An Overview of Meditation

Meditation is characterized by a crossed-legged seated posture, called the lotus pose, accompanied by deep, slowed breathing. Similar to yoga, meditation can help reduce feelings of depression, anxiety, and emotional triggers, while changing brainwaves. There are also several methods that offer slightly different benefits.

With many of meditations benefits, it is clear it can be ideal for substance abuse relief to combat symptoms of withdrawal, triggers, and cravings. The benefits of meditation include:

Other benefits of meditation therapy include the ability to alter brainwaves, which contribute to improved psychological function and cortisol reduction. Mindfulness practice can enhance the performance of the frontal cortex, the area of the brain that regulates planning and thinking. Meditation also impacts the amygdala, which reduces fear, and increases the activation of the anterior cingulate cortex, governing motivation and motor control.

In cases of withdrawal-related symptoms such an anxiety, insomnia, or depression, meditation can assist in grounding the individual and calming the nervous system. A calm nervous system enhances the overall quality of sleep, and during times of wakefulness, it enables better moods. Furthermore, those suffering emotionally imbalanced thoughts from disorders like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can learn to observe thoughts without attachment. Meditation therapy also allows someone to actively regain control over impulses. For example, transcendental meditation has been used to reduce drug, alcohol, and nicotine abuse.

Dont waste another second. Enter your number to receive a call from a compassionate treatment expert.

Contact a treatment expert at (855) 826-4464

Another element of meditation for substance abuse treatment is the release of dopamine or feel good chemicals sought out by those struggling with addiction. A study by Molecular Psychiatry indicated the low levels of dopamine once someone abusing drugs experience when crashing, contrasting it with a John F. Kennedy study. The John F. Kennedy revealed a 65% boost in the minds of participants during meditation. Any co-occurring or undiscovered motivations for substance abuse, such as filling a void, thinking the worst-case scenario, or feeling anxious can improve with meditation.

A John F. Kennedy revealed a 65% boost in the minds of participants during meditation.

Meditation therapy allows practitioners to feel at peace in the moment. With this, someone with trouble focusing on daily activities and craving substance instead can learn present moment awareness through the breath. If someone includes yoga in their practice, he or she has a better method to achieve wellness and control over ones mental activity. Meditation can aid Cognitive Behavioral Therapy by reinforcing focusing on ones behavior similar to a mindful practice. Lastly, meditation can teach individuals to accept what is, put the past in perspective, or create intentions which are beneficial for someone in treatment.

Meditation is becoming more available as a holistic treatment for substance abuse. Individuals seeking a life of transformation can begin so by contacting a treatment specialist who can place them in a facility offering yoga and meditation. Prospective patients can discover the different types of treatments that can help him or her thrive in wellness. Make the first step, and learn how meditation treatment and medications can set you free from addiction.

Read the original post:

Meditation Therapy for Substance Abuse - Addiction Center

See it before it closes in late January.

"Stages of Dying 5/6: Depression" by Judy Chicago, 2015

Judy Chicago has had a busy year. In addition to opening The End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the artist turned 80, opened an art space in New Mexico for her nonprofit Through the Flower, and launched the Judy Chicago Research Portal, which collects the archives of her writing, educational materials, and visual works. The website for that project states that Chicago started the initiative as part of her efforts to overcome the erasure that has eclipsed the achievements of too many women, displaying her desire to create an enduring legacy. Thinking about her own departure from this world and what shell leave behind has prompted three fascinating series of work, and her continued evolution proves why she remains on the cutting edge after decades.

The End is broken up into three distinct rooms for each of its series, like a guided journey into the underworld, and its guards helpfully recommend that viewers absorb the exhibit in its intended order. The first examines death as an abstract concept, the second finds Chicagos personal musings on her own demise, and the third considers the death of the natural world. There is a strictly enforced no photography rule throughout, in contrast to the wall text encouraging hashtagging around the rest of the museum, which prods viewers to stay in the moment and engage with the material.

