Mindfulness meditation training can prevent depression and reduce the stress of chronic pain, among many other things.  A recent Brown University study proposes a link between body and mind that would explain this extreme upside to meditating.

…Repeated local sensory focus — on a hand, say — develops control over underlying neurophysiological mechanisms that may help manage chronic pain or other problems…  …

…In a newly published neurophysiological review, Brown University scientists propose that mindfulness practitioners gain enhanced control over sensory cortical alpha rhythms that help regulate how the brain processes and filters sensations, including pain, and memories such as depressive cognitions.

Extreme Mind Body Control

This lends even more credence to the practice of Tummo by the Yogis of Tibet, and shown here:

These Yogis practice a form of Yoga and breath work, coupled with strong imagery to raise their skin temperature enough to steam wet blankets.  This is profound.

More on the Mindfulness Study

The Brown University study goes on to say:

In effect, what the researchers propose in their paper in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, is that by learning to control their focus on the present somatic moment, mindfulness meditators develop a more sensitive “volume knob” for controlling spatially specific, localized sensory cortical alpha rhythms. Efficient modulation of cortical alpha rhythms in turn enables optimal filtering of sensory information. Meditators learn not only to control what specific body sensations they pay attention to, but also how to regulate attention so that it does not become biased toward negative physical sensations such as chronic pain[...]

Click here to view original web page at www.sciencedaily.com

Mind Body Exercise

Imagine that?  Being able to turn off pain?  That would benefit many people in the West, especially those who find painkillers and substance abuse to be good remedies.  Of course, this takes considerable skill, so pills will always have a place, but imagine learning this skill?  What could it do for you in your life?

I remember being in college and having to take exams.  They were very stressful, and at the time I didn’t have great coping skills (watch the video below for a great one!).  I’d stay up all night cramming and hope that I’d be awake and alert enough to take the exam in the morning.  I had test anxiety, and it sucked.

Luckily for those reading this blog, I’ve come across a very interesting article from our friends across the pond:

Many year 11 students have recently been sitting GCSE mock exams. It is a stressful time. One teenager, Jess, describes her state of mind. “I was so nervous before the English language exam,” she says. “I did, like, twenty 7/11s.”

A “7/11″ is not the latest in teenage kicks, but a breathing exercise characteristic of a movement that is undergoing a surge in popularity in schools, known as “mindfulness”. The 7/11 is a relaxation breathing exercise. Matching the counting to the breath, you breathe in for a count of seven, and out for a count of 11. It works for teachers, too.

Another technique much in evidence under mindfulness is called “beditation” – again, not something to panic a teenager’s parents, but simply the practice of meditation while lying down.

Click here to view original web page at www.guardian.co.uk

Real Exam Stress Relief Sounds Like a Popular Convenience Store

7/11, as they call it.  It’s pretty simple.  You breathe in for a count of seven, then exhale for a count of eleven.  Watch this, it’s easy:

This is also good for work stress relief, or any situation really.

This has much to do with the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system that I’ve described in detail with these here.  This exercise can trigger the relaxation response if practiced enough.  That’s the point where our minds calm down and our bodies begin to heal.  Try it and see if it works for you.

Beditation

The second method mentioned was called “beditation”.  This is simply meditating while laying down.  Be careful not to fall asleep haha.

We all have certain addictions.  I’ll admit, I love coffee.  Does this mean I have a caffeine addiction, maybe.  I also like my iPhone, so maybe I have a cell phone addiction too.  Truth be told, I probably have both in a moderate amount.  While this is fine for me, generally, it sucks for others.

Addiction can take many forms.  From the aforementioned caffeine addiction, to the seemingly ubiquitous cell phone addiction, to serious substance abuse problems ranging from smoking to hardcore drugs, humans are plagued by addiction.

Cheap Caffeine Addiction Takes It’s Toll – funny

Mindfulness and/or Yoga Can Help Rid Addictions

There is a way out of it though, and this article on the Huffington Post does a good job of explaining it in terms of using Yoga to heal addiction.  While this site is not focused on Yoga per se, this article brings up a good point.

