamma activity are said to be able to learn other languages more easily. Researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle used EEG technology to measure participants' language learning ability at different intervals throughout the study. It found that those who were more easily able to pick up a language had higher gamma (and beta) activity in the right temporoparietal regions, the areas of the brain involved in language processing.

These particular waves are also found in individuals who frequently experience feelings of happiness and joy for no specific reason. Gamma is associated with the state or feeling of compassion and unconditional love. Practicing the Buddhist meditation metta bhavana, or loving-kindness' meditation, can help increase gamma and cultivate this loving state. The practice involves feeling metta in our heartspace and then bringing people to mind and feeling this metta, or love, for them. Including people we may class as enemies'.

Brain-heart coherence

Practicing this type of meditation can also lead us to having greater brain-heart coherence, which is when the communication between the brain and the heart is synchronised. You might be aware that our brain sends signals to other organs in our bodies, but did you know that our heart has 40,000 neurons that communicate directly with the brain? More communication actually happens from the heart to the brain than it does the other way around. Incredible. The heart also has a measurable electromagnetic field, just as the brain does, and it is 5,000 times stronger than that of the brain and influences our environment and reality.

The Heart Math Institute has been studying coherence for many years and has found that these heart signals have a significant effect on brain function - influencing emotional processing as well as higher cognitive faculties such as attention, perception, memory, and problem-solving'[5]. Other benefits include improved immune, nervous and digestive systems, the release of the anti-aging hormone DHEA, reduced cortisol - the stress hormone - and improved sleep and overall energy levels. Non-coherent states exhibit emotions such as anger and frustration. A simple technique to bring coherence to our hearts is by breathing in for a count of five and out for a count of five, deeply and slowly. As we do this, we can focus on feelings of love, joy and gratitude.

How to do it

If you're new to meditation you may be wondering where to start. It's really important to establish a routine. Make sure that you set aside the same time each day and, ideally, meditate in the same place. After a few weeks (it's said that it takes 21 days to create a habit) you'll find that taking the time to sit in meditation will be something that happens naturally. Some people like to create an alter'. This could simply be having a plant and/or candle set on a table or even on the windowsill next to you.

What's important is committing yourself to a regular practice. But it's equally important that we don't berate ourselves for missing a day! Have a look at the different types of meditation and see which one resonates with you. There are some great apps out there that can get you started such as Calm, Insight Timer and Headspace. Once we create a routine and incorporate meditation into our lives, we will soon reap the rewards as will others around us.

Jennifer Wallis is a reiki practitioner, meditation teacher and writer. Follow her @Intothewildhealing

Sources[1]https://www.bupa.com/newsroom/news/meditation-brits-favourite-wellbeing-therapy#:~:text=The%20research%20shows%20that%20meditation,in%20the%20past%20five%20years. [2]https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/stress.pdf [3]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/articles/coronavirusanddepressioninadultsgreatbritain/june2020 [4]http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2009/issue61/ [5]https://www.heartmath.org/science/

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The science behind meditation - COVER - COVER - COVER

By Sven Groeneveld

Last night I started my new course which runs for 3 months and has a commitment of a daily session with http://www.friendleyes.com with #JackieReardon this is a free course (or donate what you can) to experience meditation.

I am a beginner and will need all the help I can get so I use pillows underneath my knees and sit comfortably with my back against the wall and start my meditation!

Laughing so hard from the @10sballs_com team who have been so creative and making me look great with helping me to get my daily story out to the tennis community!

@tennisAustralia offering our daily dose of spinning! The before and after is classic! Great support from the Team! Team Work makes the Dream Work

Check out my video for the other room work out with the Toalson #PowerShotMaker for accuracy and resistance. https://m.facebook.com/ToalsonUSA/posts/2838547029524168

My tweet of the day.

As always I have to finish my day strong! This was the gift I received today!

Sven Groeneveld

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