Despite Chicagos wide-reaching body of work and frequent focus on political and historical issues, her art has often approached those ideas through a lens that points inward. The first room, titled Stages of Dying, repurposes Elisabeth Kbler-Ross five stages of grief to portray a figure who bears a resemblance to Chicago grappling with the concept of death across several panels. Chicago is unabashed in showing the full humanity and raw emotions of a woman who is elderly, nude, and bald, all rarities in artistic depictions. Her distinctive cursive handwriting is a fixture in these porcelain paintings, and in an interview with Artnet, Chicago says, because the subject matter was so personal and intimate, I wanted it to be in my own hand. I wanted it to go from my hand into other peoples hearts.

Next, in the Mortality room, the artist takes a hard look at her own oblivion without flinching, and has gone so far as to preemptively cast her own face and hands in a bronze death mask, a tradition typically reserved for after a person dies. Her likeness appears serene, with her head lying on a pillow, a smile on her lips, and her hands clasping lilies. The hyperrealistic heavy bronze serves as a foil to the surreal, stylized collection of black glass paintings that follow. Chicago is a multi-talented craftswoman, adept at choosing the right material for a given work, and her typical technical mastery and ability to move easily between mediums is on display. Glass painting is a painstaking process, requiring the colors to be built up layer by meticulous layer, and going into the kiln for firing multiple times.

One series of these glass paintings titled In the Shadow of Death considers the views of various philosophers and writers, etching out choice passages like crib notes. Most of these thinkers have a pretty positive spin on death, and some of the accompanying imagery is a bit more lighthearted than the rest of the exhibit, particularly a gleeful skull-faced character.

The next of the glass paintings form How Will I Die, which plays out as a choose-your-own-adventure of possible fatal outcomes that Chicago has contemplated. Will I die screaming in pain? the artist wonders in one particularly visceral panel depicting her writhing figure. Will I die in bed with my cat Petie by my side? asks another. These scenes are illustrated with another Judy Chicago avatar, this time with her famous red hair. One panel shows Chicago laid out, an outline of her head rising upward with the text everyone wants to die peacefully. Her body rests on a reflective swath of iridescent paint that acts almost as a mirror to place the viewer in the scene. The reveries are deeply personal, but they evoke fears and worries that are shared by all.

In the first two rooms, Chicago leaves space for ambiguity and interpretation, but the Extinction segment of the gallery, the finale, conveys an utter clarity of message and purpose. This room features another bronze casting, this one an assemblage of animals that looks over the room, their detailed, lifelike appearances undercut by the inclusion of an incongruous alligator purse. Chicagos work has never shied away from uncomfortable truths, and here she has black glass paintings, each displaying a different ecological atrocity wrought by humans using vivid and sometimes violent imagery. Jarring illustrative elements, like the jagged zigzag edges of fins chopped off of sharks and a cross section of a beluga whale being sliced open for its caviar, along with a tin of the stuff, mark the otherwise delicate rendering of nature scenes. The handwritten captions relay upsetting facts and figures, which frantic crossouts sometimes interrupt.

As the year and the decade draw to a close, its a fitting time to contemplate endings, and an apt opportunity to see The End before it closes in late January. The End is not light fare for an afternoon at the museum, which is precisely what makes it such a vital experience. By the end of this terminal journey, a viewer may be unsettled and emotionally spent, and its rare that art can provoke such a vigorous reaction. Its enough to make a person feel alive.

At the National Museum of Women in the Arts to Jan. 20, 2020.1250 New York Ave. NW. $8$10. (202) 783-5000. nmwa.org.

To Do This Week is your twice-weekly email roundup of arts and cultural events. It's the perfect way to know what's going on, and subscribing is a great way to support us.

Go here to read the rest:

Judy ChicagoThe End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction, Reviewed - Washington City Paper

If you're interested in a more stable, peaceful, or calm life, meditation and mindfulness may be a way to improve your sense of well being. WEMU's Lisa Barry talks with Michigan Medicine OB/GYN Dr. Frank Anderson, who also co-founded "Ann Arbor Open Meditation," about how a sense of awareness and being in the present moment can help you feel more balanced and choose to respond versus react in stressfulsituations.

