When Breathing in Love is Not Enough
Are you tired of pretending to be calm and compassionate when inside you really feel like kicking and screaming? In my life-long meditation training I was often told to “breathe in love”. I so desperately wanted to do this, but there was no manual other than to just do it. When one is in a […]
Can your choices alter your sperm’s genetic code?
The verdict is in! We live in a time where we finally understand the smallest bit about our own power of influence over our DNA. Let’s not be selfish…eating right, exercising and manage your stress isn’t just for you, it’s for the health and well-being of your offspring. It’s now known that oxidative damage, which […]
Help for Cops
It wasn’t long ago that the mindfulness topic was considered taboo in fields like law enforcement. Fortunately, that is changing. Officers suffer some of the worst statistics when it comes to quality of life, longevity, health, and happy marriages. We expect officers to be beyond reproach, yet we don’t always equip them with the skills […]
How Damaging is that Fake Smile?
Selfies, photos, videos, magazines — our lives are full of others’ facial expressions on a global scale. Science has used these facial expressions as a source of research in fields like lie detection and social cognitive neuroscience. Neuroscientists differentiate two types of smiles; a genuine smile called the Duchenne smile which is characterized by the tiny […]
Stress is Killing You
Are you setting yourself up for a stress related disease? Are you shortening your own lifespan? Over time, the allostatic load of stress on the body can no longer be mitigated by the sympathetic nervous system. We end up with impaired immunity, atherosclerosis, metabolic syndrome, bone demineralization, atrophy of brain nerve cells, hippocampus damage, growth […]
A Fear-Orientation is Killing You!
In our modern world of green-house fears, war atrocities, environmental pillaging, and global threats the social media is rife with stories of conspiracy, fear, and apocalyptic preparedness. What is this focus doing to us? While it’s not advisable to put our heads in the sand and ignore the direction of current events, we can effect […]
Physiological effects of Transcendental Meditation
It seems like it should almost be common knowledge that meditation has direct and beneficial physiological effects and vast health benefits, yet there are still many who either don’t know this, pretend it’s not validated by science, or deny its efficacy in their own lives. This concept is nothing new, nor is the scientific proof […]
What’s Your Excuse?
Recent research this century has shown that meditation is applicable to, and effective for, depression, anxiety, panic disorder, stress, emotional regulation, addictions, psychosis, neurogenesis, dimentia, memory recall, cognitive acuity, pain management, somatic symptom control, hormonal regulation, genetic functioning, sports performance, medical student training, leadership training, and general well-being. With science backing such a list, what’s […]
The Depression-Disease Domino Effect
Your thoughts and perception create the environment of the brain and vice versa. It’s the chicken and egg conundrum–is the thought the signal for the strss response, or is the brain chemistry the signal for the thought? No matter which comes first, stress is insidious. Dr. Mona Lisa Schulz does an amazing job of succinctly […]
Minimize Stress, Extend Your Life
Sometimes we search for cures for symptoms and ignore the cause. Stress, even low but chronic levels, is the most important variable factor in determining life-span according to “Wired” (neuroscience magazine). It’s no joke that meditation is at the top of the list for effective treatments for stress, along with lifestyle changes like diet and […]
