From Elementary School to Presidential Candidate

The week that was ...

Exciting to read about the wonderful response from students at a Belle River elementary school who started a new meditation club to help them become calmer, nicer and more focused at school. 

Student Dayne Bensette says that the club helps him calm down 

"Sometimes I have a lot of stuff that I do and everything is in my head and I can't think so the meditation club helps me just think of breathing," .. "I have so many things to do at school, sometimes I even get into fights with my friends and it really helps."

Another student said "I liked when we laid down and we thought about our body," .. "It taught me how to think about my body instead of other stuff."

The principle of Pavillon des Jeunes started the meditation club after learning to meditate herself and feeling that it could be something students could also benefit from. The club meets once a week during the first recess of the day.

"If this is good for me, it would probably be good for the students too," she said. "If it helps them to be happy, if it helps them to be kinder to one another, then I would be so pleased with that."

Full article

AND .. then there was the report that Hilary Clinton recommends meditation and deep breathing to “just slow yourself down.”

When asked by WABC’s Joan Hamburg if she meditates, Clinton said, 

“I haven’t been doing it as regularly as I used to, but I can meditate. . . . [Meditation] has helped me a lot . . . Just slow yourself down, do that deep breathing that can give you a sense of relaxation and groundedness . . . You don’t have to sit with your legs crossed in some quiet room. Literally, you can do it on a plane, or in a car.”

Full article

Meditation in the News: May 2015

I was pulled up by someone recently .. where was my 'meditation in the news' report?

What I had intended to be a weekly write up .. had slipped from my view, but obviously not from one of my lovely tribe!

And at a time when there is SO MUCH in the media about meditation and mindfulness. .. what David Brendel suggested in the Harvard Business Review recently as reaching "cult status in the business world”.

So today I humbly return with a new roundup of meditation focused articles and research that have crossed my desk of late.  This will now be a monthly post (weekly is just not possible at the moment) .. so without further ado .. the May Meditation In the News Roundup .. 

At Aetna, a C.E.O.'s Management by Mantra : The New York Times
Mark T. Bertolini, the 58-year-old chief executive of Aetna, the health insurer and one of America’s 100 largest companies by revenue, had a near-death experience which set him to overhaul his own health regimen, and reshape the culture of Aetna.  Introducing yoga and meditation to the workforce of 13,000 makes Aetna one of the most progressive organisations in corporate America, alongside stock increasing threefold since Mr. Bertolini took over as chief executive in 2010.

More than one-quarter of the company’s work force of 50,000 has participated in at least one class, and those who have report, on average, a 28 percent reduction in their stress levels, a 20 percent improvement in sleep quality and a 19 percent reduction in pain. They also become more effective on the job, gaining an average of 62 minutes per week of productivity each, which Aetna estimates is worth $3,000 per employee per year. 

Mindfulness Meditation helps fight insomnia, improves sleep: Harvard Health Publications
A small study, which appeared in JAMA Internal Medicine, suggests that mindfulness meditation — a mind-calming practice that focuses on breathing and awareness of the present moment — can help with insomnia.  The study included 49 middle-aged and older adults who had trouble sleeping - half completed a mindfulness awareness program (focusing on 'moment-by-moment experiences, thoughts, and emotions')  while the other half completed a sleep education class.  Both groups met six times, once a week for two hours.  The Mindfulness group reported less insomnia, fatigue, and depression at the end of the six sessions.

Mindfulness beats Exercise, Healthy Diet in Resistant MDD: Medscape
Investigations at the University of California and led by Stuart Eisendrath, MD, professor of clinical psychiatry, found Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is superior to therapy focused on exercise and healthy eating in patients with treatment-resistant depression.  Imaging results also demonstrated the MBCT intervention had a positive effect on areas of the brain involved in depression.  Findings were presented at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) 2015 Annual Meeting.

The Relaxation Response and Gastrointestinal Disorders: Massachusetts General Hospital
A pilot study has found that participating in a nine-week training program including elicitation of the relaxation response had a significant impact on clinical symptoms of the gastrointestinal disorders irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease and on the expression of genes related to inflammation and the body's response to stress. 