Listen to the full interview.

About Ann Arbor Open Meditation

Drop-in mindfulness meditation session, open to all, every Thursday 7:30-8:30 pm, atThe Lotus Center, 2711 Carpenter Road, Ann Arbor, MI.

Appropriate for beginners or experienced meditators.This a secular meditation group with no religious affiliation.The leaders vary from week to week and are experienced meditators from a variety of traditions, primarily Buddhist.

We predominantly teach mindfulness techniques with some concentration and loving kindness meditation. There are two 20-minute sittings the first is guided and the second is silent with time for short discussion and questions.

Guided Body Scan Meditation by Dr. Frank Anderson

Click below to hear a "Guided Body Scan Meditation" with Frank Anderson.

If you wish to contact Dr. Anderson, send him an e-mail here.

Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support.Make your donation to WEMU todayto keep your community NPR station thriving.

Like 89.1WEMUonFacebookand follow us onTwitter

Lisa Barry is the host of All Things Considered on WEMU. You can contact Lisa at 734.487.3363, on Twitter@LisaWEMU, or email her atlbarryma@emich.edu

See the article here:

Art & Soul: The Art Of Well Being - The Merits Of Meditation And Mindfulness - WEMU

Contrary to popular opinion, an ill-paid, grumpy clerk at some small-town motor inn did not turn away Mary and Joseph during the busy season. Thats good pulpit fodder but poor Bible reading.

On orders from Caesar, Joseph had taken his pregnant fiancee to stay with his family for their tiny part in an imperial census-taking, and since the familys guest house was stuffed with other visitors (i.e., there was no room in the inn), the expectant mother required emergency accommodations.

Also contrary to popular opinion, the one called Jesus was not born in a barn. More than likely, mother birthed him in a cave, not far from the family residence but isolated enough for some privacy and perhaps even an odd feeling of coziness. Gospel readers will not miss the interest, since Jesus liked to pray in caves and was buried in a cave, too. Here is where a storyteller might ask us, Now, where do you usually find buried treasure?

And dont assume that a mother laying her baby in an animal feeding trough (she laid him in a manger) to be an insult or indignity, but rather, do assume it to be an infant kinship with all living creatures. Ask a good farmer sometime how he feels about his cows and horses and even chickens and pigs.

The fact of Jesus coming into this world in fragile, earthy, almost obscenely ordinary circumstances does find its way into most press releases and church newsletters. This is fortunate, because the scenario carries with it a crucial paradox. Ninety-nine percent of the time, God will never be where you expect. The people you overlook, the places you pass by and all your tattered and embarrassing humanness that you carefully hide? There lies the bed for the coming child of Christmas. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).

The Rev. Eugene Stockstill is pastor of Ebenezer United Methodist Church and Myrtle United Methodist Church in Union County.

Originally posted here:

MEDITATION: Don't miss the coming of the child - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

If the holidays leave you more stressed than centered, some experts say daily meditation sessions can help. The only question: Who has time to meditate when it takes 20 minutes just to find parking at the mall?

Perhaps a more practical approach is Immediate Gratification Meditation. Try these tongue-in-cheek chants to maintain your serenity or at least your sanity all season long.

Holiday Mantra 1:

I see the best in all houseguests.

When hosting overnight guests, youll want to make them feel at home. And when they feel too much at home, youll want to mutter this mantra under your breath. Chant it in the bathroom and relax as you remove wet houseguest towels from the floor, plunge a toilet clogged with foreign houseguest matter, and extract a clump of houseguest hair from the shower drain. Chant it in the kitchen while custom-cooking meals that conform to their many dietary restrictions, and washing an endless stream of dishes while they attend to urgent Facebook updates. Finally, chant this mantra in the living room, and welcome the feeling of calm that comes over you as you figure out what they did to the remote control to make it stop working.

