Meditation to Ease Stress

An excellent TEDEd video crossed my path this morning .. with a very clear and insightful understanding of Stress and showing how chronic stress can affect brain size, its structure, and how it functions, right down to the level of your genes.

Just before Christmas, an article in The Financial Review espoused the benefits of meditation 'Five Ways Meditation Gives Leaders an Edge' highlighting recent research that supports how meditation can be a super effective tool for CEO's and their team: 

#1 Meditation builds resilience 

#2 Meditation builds emotional intelligence 

#3 Meditation enhances creativity 

#4 Meditation improves relationships 

#5 Meditation helps with focus 

This time last year (early in 2015) I was priviledged to attend the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute program in Sydney along with 500+ corporates .. SIYLI is a program "born at Google and based on brain science" and over two days we worked through the mindfulness program developed by Chade-Meng Tan at Google which was used to train Emotional Intelligence skills .. leading to resilience, positive mindset, and centered leadership. 

Added to the research and the trending media attention - sits my own 20+ year meditation practice and a challenging and exciting corporate career that left me a little burnt-out and disengaged.  

In 2009 (after the global financial crises bumped me out of my role) I started Quiet Mind Meditation.  In recent years I have returned to the boardrooms of Australia with a passion to share what I have known for most of my life: the power of meditation for our own mental and physical wellbeing.

I share an integrated approach to meditation; rooted in the knowledge gained from time tested ancient practices + with a focus on current mindfulness research; offering a range of Workshops, Lunchtime Learning programs, Ongoing onsite sessions and conference break-outs. 

Find out more: Corporate Onsite Meditation

Company meditation

“Our daily meditation has had an impact on each teammate individually, as well as our culture as a whole,” says Mike Del Ponte, cofounder of Soma. 

“For individuals, meditation increases focus, decreases stress, and helps us to be more creative. As a company, it sets the tone for the vibe we want to have in the office: relaxed, thoughtful, and focused on health.”

Article today in Business Insider Australia with four tips for incorporating meditation into you workplace:

1. Make it a daily ritual, not something that’s “nice to have.”
Ten to 15 minutes is short enough to be accessible to everyone, but long enough to have a meaningful effect.

2. Make it comfortable for everyone.
Let employees sit how they want and do whatever they choose with the available time. 

3. Make it fun.
"At the end of each session, we say ‘Somaste’ (instead of Namaste) to remind ourselves not to take things too seriously.” 

4. Ask someone to take the lead.

“There’s usually one person in the company that is really passionate about meditation.” 

Full article from Business Inside Australia here.

If you would like to discuss meditation for your team or receive our brochure 'Meditation @ Work' please contact sarah@quietmind.com.au 

Busting Stress article

You might like to read a recent article that appeared in the Bayside edition of Mamamag (Feb 2015) where I wrote about ..

Busting the Stress of Busyness

and introduce two very powerful and simple Meditative Exercises to release the daily (or hourly) build up of tension and tightness in mind and body.

"the best approach to managing stress is a proactive and ongoing one" Sarah, Quiet Mind Meditation

Busting the Stress of Busyness

Today I started working in my new office .. it's actually a co-working arrangement where I am sharing a beautiful, quirky space initially for one day a week .. so that hopefully I can get a little more productive and find a little more space for creative projects.

AND as I was waiting for my mid-morning latte at the cafe across the road, I happened to pick up the February edition of Mamamag .. to find my article printed on page 36!

SO EXCITED .. JUMPING UP AND DOWN!

I wrote about 'Busting The Stress of Busyness' and introduced two wonderful, practical and powerful Meditative Exercises for mums (and kids, and parents, and grandparents .. and everyone!) that allow us to be more proactive in self managing our stress.

Once we have these exercises in our life toolbox we will naturally find moments during the day to engage with them .. while waiting in the car for school to finish, while the kids are napping, or before heading to the next meeting.

The more you practice these exercises, the more you build your ability to release tension and stress, and connect with that feeling of calm that is always within.

Thanks Mamamag!

Day 1 : A Kalachakra Pilgrim in Washington

Monks at the 2003 Kalachakra in India

This week in Washington DC, His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be presenting the Kalachakra, an 11-day event that brings together thousands of monks, nuns and lay practitioners to meditate and pray for world peace.

The tradition revolves around the concept of time; the Sanskrit term meaning time (kāla) and cycles (chakra): .. from the cycles of the planets, to the cycles of human breathing, it teaches the practice of working with the most subtle energies within one's body on the path to enlightenment.

Gabriel Riera from The washington Post is covering the Kalachakra in his blog here

“I will be blogging about what I see and hear. My perspective is that of an interested and reasonably informed participant, though not an expert on the topic of Buddhism. I have a meditation practice that I work at, struggle with, abandon, and cling to in seemingly endless cycles throughout my life.”