The relaxation response - a physiologic state of deep rest induced by practices such as meditation, yoga and prayer - was first described more than 40 years ago by Herbert Benson, MD, director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute and a co-author of the current paper. 

Better Living Through Mindfulness: The University of Utah
This report was released in March 2013 but only just recently crossed my desk. The study from the University of Utah found there was a connection between traits of mindfulness and emotional well-being.  Individuals who described themselves as being more mindful were found to have more stable emotions and perceive themselves to have better control over their mood and behavior throughout the day. Higher mindful people also described less cognitive and physiological activation before bedtime, suggesting that greater emotional stability during the day might even translate into better sleep.  

I shall report on further meditation in the news' next month (unless of course something really juicy and share-worthy comes along).

Keep meditating everyone .. 

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 

Meditation in the news ..

A new and regular blog post .. a weekly round up of 'meditation in the news' .. Wednesday 11.02.2015

I have noticed over the last few years (especially) that there is a growing focus on meditation in the 'mainstream' media.  Just this morning when reviewing my Facebook feed, I tagged seven (7) articles on meditation of which five (5) were from traditional news stations (today including Boston Globe and New York Times).

Since I am a voracious reader of all things meditation, I thought I would share the love with you all on a Wednesday (because I am now spending one day a week in a very professional and funky office space, so there is a little more 'spaciousness' to read and ponder).

Handling Stress at work : Boston Globe
A doctor walking mindfully and a Chief HR Officer who meditates in her parked car before starting work each day. Research has found that even short interludes of mindfulness meditation can improve focus, promote more rational decision-making, and improve emotional control, among other benefits.

Mindfulness isn't just sitting still and breathing : Mindful.org

5 reasons to bring mindfulness to the body.  Mindfulness trains us to pay attention to sensations in the body, bringing us down from our heads and into our whole being. 

Amid the chattering of the global elite a silent interlude : NY Times

For 10 minutes at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a conference room jammed with more than 100 high-powered delegates was entirely silent during a panel called Leading Mindfully.  Read more about this rare interlude of equanimity and the discussion of how meditation was impacting the workplace.

An Artist’s ‘Meditation Nightclub’ on the Las Vegas Strip : NY Times
New York-based multimedia artist Lia Chavez has crafted an cerebral take on the notion of nightclubbing.  Her show, “The Octave of Visible Light: A Meditation Nightclub,” tracks and displays the real-time relationship between visitors’ oscillating brainwaves and corresponding colors and sounds for a mesmerizing spectacle that’s entirely unique to each participant.

The Shrink on the Seattle Seahawks’ Sideline : The Wall Street Journal
Sports figures have long aspired to what is commonly referred to as “mindfulness”— an ability to perform without worrying about what has just happened or what might happen next.   Michael Gervais, a sport psychologist with a strong background in mindfulness, is a key figure in the mission to improve focus and inspire peak performance.

And a great video on the Scientific Power of Meditation from ASAP SCIENCE

The 'M' word (Meditation)

More well-know celebrities reveal their meditation habits online this week .. in fact there seems to be a bit of a 'trend' to mention the "M" word ..

Ellen DeGeneres spoke of meditation at the opening of the David Lynch Foundation’s 3rd annual Change Begins Within Gala, where she spoke about having tried different meditation techniques .. and then found Transcendental Meditation

“There’s something about TM – it is the only time I have that stillness, it’s the only way I’ve ever been able to sit long enough. I open my eyes and I’m sad that it’s twenty minutes later….. it gives me this peaceful feeling, I just love it so much and I talk about it as much as I can on my show without sounding like I’m preaching about it… I can’t say enough good things about it… All the benefits that you can achieve from just sitting still and going within – it really is a beautiful experience. I’m happy to be a part of this community and I hope to continue doing this.”

And then .. I read that Bill Clinton is also taking up meditation.  RadarOnline.com reported this week:

The 65-year-old former President, who has been plagued by medical issues for years and recently turned vegan, likes to unwind in private classes as he learns the art of meditation with the help of a Buddhist monk.

And Bill loves meditating because it helps him stay focused and calm.