Holiday Mantra 2

I celebrate the unique gifts of others.

Chant this mantra instead of chanting, I can tell that you put zero thought into this present. Neutralize negativity as you unwrap an Amazon gift card from your spouse. Express gratitude for that re-gifted bottle of prosecco selected especially for you by the person you gave it to last year, after someone gave it to you the year before. Float above mobs at the mall like a songbird, chirping this mantra as you try to return a sweater that is three sizes too small and did not come with a gift receipt. Remember, this mantra is easily recited in workplace settings as well. Try it during Secret Santa ceremonies where everyone is only allowed to spend 10 bucks. Before you know it, youll find your Zen when Muriel in Accounting gives you another bar of soap/pair of wacky novelty socks/box of Tic Tacs from the checkout counter at CVS.

Holiday Mantra 3

I will be my best self once were done celebrating.

This all-purpose mantra is best chanted when holiday traditions take their toll on your tranquility. Begin by whispering it when selecting and/or decorating a Christmas tree with the pathological perfectionist of your choice. Later, allow yourself to chant it in a louder, more expletive-strewn manner when the tree topples to the floor, shattering each delicate ornament and strangling you with a string of twinkling lights. This versatile mantra may also be chanted while preparing traditional holiday treats such as the Hanukkah latke, which translates from ancient Hebrew to: labor-intensive potato pancake that always comes out soggier than the frozen ones from Trader Joes. And when its finally time to gather together for your holiday feast, recite this mantra with a powerful aperitif. You will attain instant inner peace when your seating plan is ignored, and youll marvel at the colorful conversation between Uncle Mo in the red MAGA cap and cousin Cathy the climate change researcher.

Holiday Mantra 4

Everything will be different next year.

Chant this year, next year, and all subsequent years.

___

Dan Zevin , a Thurber Prize-winning humorist, is author most recently of ``Very Modern Mantras: Daily Affirmations for Daily Aggravations (Running Press Adult). You can follow his teachings on Instagram @modernmantras; Twitter @modern_mantras; and his website, danzevin.com.

Excerpt from:

Chant or rant? Surviving the most wonderful time of the year - Associated Press

Twitter chief Jack Dorsey recently wrote about a 10-day silent Vipassana programme he had attended on his birthday at Pyin Oo Lwin, Myanmar. Elaborating on his experience with the 2,500-year-old meditation form, Dorsey tweeted, Imagine sitting on a concrete floor cross-legged for an hour without moving. Pain arises in the legs in about 30-45 minutes. Ones natural reaction is to change posture to avoid the pain. What if, instead of moving, one observed the pain and decided to remain still through it?

Dorsey is not the first Silicon executive to take up the programme a number of top-ranking executives across the world and in India, though to a much lesser degree, are taking up Vipassana considered to be a fairly gruelling technique.

So what is it about Vipassana that is drawing people to it? We speak with Ramnath Shenoy, Vipassana meditator for over 25 years and a volunteer teacher with the Vipassana International Academy, to find out more about the ancient form of meditation, rediscovered by Gautama Buddha and propagated by Burmese-Indian teacher of Vipassana meditation, Satya Narayan Goenka.

What is the ultimate purpose of Vipassana?

Vipassana is a simple, scientific way to achieve real peace of mind and to lead a happy, useful life. Vipassana means to see things as they really are. It is a process of mental purification through self-observation. We all experience agitation, frustration and disharmony in our lives. When this happens, not only do we suffer ourselves, we make others miserable too by our behaviour.

We all want to live peacefully, within ourselves and with those around us. Vipassana enables us to experience peace and harmony within, by purifying the mind, freeing it from suffering and the deep-seated causes of suffering. Step by step, the practice leads to the highest spiritual goal of full liberation from all mental defilement.

In today's world, where distractions are numerous, how can one practice mindfulness?

I think distractions have always been there in one form or the other. We have to accept this fact and try our best within the circumstances. By the practice of Vipassana, one learns to tune out the distractions and focus on the task at hand.

