Tag: meditation
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Where Therapy and Mindfulness Clash
There are a few challenges in being a therapist first and mindfulness teacher second. Our conditioning as helping professionals can place us at odds with the original intent behind mindfulness practice. The longer we have been treating people, the harder it can be to transcend our original training so that we can embody these radically…
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The Power in Concepts
One of the useful consequences of mindfulness training is that the deeply ingrained habit of discursive thinking is disrupted and gradually replaced by increasing moments of pure awareness. Discursive thinking is what fills the conditioned and unexamined mind. It is made up of concepts (ideas, beliefs, expectations) and tends to ramble on endlessly, even aimlessly.…
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Meditation as Desensitization
Research has shown that meditation can help with stress and anxiety. With the rise in war exposed veterans in the US needing treatment, studies are being conducted to see how mindfulness and meditation can help people dealing with trauma. When approached with a trauma sensitive lens, mindfulness and meditation can help expand our window of distress…
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How Meditation Helps
A growing body of research is showing that there are many physical and mental health benefits to practicing meditation. Mindfulness (vipassana) meditation is useful in managing pain and distressing mood states. According to the National Institute of Health’s National Center for Alternative and Complimentary Medicine (NCCAM) “there’s evidence that [meditation] may reduce blood pressure as well as symptoms…
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Between Wisdom & Love
Maya Yoga asked me to write about some of the benefits of my personal yoga and meditation practice for their Inspiring Stories series. Below is an excerpt. Please click the link to read the post in its entirety: Tracy Ochester is a reputed psychologist who incorporates mindfulness training into her professional sessions. She is an…
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Why Mysore?
Mysore style practice is a specific way of learning Ashtanga Yoga as taught by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India. It involves one-on-one instruction in a group format, but the class is not led by the teacher. Rather, students practice at their own pace and the teacher goes from student to student assisting each individually…
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Yoga for Wellbeing
Yoga is a multi-faceted practice designed to unite the mental, physical and spiritual. The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali defines yoga as “the stilling of the changing states of the mind”. Devotion to practice strengthens the body-mind connection and helps build insight and awareness. The physical practice, called asana, is only one limb of yoga. It was originally meant to…
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The Health Benefits of Yoga and Meditation
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in balance, behavior, equanimity, exercise, fitness, health, meditation, relaxation, self care, self help, spirituality, strength, wisdom, yogaIncreasingly health providers are acknowledging the importance of the mind-body connection to overall wellness, rather than just focusing on the physical machinery. Yoga and meditation are practices that can contribute to good mental and physical health. Yoga & Wellness The health benefits of yoga have been recognized anecdotally for thousands of years, but now there…