“Ever since his heart scare, Bill has looked for ways to help him relax,” a source said.  “He has a hectic life, he travels a lot on business as an ambassador for the U.S. and needs something to keep him sane.  Meditation offers him that, he has a mantra that he likes to chant and after every session he feels transformed and full of positive energy.”  The 65-year-old former President, who has been plagued by medical issues for years and recently turned vegan, likes to unwind in private classes as he learns the art of meditation with the help of a Buddhist monk.

Children and meditation

Photographer : Ben Bloom

This morning I woke to hear a report on the Today Show about parents seeking our yoga and meditation to assist their children in managing stress.  Wonderful to hear Karl championing the cause .. and of course children can benefit from both meditation and yoga practice!

My daughter first joined me in my meditation practice when she learnt to climb out of her cot (she was about 2yo) and found me sitting on my  meditation cushion in the living room .. quiet and still.  Rather a talkative child with a passion for asking questions (still) on this occassion she didn't prod me (or jump on me for that matter) but instead pressed herself into my lap and sat patiently.  I opened the blanket I had around my shoulders and wrapped it around her too .. together we sat quietly for a few minutes before I finished my practice and we got on with our day. 

She would often join me.  She didn't ask for a long time what in fact I was doing.  I like to think that she intuitively acknowledged this was quiet time and enjoyed the moments we spent together in the darkness before the busyness of our day began.

When my daughter was about nine, I enrolled her in a kids yoga class.  I knew the teacher and the centre and thought it was a brilliant idea for a child growing quickly (physically) .. an opportunity to connect body and mind, build focus and awareness, flexibility and strength .. she loved it!  The class was very dynamic and they expended lots of energy (it's not all sitting), explored stillness (externally and internally), coloured in mandalas and chanted Om.  She dragged along friends from school and became known as a little bit of a hippie.

In 2009 I completed training with Relax Kids .. an amazing program that incorporates movement and stillness for children starting at pre-school level and now expanded up to seniors.  Relax Kids offers a wealth of research and resources on their website, and have implemented a range of innovative programs into the British education system.

When is the right time?  how long is a piece of string! 

My daily meditation practice provided a rhythmn in our household that my daughter took to naturally include her, if she chose.  Children have a limited attention span and asking a child to sit for a half hour meditation practice is probaly inviting resistence.  I like Deepak Chopra's suggestion that you start with a minute for each year of age .. a three year old could start with a three minute meditation .. a twelve year old would have worked up to twleve minutes.  Slow and steady .. there is no race or finish line .. this is the development of a life skill!

Meditation is a joy .. learning about yourself, resting in that deep stillness within, building resilience and focus, simply being present to the moment .. and everyone can learn to meditate including children!

Give your brain a break

"Now, listen to the sounds inside your body —

your breath and heartbeat. This is where your

attention should be, within yourself.

Don’t think, just focus on your breath."

A sweet and beautifully illustrated 16-step guide from the just released book "Give your brain a break... and achieve inner peace with our easy guide to meditating" by Matthew Johnstone found online at the Daily Mail.  Read the 16 steps here 

Meditation in the news ...

I am still (partially) on summer-ease time .. a couple of meditation classes under my belt this week and surprisingly ample time to catch up on my reading.  Here are two interesting articles that appeared in my inbox this week:

Mindfulness Meditation Helps Rheumatoid Arthritis

A new study published by the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases suggests that practicing mindfulness meditation reduces stress and fatigue associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

The study evaluated 67 rheumatoid arthritis patients and randomly assigned participants to either 10 group sessions of mindfulness exercises over 15 weeks, plus a booster session 6 months, or to a standard care plan with a CD of mindfulness exercises for home use. The mindfulness sessions included exercises using music, drawing and guided imagery.

Results : those who attended the sessions showed less stress and fatigue – scoring lower stress scores a the one year mark follow up. Fatigue levels also were significantly reduced.

The authors of the study “indicate that the participants may have incorporated some mindfulness strategies into their daily lives and that these strategies have strengthened their ability to respond to their stressful experience in a more flexible way,”.