It is the lack of mindfulness that makes us do things which lead to our suffering. By practising mindfulness, we train our mind to be aware and thus do the right action at all times and in all situations.

Vipassana trains you to be non-reactive to sensations - how can this be achieved?

The first step is to be aware of sensations, this itself is a big challenge!

To achieve this, one practices concentration in the first three days of a Vipassana course by observing one's own breath, without trying to control or change it in any way. Once concentration is developed, one practices awareness of ordinary, physical, bodily sensations. One then practices equanimity towards these sensations - not to react with craving or aversion but to accept them as they are. At the experiential level, one understands the impermanent nature of these sensations and one accepts them with calmness. We use these sensations as a tool, to break the habit pattern of generating craving and aversion.

For all this, of course, one has to join a 10 Day course where the technique is taught systematically and one learns under proper guidance.

How should you prepare yourself to practice Vipassana? Should any precautions be taken?

There is no special preparation required to practice Vipassana. One just needs to go with an open mind and with the firm determination to try it out with all sincerity.

With regards to precautions, one has to be careful not to mix techniques. For 10 days, you have to give Vipassana a fair trial without mixing it with anything else you may have learnt. Also, if someone has the habit of smoking or drinking, then one should try to give it up sometime before the course so that there arent any severe withdrawal symptoms during the course.

How does Vipassana help one deal with grief or death?

No purpose is served by crying over the demise of a dear one - that person is not going to come back. By such an action, we generate misery for ourselves and also send thoughts filled with misery towards the person who has passed away. The whole atmosphere around us gets permeated with this misery.

Story continues

Vipassana trains the mind to remain equanimous and face all the challenges of life. Rather than generating misery, we learn to remain calm and generate goodwill, for the departed one and for the members of the family.

Vipassana, as a form of meditation, is still not that popular, why do you think that is so?

Although taught by the Buddha over 2500 years ago, Vipassana was lost in the country of its origin. About 50 years ago, my teacher, Mr Satya Narayan Goenka came to India and conducted the first course in Mumbai, primarily to teach his mother and a few others. There was so much demand for more courses that he ended up moving to India!

Since then it has been spreading, first in India and then around the world. Vipassana is now taught in all continents, at over 200 Centers around the world. One can only put in one's efforts to establish oneself and hopefully, more and more people will benefit from this technique.

See the original post here:

Vipassana for the soul: What this ancient meditation form is all about - Yahoo Movies

A very important birdis said to be gettingin the way of Kanye West's construction of a reported "meditation structure" in Wyoming.

An Associated Press report that'smaking the rounds via a wide variety of headlines states that the "imperiled" Sage Grouse bird is slowing the process behind West'sconstruction plans for his Wyoming ranch, which is located in the Cody area and is approximately 50 miles east of Yellowstone National Park property.

Following West'srecent change to include residential space in the construction of the structure in question, local officials denied the project, with concerns now being raised about state regulations issued as part of an effort to protect the Sage Grouse.

The population of the Sage Grouse has seen a sharp decrease over the years, with areas deemed to be their favored habitat protected by restrictions on certain kinds of development projects.West's project, which will reportedly see a ground-level roofing structure with a large opening, lies within a "key habitat for the birds" area.

"It's so broad, it can stop development . . . [This]ought to be concerning to everybody with the impact it has to potential development in Park County and any county in Wyoming," West-repping attorney Colin Simpson said in a statement to Cody Enterprise earlier this week.

Now, per the Enterprise report, West's project requires a density and disturbance analysis to ensure it meets Wyoming Game and Fish compliance.

