April 6, 2015—I meditate. Nearly every day since 2008, I’ve pulled out a blue meditation cushion given to me by a friend, crossed my legs and closed my eyes to focus on my breath. My practice started in 2008 when I attended my first two meditation retreats. The second one was a 10-day retreat in Occidental. The recorded voice of S.N. Goenka taught us how to pay attention to our breath as it came and went through our nostrils. At the end of the retreat, which involved sitting for at least 11 hours… [Read More…]
Mindfulness is everywhere, Part III: Sleep
March 12, 2015—This week, we’re focusing on meditation and recent studies that suggest it may be good for your health in all sorts of ways. _____________________________ Waking up in the middle of the night, tossing and turning and unable to get back to sleep, is one of life’s more frustrating experiences. Insomniacs know the drill. You lay there, tired, and stressed, sometimes for hours, knowing that you’re doomed for exhaustion and crankiness the next day. It’s especially common among older adults. Sleep hygiene classes offer tips for the weary on how to promote… [Read More…]
Mindfulness is everywhere, Part II: Aging
March 11, 2015—This week, we’re focusing on meditation and recent studies that suggest it may be good for your health in all sorts of ways. _________________________________ There’s more good news for meditators. A publication out of UCLA suggests that meditation may slow down the aging process. Researchers at the UCLA School of Medicine and the Centre for Research on Ageing Health and Wellbeing in Australia compared the grey matter in the brains of meditators versus non-meditators, and found the brains of those who sit on the cushion deteriorated less. The meditators practiced all… [Read More…]
Meditation distracts depression, scientist says
March 01, 2015—One of Buddhism’s core principles is that careful attention to the body can help the mind, especially in coping with difficult emotions and thoughts. Until a few decades ago, it was a concept that lived solely in the domain of religion and spirituality. But Catherine Kerr, an assistant professor medicine at Brown University says, “it’s actually a really powerful scientific hypothesis.” And, she adds, it’s one that wouldn’t have occurred to anyone sitting in a Western scientific lab on their own. For a long time, Western psychology focused on talk therapy… [Read More…]
Listen: The key to happiness? It’s in the science
Feb. 19, 2015–U.C. Berkeley is known for its world-class scientists, in disciplines like physics, chemistry or biology. But just a few blocks away from campus, you’ll find the school’s Greater Good Science Center, where one scientist focuses on something different - the science of Happiness. Emiliana Simon-Thomas has a PhD in Cognition, Brain and Behavior. She’s also the science director of the Greater Good Science Center at U.C. Berkeley. Ask her for a definition of the term, and Simon-Thomas says defining “happiness” isn’t so clear-cut. “Happiness has to do with having an easy… [Read More…]