“On the one hand, the Kalachakra can be seen as a peace rally, a significant gathering in our nation’s capital where decisions are made that affect the entire world. Hundreds of deeply dedicated nuns, monks and lay people will spend days together under the guidance of a powerful spiritual leader; their minds and hearts oriented like needles on a cosmic compass, in the direction of peace. Such concentrated attention and goodwill can only be of benefit to all beings.”

Celebrities Who Meditate!

This is a first! A nod to mainstream-media-celebrity-sell .. from The Telegraph (UK) newspaper online today who identified ‘celebrities’ who meditate .. some of which are listed here, for the full article go here.

Gwyneth Paltrow : In January, the actress said: “My New Year's resolution is to learn how to meditate. It’s always sounded like something I should do, but I don’t know how to. My friends who do it say it’s really freakin' brilliant. They say you can’t know the peace/awareness/contentment until you do it."

Meditation Research

The Shambhala Mountain Centre in Colorado has for four decades offered instruction and retreat to students serious about meditation and yoga. In February 2007 it also became a scientific laboratory with the introduction of the Shamatha Project which sought to put some rigour around the claimed effects of meditation.

In a randomized, controlled study, the project looked at how intensive meditation training affects the way people think and feel. It employed cognitive and perceptual tasks, emotional provocation, questionnaires, and physiological and biochemical monitoring to assess people’s skills and behavior before during, and after long-term, intensive meditative practice.

Led by Dr. B. Alan Wallace, founder and president of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, as well as a Tibetan Buddhist monk, Dr Wallace seeks to integrate Buddhist contemplative practices and Western science to advance the study of the mind. The Shamatha Project was directed by Clifford Saron, a Neuroscientist at the University of California at Davis, and started with two retreats held in February and September 2007. A group of 60 experienced meditators (ranging in age from21 to 70 years old) enrolled in the three month study, half receiving intensive training and practice in Shamatha ('calm abiding') practice and engaging in five or more hours of individual practice every day; and completing a battery of behavioural and physiological tests at various stages of the study.

A recent article in the Huffington Post 'New Meditation Research: Putting the 'Om' in 'Chromosome' detailed some of the key insights now being reported from the Shamatha Project .. that the ancient practice of meditation delivers benefits that go 'all the way down to the chromosomal level'. With the Psychological Science journal recently reporting that meditators' increased visual acuity and freed up their cognitive awareness, sharpening their attention and improving their performance on task .. and that the improvement lasted for five months after the retreat. The online journal Psychoneuroendocrinology also recently reported that meditators showed improved psychological well-being, and that these improvements lead to biochemical changes associated with resistance to aging at the cellular level.

Positivity appears to be a key link between meditation practice and the promoted health benefits. Practice appears to give people an improved sense of purpose and meaning in live which in turn leads to an increased sense of control over life, and this reduces negative emotions.

This research into the effects of meditation practice on the brain is the most comprehensive study ever conducted. Initial results show that intensive contemplative training sharpens and sustains attention, enhances well-being, and leads to less judgmental, more empathic emotional responding to the suffering of others. The training has also been linked with pro-social emotional behavior and important physiological markers of health.

* Details from the Shambhala Mountain Center , the UC Davic Centre for Mind and Brain, and the article 'New Meditation Research : Putting the 'Om' in 'Chromosome' printed in the Huffington Post November 19, 2010.

Meditation Travel

How wonderful this sounds .. wish I had frequent flyers or just a reason to take a break and visit Korea :)

Get Meditative with Korean Air
Article from New York Times : In Transit (May 13, 2010)

Maybe it’s because air travel has become so stressful: Korean Air is now offering meditation, chanting and a Buddhist temple sleepover as part of a new “Templestay” tour.

Korean Air and Hanjin Travel have teamed up to offer travelers a peek – the tour lasts 24 hours – into the traditional culture of Korean Buddhism and let them relax and rediscover their “true selves” amid peaceful surroundings.

Visitors will get tours of five Korean temples, live the strict life of a Buddhist monk –wakeup time is 4 a.m. sharp – and take part in a formal monastic meal (no talking or wasting of food allowed) and ancient tea-sipping ceremony. There is also time allotted for making beads and lanterns, doing community work, and taking walks in the forest. Tours start at around $175, excluding airfare.

The New Corporate Culture

(picture from The Daily Telegraph article)

I have really enjoyed presenting a couple of corporate meditation sessions in recent months. It is wonderful to be in a position to share my passion for meditation, in an environment I know so well. And it is always inspiring to bring people to a place where they find within themselves a sense of calmness and ease. Whether it was a special employee wellness event, or as part of a more high-brow corporate presentation day, participants have always happily discarded their shoes, closed their eyes and enjoyed the moments of mindful stillness! A welcome break from the cerebral world of business!