Read the rest here:

Bird Gets in the Way of Kanye West's Construction of 'Meditation Structure' in Wyoming - Complex

On the eve of the shortest day of the year, when darkness envelopes the earth, we await the coming light and affirm that within the womb of darkness, light emerges, and growth occurs, often when we least expect it. Sometimes, in the midst of grief, when we are in the depths of loss and depression, the light seems faraway, impossible to find again. Out of the depths, we cry and sometimes all we hear is our own voice. And yet, in the darkness the eye begins to see, so wrote American poet Theodore Roethke. At first, when darkness descends, we feel lost, as if walking through the woods a on moonless night. But, then we discover little lights in the dark wood and our eyes adjusting to the dark, and glimmers of something in the distance. In the darkness, we discover light enough to find our way home.

As a grandparent, I am gaining insights into my own childhood. When I was a small boy, I was afraid of the dark. Shadows loomed large and threatening, and in the darkness, I felt alone and when my imagination got the best of me, I ran to my parents room seeking comfort under their covers. So, it was with my own son and grandchildren.

Darkness often brings confusion, and in the confusion of our grief, we often think the pain will never end, yet like the Solstice the light will gradually grow brighter, though we will always grieve our losses.

Yet, in the darkness, there is hope. As a parent and grandparent, like my parents, Ive learned to provide night lights around the house. Night lights dont always take away the loneliness or the need for a reassuring touch, but they help us orient ourselves and find our way.

The scriptures tell us darkness has a light of its own, and that darkness isnt always negative. In dark soil, seeds germinate and push toward the light. In the darkness of the womb, a baby grows, and on the darkest night, the eye begins to see. We may discover new hope amid grief; new life despite the reality of death.

On the darkest and longest night of the year, Jesus birth is celebrated. In the ancient world, people feared the winter nights: they worried that darkness would swallow the light, and the sun would be no more. What joy they felt when the days grew longer!

A star guides the magi from the East, and this year we need to let Gods light guide us as well: we need to rise up despite the heaviness of grief and the challenges of our time, when leaders have lost their reason and traumatize the nation with their rants, and be ready for adventure, for Gods light has come; despite our grief and anxiety, we are ultimately safe and give thanks for those we have loved; and a child is born to us and in us inviting us to affirm On the longest night, the light of the world shines in us. In the midst of confusion, the light of the world guides our path. In uncertainty , the light of the world gives us direction and bring us joy. +++ Bruce Epperly is a Cape Cod Pastor, professor, and author of over fifty books including his Christmas Trilogy: The Work of Christmas: The Twelve Days of Christmas with Howard Thurman, I Wonder as Wander: The Twelve Days of Christmas with Madeleine LEngle, and Thin Places Everywhere: The Twelve Days of Christmas with Celtic Christianity, and Piglets Process: Process Theology for All Gods Children.

See the rest here:

Winter Solstice Meditation: Darkness Has a Light of Its Own - Patheos

This year on Untangle we covered everything from happiness to biohacking to the neuroscience of love with experts on mindfulness, brain health, relationships, performance, and so much more. We culled some of our favorite books from those interviews to help you kickstart your 2020 mindfulness practice and have the best year yet. Here they are:

Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm and Confidence by Dr. Rick Hanson Rick shares how we can hardwire our brains for happiness using practices that help us cultivate and experience the good in our lives while reducing our natural negativity bias.

Untangle Podcast: Top Five Ways to Be Happier in 2019

From Suffering to Peace: The True Promise of Mindfulness by Mark Coleman Mark gets to the heart of what mindfulness really is and introduces practices that you can use in your everyday life to bring you more peace.

Untangle Podcast: Quiet the Ruminations, Story Spinning, and Judgments for Good

Undo It:How Simple Lifestyle Changes Can Reverse Most Chronic Diseases by Dr. Dean Ornish Lifestyle medicine pioneer Dr. Dean Ornish shares what it takes to be the best version of yourself, including how you can reverse heart disease by optimizing fourimportant areas of your life: stress less, love more, eat well, and exercise.

Untangle Podcast: How to Be the Best Version of Yourself

Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression by Dr. Alex Korb Alex explains how to take control of your wellbeing with the power of neuroscience. He discusses the neural nature of happiness and provides practical tips to increase your happiness levels.

