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Mindfulness and Meditation- Impressive Research Studies
Remember that New Year's resolution to meditate? Perhaps now is the time to begin! To encourage you I am devoting this issue to the many impressive studies now being published on the significant benefits of Mindfulness practice and meditation.
The Center for Mindfulness - founded by John Kabat-Zinn in Massachusetts in 1979- has been conducting research studies on Mindfulness, and the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program for almost 30 years, and there is now a slew of recent studies with very impressive findings.
The increasing interest in Mindfulness and meditation came to a head last month when a new study was published in Psychiatry Research- Neuroimaging, which documents the changes to the structure of the brain as a result of meditation.
This study has had the media buzzing. It has been picked up by everyone from Fox News to the New York Times and a multitude of meditation, health and wellness sites.
Check out some of these articles below- and watch the Fox News video. If you would like still more information you will find some links to some of the other research studies on the benefits of meditation and Mindfulness practice.
Enjoy -and I hope you are now inspired to sign up for a Mindfulness class or retreat soon. See you there!
Warmly
Erica
Study shows Meditation Changes Brain Structure
in just 8 weeks
"Participating in an eight week Mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. A team led by Massachusetts General Hospital researchers report the results of their study, the first to document meditation produced changes in in the brain's gray matter."
Science Daily- January 21, 2011 Read full article
Mindfulness Meditation leads to Increases in Gray Matter Density Changes in just eight weeks
"Researchers noted that long-term meditation alters brain-wave patterns, with greater activity in brain circuits involved in attention. They found that brain regions associated with attention and sensory processes were thicker in meditators than in controls.This is the first research to document meditation-produced structural changes in the brain.
"This study demonstrates that changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing... It is fascinating to see the brain's plasticity and that, by practising meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain " Says Britta Holzel PhD -author of the paper."
FamilyHealthGuide - Read full article
VIDEO-Impact of Meditation on your Brain
watch the video Fox News
Meditation Reduces Emotional Impact of Pain
"People who meditate find pain less unpleasant because their brains anticipate pain less, study finds"
Science Daily- June 2, 2010- Read full article
Mindfulness Meditation may ease Fatigue, Depression in Multiple Sclerosis
Science Daily- Sept. 28, 2010. Read full article
More Research Articles on Mindfulness
great website 1
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