Meditation is a life skill! Meditation not only allows us to tap into a well of deep inner calmness .. but also improves our level of concentration and clarity .. which has has a positive impact on our personal life, our working life, our relationships, our health and our community.

Having worked for most of my career in an industry know for its ‘work hard, play hard’ culture .. I know from a personal perspective that I would never have survived the long hours, the ongoing performance and competitive demands, and insidious stress levels had I not had a secret weapon .. my meditation practice.

If I received a dollar for every time I was asked how I maintained my calmness amidst the chaos and noise … well, I would be a wealthy woman!

So wake up Australian business .. wake up to the growing levels of workplace stress, the rising disengagement of staff and increasing absenteeism figures due to stress related illness.

This week a very pertinent and interesting article in the Herald Sun!

The business of meditation : by Georgina Jerums, The Daily Telegraph, 14 Mar 2010

Meditation when life throws you a curve-ball

I am so excited ... this morning I received the link to the current edition of the online e-mag Renaissance (Sept/Oct issue) .. this is the third issue of an amazing new concept in magazines ... 'the alignment of mindset, strategy and lifestyle' .. inspired and brought to life by the dynamic and savvy Jenny at Boss Management Group.

I can remember sitting at a lovely beachside cafe hearing all about Jenny's vision for this e-mag .. and I remember the huge sense of honour in being asked to write my first article .. and then seeing it all come alive!

This edition I especially love that one of my submitted photos has been placed as a watermark on the second page .. how creative .. I am so happy!

Life is so great! (if you want to read the article, or learn more about Boss Group, use the links above)

Oh what an exciting email I just opened

I am so excited .. I had to make it known .. its late in Melbourne so this is my little shout 'hurray'!

Tonight I received an email letting me know that a recent article I wrote for Renaissance Magazine is now published! Wow what an honour and a thrill ... I cannot wait to get hold of a hard copy version .. and when I work out the technical side of things I shall post more ...

amazing what adventures life presents us with!

Renaissance: A new start, a new beginning, Revitalization,
Revival, Reawakening

A complementary bi-monthly publication, BOSSMENTOR®
Renaissance Magazine, is all about the alignment of mindset,
strategy and lifestyle. It will provide you inspiration, motivation and strategy every two months. Start your complimentary subscription today! Subscription is FREE and you may cancel at any time. Go to the Subscription page to sign up for your complementary copy now at www.bossgroup.com.au/magazine

Cultivating the mindfulness muscle

Health: Mental exercise like meditation can literally change our minds
By Denise Ryan, Vancouver Sun, September 25, 2009

Richard Davidson, one of the world’s top brain scientists, believes mental exercise, specifically meditation, can literally change our minds. “Our data shows mental practice can induce long-lasting changes in the brain,” said Davidson, professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His startling scientific research on the impact of meditation on brain function has implications that go beyond the physical.

Buddhist monks believe mental attributes and positive emotions such as compassion, loving kindness and empathy are skills that can be cultivated. Science is beginning to back that up. Davidson started meditating in 1974, when he was a Phd student at Harvard. Back then, meditation was seen as a somewhat faddish eastern import right up there with the dashiki and the Jesus sandal. “The culture at the time was not so receptive,” Davidson said, “nor were the scientific methods so well-developed.” It was when he met the Dalai Lama in 1992 that he “decided to come out of the closet with my interest in meditation.”

Read more ...

Meditate for Peace

I have this growing obsession with signing up for e-newsletters... and as a result I am accumulating a rapidly growing inbox and then I need time to work out what to keep and what to toss. It's all part of the season of Spring that I find myself now finally clearing some space .. and having another read of the good ones.

I really enjoyed this article that arrived today from Inward Bound; an e-newsletters written by Sarah McLean at Meditate in Sedona. Sarah is the Education Director for the Chopra Center for Well Being in San Diego and the Director of the Sedona Meditation Training Company (based in Arizona, USA).. thanks go to The Sedona Meditation Training Co.

Content reprined by permission and provided by The Sedona Meditation Training Co. www.SedonaMeditation.com.

Peace is the Way

World Peace via Inner Peace

Most people admit that world peace is something they'd like to see in their lifetime. However it's not usually one of the reasons people give for wanting to learn to meditate.

Solutions to the conflict and the disasters facing the world today are on the minds of most of us. Along with hearing the news that we just might be on the brink of financial disaster, there are plenty of wars going on right now between and within nations.

History has shown us that it's not possible to legislate against conflict. Perhaps this is because wars are first fought in the minds of humans - and it is nearly impossible to change someone's mind - never mind enacting legislation to change the way someone thinks.