Meditation isn't just for hippies any more. And it's not all about saying ommmm

An insightful interview from Time magazine with Jon Kabat-Zinn, the molecular biologist who began meditating when the practice was a little woo-woo.  Now, roll forward forty years and we can see his efforts have been paramount to where meditation sits today, with dozens of studies showing the benefits of his MBSR program (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) which has been running at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center for 32 years.

(Now I have another book to add to my summer reading as Kabat-Zinn has released Mindfulness for Beginners to introduce meditation to first-timers).

Kabat-Zinn started his Stress Reduction Clinic in 1979 where outpatients attend an eight-week course that introduces mindfulness .. a practice of ‘paying attention’.

Massachusetts General Hospital have conducted recent studies that show that eight weeks of MBSR can actually produce thickening in particular regions of the brain important for learning, memory, executive decision-making and perspective-taking (which are vital when experiencing stress or pain); and a thining of the areas that involve threat and fear. After only eight weeks!

Kabat-Zinn notes that “Mindfulness is not about getting anywhere else — it’s about being where you are and knowing it. We are talking about awareness itself: a whole repertoire of ways of knowing that virtually all come through the senses. "My definition of healing is coming to terms with things as they are, so that you can do whatever you can to optimize your potential, whether you are living with chronic pain or having a baby. You can’t control the universe, so mindfulness is involves learning to cultivate wisdom and equanimity— not passive resignation—in the face of what Zorba the Greek called the full catastrophe of the human condition".

He also suggests that you meditate for a good 15minutes “long enough so that you get really bored and antsy and learn how to make room for unpleasant moments.”  .. this is sooooo true and so avoided!

Judith Lucy's Spiritual Journey

Picture from SMH

From a Catholic background to Marxist notions of religion at University .. Judith Lucy is one of Australia's funniest comedians with best-selling books, TV, radio and film credits.  This week Judith presents a six-part series on ABC1 .. a 'spiritual journey’ that brings along her irreverent and intelligent interview skills to discussions with a female Aboriginal elders in Alice Springs, a Catholic nun in her early 40s and Buddhist monks in India. 

Having found yoga for help with physical health, Judith was led to meditation and a growing interest in the Eastern religious philosophies that underpin them.  Judith meditates regularly and found (as many do) that when all was quiet, what tended to loop through her brain was endless self-criticism.  With time she has found however that both practices make her ‘happier than I used to be’.

In the program Lucy attends a 10-silent meditation retreat and travels to India to practice her ‘ommmm’ meditation skills .. the six-part series dives into the really big issues : why are we here and what happens when we die?

Wednesday 27^th on ABC1 at 9.30pm

SMH article here :

Meditation in the News

There's nothing to it and science agrees - meditation works
SMH : Melissa Lahoud : July 12, 2011

Article found in Sydney Morning Herald this week detailing a recent study on work stress that was led by Dr Ramesh Manocha at Sydney University.

The clinical trial included 178 full-time workers who practiced meditation (Sahaja Meditation) twice daily at home for 10-20 minutes over eight weeks.

The study found that meditation triggers change in electrical activity of the brain, improving the mind and body in measurable ways. Within the context of meditation and stress, it's the largest study in the world … and we've applied some rigorous conditions," Dr Manocha said.

"What authentic techniques should do is show you how to widen space between thoughts until the space is so large you have no thoughts whatsoever in that moment," he said

The improvements for mood and depression were twice as high for those practising ''mental silence'' compared to the ''relaxation'' and placebo groups.

"We've done other published studies where, when you teach people relaxation, they feel better, but there's no change in disease, but when you teach mental silence approach, they felt twice as better but also saw significant changes in indicators with disease," Dr Manocha said

* A Lifeline poll reveals that stress levels are rising, with 93 per cent of Australians under strain at a rate that could create serious illness.

* Workplace stress costs the economy $15 billion a year.

