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

2 Favourite TED talks on Mindfulness

#1 - Former Buddhist nun Diana Winston is the director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA Mindful Awareness Center, and the author of several books on mindfulness and meditation. With more than 20 years in the study and practice of mindfulness, Diana explains how routinely taking the time to be in the moment can have a profound impact on our everyday lives and relationships. I have followed Diana for a number of years ... and you can enjoy many of her guided meditations on the UCLA website.



#2 - Andy Puddicombe, is a former Buddhist monk and co-founder of Headspace, a project to make meditation more accessible to more people in their everyday lives. In this TED talk, Andy describes the transformative power of Mindfulness: Refreshing your mind for 10 minutes a day, simply by being mindful and experiencing the present moment. 

TED talks - the science of meditation

Two of my favourite Ted talks.  

Two scientists talking about the science of meditation.

How mind-blowing (pun intended) ..

Neuroscientist Sara Lazar's amazing brain scans show meditation can actually change the size of key regions of our brain, improving our memory and making us more empathetic, compassionate, and resilient under stress.

Jill Bolte Taylor got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: She had a massive stroke, and watched as her brain functions — motion, speech, self-awareness — shut down one by one. An astonishing story.