Thoughts such as, "things should be different than they are," "this person should act a different way," " they shouldn't have done that," "those people should believe what we believe," or "their natural resources should be shared with us," are the seeds of disagreement that can grow into, in extreme circumstances, war or some other calamity.

I have spent many hours trying to change people's minds. Not only have I worked within the mind/body health field to encourage complementary medicine, I've lobbied for legislation to protect National Forests, conserve water, encourage commercial recycling, educate people about green building and alternative energy, and to promote humane treatment of animals. And yes, sometimes I have found myself arguing with those who don't agree with me. Unfortunately, disagreements do not usually create peace, and they usually don't net the results I am looking for.

Most people have heard Einstein's assertion that goes something like this: You can't solve a problem with the same thinking that created it.

This is why I always come back to meditation. It is different thinking.... literally. Through meditation a shift naturally occurs - instead of being at war with what is, I more easily experience a sense of peace with the way things are. This doesn't mean I roll over and give up my convictions, but it simply means I can be more peaceful while advocating change.

In addition to finding more peace within, meditation can create an effect in our environment (this might sound a bit far-fetched but I am writing to you from Sedona).

As long ago as 1974 people have been experimenting with meditation to create change in their own minds and their environment. Studies have shown that where the proportion of people in any community practicing a silent meditation, reached a particular threshold (about 1% of the population), changes started to occur in social trends. Crime, road accidents and hospital admissions decreased.

It may seem surprising that a few people meditating - simply meditating - not thinking of anything in particular - can, by the effect of their practice, influence the behavior of others in the environment, but it does make sense that our behavior is affected by the quality of our environment. This research gives great hope to those who have the vision of a better quality of life for humankind and all life.

When two nearby loudspeakers emit the same sound, these sound waves create a synergistic effect. They produce a sound volume equivalent to four loudspeakers (the square of the number of speakers, which is two).

This is a universal principle of wave behavior, and commonly held knowledge in physics. When individuals meditating together in a group generate a ripple in consciousness or awareness, the power of their combined waves grows as the square of the number of individuals. So if four people were meditating, it could conceivably affect 16 people in their environment in a positive way.

Research confirms even relatively small groups can have enormous impact on their environment, and therefore their society.

Perhaps the reason that meditation as a means to peace hasn't garnered much media attention is because with meditation there is no conflict, no drama, no winner or no loser, there is nothing to buy, and little money to be made from it. It is simple, anyone can do it, and it just might work.

Here is my simple formula to increase peace in your life and in your environment.

1. Learn to meditate.

2. Meditate every day for at least 20 minutes

3. Meditate with a group whenever possible

4. Ask yourself, Who am I? What is my heart's desire? What is my purpose in life? And listen

5. Speak your truth sweetly

6. Walk your talk

7. Don't take anything personally

8. Live in the present moment(of course I have a lot more advice, but this is a start)

Sit down, shut up, breathe

[with thanks, picture from stock.xchng by Danzo08]

Really entertaining and insightful article from Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist, May 21, 2008.

Meditation: It's what's for sanity

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/gate/a/2008/05/21/notes052108.DTL (click here)

".. the problem is that we as a culture are still very much trained, beaten, shaped from birth to never, ever, no matter what you do, calm down and breathe more consciously... Present-time awareness? Breathwork? Caultivating a sense of loving kindness? Save it for the New Age Expo, hippie..."

Mind control

Whether you think you can or think you can't - you are right.-- Henry Ford

From a monastery in India, a group of Tibetan monks practiced Tum-mo a meditative technique that represents to many the power of the mind in manipulating our bodies.

Article from Timesonline "Meditate your way to a healthier body" visit http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/related_features/surprise_yourself/article3432227.ece

Quote from Deepak Chopra

This is taken from an article someone sent me titled "Deepak Chopra Leads Me on a Journey Into Consciousness" by Allison Kugel - January 10, 2008


Deepak Chopra: ".. there comes a moment, if you're diligent with your meditation, there comes a moment where there are no thoughts and there is no device that is being used for meditation as well. In the eastern traditions, frequently the device that is used for meditation is called a mantra. Mantra is a sound that has no story attached to it... So if you keep mentally repeating.. it starts to compete with your thinking process. If you just stay with it very, very effortlessly, then there comes a time when the mantra and the thoughts kind of cancel each other out and your replacement is neither mantra nor thought"

And then what is achieved:

Deepak Chopra: "Complete silence in the mind and therefore complete silence in the body as well; a state of unity consciousness. What separates you from others is your individual mind that manifests as your personal ego. So if you take that out of the way, there is nothing that separates you from anything else in existence...It's a state of consciousness. When consciousness is without thought content, then everything is unified"