Yoga for recovery recognizes the need to connect the story of the body with the reason of the mind. Often people abuse their bodies because they don’t feel comfortable in their skins. Yoga can help change that. Deep breathing and the constant return to the present moment helps create an opportunity to pause and consider before making destructive choices. [...]

Click here to view original web page at www.huffingtonpost.com

Deep breathing and constant return to the present moment sound familiar, don’t they?  I have no idea where I’ve heard of those before… oh yeah…maybe here?  HAHA!  All kidding aside, I truly believe that mindfulness practice has helped me out of certain addictions that I’ve had in the past, not withstanding my caffeine addiction, or my cell phone addiction (more like information addiction wrapped up in a mobile interface).

Addictions Can Be Destructive, but So What?

Destructive choices are often the byproducts of feeling uncomfortable with ourselves.  We seek to remedy an imbalance in our lives with a quick fix, and in turn, end up causing more damage than we meant to.  Like drinking coffee in the morning instead of getting more sleep, or turning to alcohol to drown our sorrows and feel better…like that works…  Or the dreaded smoking or drugs or gambling, etc…

Even emotions themselves can be addicting.  Take anger for example.  We feel wronged and seek to return to a balanced state.  We feel the surge of adrenaline and like the power and the rush that anger gives us.  The only problem with this is that acting in anger usually ends poorly for us.

Sometimes, like in the case of coffee addiction, who cares, right?  Coffee has health benefits.  It also helps us concentrate, right?  That’s not the point here though.  While there are benefits, being addicted can take it’s toll.  We need things in moderation, including moderation.  Too much of a good thing…  Not to mention there are people who have physical withdrawl from caffeine, and other serious issues.  Take Urgelt here:

We love the beard, man.  You rock it.

Cure That Caffeine Addiction, Anger Addiction, Cell Phone Addiction, etc…?

Mindfulness is not the cure to everything, but learning to practice can certainly help with many of our issues.  Addiction is one problem that can be remedied by practicing mindfulness.  Constantly returning to the present moment, while not a cure to addiction in itself, can certainly hedge against acting on the addiction and leading us down the paths of destruction.

Think about that the next time you’re drinking coffee and feeding that caffeine addiction…  I know I will, time and time again…  damn, I love my coffee.

Social Anxiety Disorder Is Real

We Can Overcome Social Anxiety and Shyness

We’ve all been shy at some point in our lives. Whether we are nervous about calling someone on the phone, or meeting someone of the opposite sex, or just meeting new people at parties. For many of us, this shyness is temporary and short lived, but for some, it’s paralyzing. This documentary discusses Social Anxiety Disorder and brings to light how many people suffer from this.

Mindfulness Helped Me Overcome Shyness

For me personally, mindful practice helped me overcome being shy. It opened the door for me to see more of reality than I thought existed. This reality has really come to light when I removed some filters that I had which were preventing me from seeing the truth in my social interactions. I’ll write more on this in a later post, but for now, enjoy this video. I hope it helps some of you out there.

This is a very interesting video that talks about how our minds can turn anxiety into calmness. It’s worth watching for anyone who wants to learn to calm their minds. (hint: good for meditation.)

Martin L. Rossman, MD does a great job explaining how your brain can turn anxiety into calmness in this lecture. It can be a tremendous help to worriers, those with anxiety and panic, and even just meditators who want another tool in their arsenal to help them calm their minds in preparation for mindfulness and meditation, and even yoga.

Mental Chatter and Negativity Loops

Martin L. Rossman, MD, goes over loops that we get caught in when we worry about things. These loops often run on autopilot and prevent us from getting present in mindfulness and meditation. I’ve had this issue for years, but am getting very, very good at turning it off and breaking the cycle so that I can meditate and practice mindfulness. This will help those of you who have the same issues. This video will provide a pretty deep understanding of the loops and how to break them.

It’s pretty long, so be sure to bookmark this page!