Untangle Podcast: Wired for Joy: The Neuroscience of Happiness

The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully by Frank Ostaseski A leading voice in the end-of-life care movement, Frank shares comforting and inspiring truths on how we live and die, and on what matters most. When we get to the end of our lives, the two questions most often asked are: Did I love well? and Am I loved? His teachings show us that we can live with joy and sorrow, and live a rich life filled with love.

Untangle Podcast: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Love and Living Fully

The Alter Ego Effect: The Power of Secret Identities to Transform Your Life by Todd Herman This elite performance coach discusses how top performers create alter egos that allow them to unlock characteristics of success that they otherwise might not be able to access. He shows us how we can use these techniques to increase our own productivity and success.

Untangle Podcast: How Identity Traps Us and How Alter Egos Can Help You Excel

Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeons Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart by James Doty An accomplished neurosurgeon and entrepreneur tells the story of how a magic shopkeeper transformed his life by teaching him the magic of meditation! He attributes much of his success to this early event in his life.

Untangle Podcast: A Neuroscientist Walks into a Magic Shop

Unstoppable: A 90-Day Plan to Biohack Your Mind and Body for Success by Ben Angel Ben shares how his early depression and lack of energy led him to find solutions he never imagined would make him feel better, making it his mission to explore alternatives beyond medicine and self-help. The book shows us how to get fired up and focused with tools that may have the power to change our lives forever.

Untangle Podcast: Find Your Way to Peak Productivity

Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love by Dr. Helen Fisher Anthropologist Helen Fisher shares whats actually happening in our brains when we fall in love. She and a team of scientists scan the brains of people in love to see where different areas of the brain get a boost of blood flow, building the case that romantic passion is hardwired into our brains.

Untangle Podcast: Wired for Love: The Neuroscience of Sex, Lust, Affection and Lasting Love

Stress Less, Accomplish More: Meditation for Extraordinary Performance by Emily Fletcher This book covers three main topics: mindfulness,meditation, and manifesting. Emily shares why this system helps optimize performance at work and at home. She includes practical, easy practices to support each main topic and builds a case for how her system improves your health and sleep as well.

Untangle Podcast: Stress Less, Accomplish More for Extraordinary Performance

About Untangle

Untangle is the podcast from 5-star app Meditation Studio and Muse, the brain sensing headband that gives you biofeedback on your meditation practice. Hosts Patricia Karpas and Ariel Garten interview thought leaders, authors and experts in areas related to mindfulness, neuroscience, brain practices, happiness, relationships, resilience and much more. https://meditationstudioapp.com/podcasts

About Patricia Karpas

Patricia Karpas is the co-founder of Meditation Studio, head of content for Muse, the brain sensing headband and co-host of the Untangle Podcast, where she has interviewed over 200 experts, thought leaders and authors on how mindfulness, contemplative and brain-focused practices change us.

Follow ushereand subscribeherefor all the latest news on how you can keep Thriving.

Stay up to date or catch-up on all our podcasts with Arianna Huffingtonhere.

Read more here:

10 Books to Make 2020 Your Most Amazing Year Yet - Thrive Global

Ashley Tisdale has been a role model for young girls since she played Maddie Fitzpatrick in the Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and, later, Sharpay Evans in the mega popular High School Musical trilogy. Those fans can see a lot more of Tisdale with all her current projects, including starring roles in CBSs hit drama Carols Second Act as well as the new Netflix series Merry Happy Whatever. On top of that, in May 2019, she released her third studio album, Symptoms.

Tisdale sat down with Thrive to talk about how she prioritizes her very busy schedule, the microsteps she uses to calm her anxiety, and how she will be spending her holidays this year. As Sharpay Evans would say, I need a little fabulous, is that so wrong?! And we think Ashley Tisdale is certainly a little fabulous.

Thrive Global: Whats your morning routine?

Ashley Tisdale: I like to make coffee in the morning, and its a specific kind of coffee. I grind up the beans, and while coffee is being made, I actually do a meditation. I meditate every single morning.

TG: How do you incorporate movement into your day?