Read article here:

Mind & Its Potential Conference 2009

I have long had on my vision board a postcard from the Mind & Its Potential conference .. it is a reminder that for many years I have wanted to attend this amazing conference .. to soak up and immerse myself in all the amazing research and 'be' in the presence of speakers that I have long followed online or in the media. Organised by the Vajrayana Institute, and held in Sydney each year, while it is has always been my intention to attend the conference 'one day' .. in reality it is the $$ that have held me back from attending thus far .. SO I was so excited to receive this link to an amazingly thorough and insightful blog by Paul Mason and his review of this years conference. Extra bonus is that Paul has inserted some great website links for some of the presenters, and included some valuable video footage (from other events) ... we are talking about the likes of Dr Daniel Seigel, B. Alan Wallace and His Holiness the Dalia Lama (who I saw last week in Melbourne .. more in my next post).

Last year I could scarcely find a decent report on the conference .. other than the occasional media report .. all that influence, shared knowledge and understanding seemed to just disappeared (or was at least out of reach to me). How fantastic (again I say) to live in the era of cyber worlds and blogging!

The conference is premised on this theme:

Science is only just beginning to understand the extraordinary capacity of the brain to change and develop. The implications for how we learn, work and care for one another are profound. Here is your opportunity to hear the world’s top scientists, psychologists and philosophers explain how to apply the new science of the brain in education, medicine, business and your life.

Bringing together a vast array of different views and research that investigates how the mind works, psychologically and spiritually .. and how science (and neuro-metrics) has begun to validate the claimed effects of meditation (I love that meditation is thousands of years old and science is now 'catching up').

Please visit this site and read Paul's brilliant review of the Conference at the blog Neuroanthropology .. and check out all the links (this will keep you busy for days!).

Next year I hope to attend the Conference and write something myself .. we do live in amazing times!

More .. Meditation in the Media

"Relax - it's good for you"
The Sydney Morning Herald
August 20, 2009

Meditation has long been lauded. Now science has shown that deep relaxation changes our bodies on a genetic level - for the better.

In a recent scientific study researchers at Harvard Medical School have discovered that in long-term practitioners of relaxation methods such as yoga and meditation, far more "disease-fighting genes" were active, compared to those who practiced no form of relaxation. Dr Benson, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School (who led the research) believes this research is 'pivotal because it shows how a person's state of mind affects the body on a physical and genetic level'.

"What you're looking for is a state of deep relaxation where tension is released from the body on a physical level and your mind completely switches off," he says. "The effect won't be achieved by lounging around in an everyday way, nor can you force yourself to relax. You can only really achieve it by learning a specific technique such as self-hypnosis, guided imagery or meditation".

Meditation in the media

A really interesting interview last week with Ian Galwer, on Compass (ABC TV), as part of a three-part series on prominent Australians and their views and ideas on 'a good life'. Ian is a very well known Australian cancer survivor, pioneer 'mind-body' healer, and leader in the therapeutic use of meditation and nutrition. I have attended a number of workshops conducted by Ian over the years and his story is fascinating and so encouraging to many. You can view the episode online, download it or read the transcript! Go to http://abc.gov.au/compass/video.htm

I love it when I just happen upon meditation in the mainstream media. Meditation has been around for millennia and there are so many interesting stories out there yet to be told or researched! So here is another amazing opportunity for those who know little about the wonders of meditation to find out from someone who is not only a cancer survivor, but also as a scientist (veterinarian) and healer who has worked with many others facing a major health crisis. Some key points from Ian...

"Nobody is seriously studying the longer term survivors (of cancer). And what a waste of money that is. Here's one of the greatest resources available to people who are freshly diagnosed with cancer is the people who actually manage to do well with it and are still alive, and nobody's studying them" .. and

"The tragedy is most people know what a healthy lifestyle is and so many people aren't actually following it... it's a matter of people trying to get clear on what they're really interest in .. and then if they do want to be healthy and well, thinking about what's actually the problem. What's the root problem and the root problem's the mind. It's our mental state and the emotional overload that's affecting the judgement in what we do in daily life".

Meditation ~ In the news

Pioneer in emotions suggests training increases happiness

Current thinking is that happiness should be considered a skill – one that can be learnt. Previous scientific belief that our brains (and happiness) were fixed or ‘hard-wired’ are now being proven as incorrect. New research continues to show that our brains can change and regenerate - and we can learn to be happy.

Deseret News : 5 Feb 2009