Mind-Body-Spirit News: In this time of ongoing war, more soldiers are seeking mind-body preparation to protect their mental, emotional and physical well-being as they prepare for battle and also when they return home. Warrior Mind Training, a service organization based in San Diego, offers mind-body skills instruction in meditation and mindfulness to both veterans and… [Continue Reading]
Mind-Body Practices Benefit Postmenopausal Women
January 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Mind-Body-Spirit News: Traditional mind-body practices such as yoga, tai chi and qigong may offer postmenopausal women safe and cost-effective ways to reduce heart disease risk factors related to metabolic syndrome, according to a research review published in Menopause: The Journal of The North American Menopause Society (2008; 15 [5], 1005–13). Postmenopausal women have a higher… [Continue Reading]
Mind-Body Teaching Tips for Personal Trainers
January 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Mind-Body-Spirit News: Personal trainers, are you looking for ways to integrate a mind-body-spirit approach into your training sessions? IDEA member and 2004 IDEA Fitness Instructor of the Year Lawrence Biscontini, MA, movement specialist, author and spa consultant, contributed the following suggestions in response to a prior Mind-Body-Spirit News column Question of the Month. Biscontini organized… [Continue Reading]
Loving-Kindness Meditation Nurtures Positive Feelings
January 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Mind-Body-Spirit News: Actively cultivating compassion engenders positive feelings. The ancient Buddhist practice of “loving-kindness meditation,” also known as metta, consists of a technique where a person directs compassion and wishes for well-being to real or imagined people and as a result experiences positive feelings and kindness toward him- or herself and others. [Click here to... [Continue Reading]
Deep Breathing May Help Insomnia
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Mind-Body-Spirit News: Cancer patients are three to five times more likely than healthy people to suffer from insomnia and sleep disruptions. According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (2008; 4 [5], 403–405), breathing rates, heart rates and cortisol levels can help predict whether women with breast cancer will experience sleep… [Continue Reading]
Transcendental Meditation Lowers Stress and Anxiety
January 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Mind-Body-Spirit News: Transcendental meditation may improve mental health by reducing anxiety and somatisation (development of physical symptoms stemming from mental or emotional stress). That was the finding of a study published in Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health (2008; 4 [25]; doi:10.1186/1745–0179–4–25). [Click here to read full article]
Technological Advances Aid Study of Mind-Body Connection
January 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Mind-Body-Spirit News: Ten reports presented in the International Journal of Psychophysiology (2008; doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2008.09.002) highlight how technological improvements are enabling more detailed measurement of mind-body interactions. For example, researchers noted that a response such as sweating, which occurs on the outside of the body through the peripheral nervous system, is regulated by the brain, and that… [Continue Reading]
More Adults and Children Now Choose Mind-Body Practices
January 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Mind-Body-Spirit News: Mind-body practices are growing in popularity in the United States, according to a report released by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine [CAM]. The overall percentage of American adults using CAM seems to have stabilized over the past 5 years—nudging up just two percentage points, from 36% in 2002 to 38%… [Continue Reading]
Mind-Body Therapies for Menopause
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Does Chi Exist?
January 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
As tai chi and chi kung grow in popularity, American consumers are gaining familiarity with the ancient concept of chi. The purpose of these activities is to bring the body, mind and spirit back into balance. In traditional Chinese medicine, the human being is said to be composed of body, mind and spirit. The mind… [Continue Reading]