AT: When Im busy, its hard to motivate myself to work out, but I do have to say it really does help with my stress. When I was younger I was not very motivated to do stuff like that; I just hated working out. But then as I got older, I realized it really helps with my mental health. I love the feeling after youre done and that makes me go back and do it again. I am happier. I feel like I really did something for myself. I love hiking breathing in the natural air helps me a lot. I also get a clear perspective when Im hiking, and Ive also written a lot of lyrics for songs when I hike. So I tend to get really creative in that space. I think working out is just something that saves me all the time from just not getting too stressed.

TG: What are the microsteps you use for a healthier life?

AT: I really enjoy being alone. Im often surrounded by a lot of people and Im a pretty independent person. So, if I want to go get a massage, I go get a massage, and dont feel guilty about it. If I want to hang out by myself, Ill hang out and watch Real Housewives by myself. I just really like to have that time where I have my own little space and it helps me to be centered.

TG: How do you prioritize when you have an overwhelming amount to do?

AT: Its knowing your priorities, and being present in the moment. I really like to be present and not worry too much about stuff thats happening in the future. Also, its important to just know your priorities. No matter what, my husband is always going to be a priority of mine, and Im one for him. Thats ultimately what matters.

TG: What motivates you to achieve your goals?

AT: I have always been very driven. Even as a child, Id get very inspired by things. I like to manifest things, and I feel like Im really good at it. So, its really about having a positive attitude, and knowing that if you really want to do something, just go for it.

Go step by step. If you think its too far out of reach, then you might not get it. But if you are more positive and you believe that you have it, build your plan and go for it.

TG: What do you do for self-care?

AT: I take moments for myself. On Sundays I like to do facials, and take a bath, and if Im feeling overwhelmed during the day or during a work week, I will take a moment to do a meditation. I also just read a lot of books. Theres a really great book called Your Power to Heal. Its really helped me when Im stressed.

TG: You have spoken about how you and your husband prioritize each other. How do you divide the workload so one person isnt taking everything on?

AT: We dont have kids, so its a little bit easier. Im very good at a lot of things and Chris is really good at a lot of things. He works long hours because hes a composer. I dont really look at tasks as being like, you do this, I do this. We both contribute. We are very in sync with each other. He can tell when I need help with something, and then he knows that Im there if he needs something. So its just all about communication. I think communication is the biggest thing in any relationship. We both have heavy work schedules. So we dont put any expectations on each other.

TG: What are your holiday traditions?

AT: We bake cookies that are recipes for my great-grandma, and we also go to midnight mass. We also do Candy Cane Lane, which is something in LA, where you just drive around, have hot chocolate, and you get to see all these crazy, insane, lit-up houses.

TG: What causes you stress, and how do you cope with that stress?

AT: I would say my anxiety causes me stress. I have a healthy balance of stress at all times. My husband is so good at being in the moment, and taking moments in. I used to just kind of rush through and be like, Why, why, why are we taking this moment in? This is so weird. And now Im like, Ah, its okay, you can enjoy this moment, and let it sink in.

I also do a lot of meditation for anxiety, because I think that really helps you breathe. When youre experiencing anxiety you tend to kind of stop breathing in a way. A lot of the symptoms that scared me in the past I thought there was something was wrong with me, health-wise. So, now I am able to realize and say, okay, thats a symptom of anxiety. I recognize it and move on. I think a lot of people try not to acknowledge it and try to push it down being like, Oh my gosh, here it comes again. Theyre scared of it. Im not scared of it anymore.

TG: How do you sleep?

AT: I get eight hours of sleep. I am someone who, if I have a call time in the morning, I will go to bed at 10 oclock. So I actually get really good sleep. I do have a whole little routine I always wash my face, brush my teeth, I have a humidifier. I have a whole routine. My husband is like, Okay, so get ready for bed, because its going to take 30 minutes.

Here is the original post:

Ashley Tisdale: Her Go-To Trick To Achieve Her Goals - Thrive Global