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  Mindfulness Meditation In the last few years, mindfulness meditation has become increasingly popular. The focus of it is to help you reduce stress and improve calmness and tranquility. In this type of meditation, the practitioner pays attention to the present moment without judgment. A common misconception is that meditation involves emptying the mind, but it actually teaches us to focus on physical sensations, thoughts, and feelings to see them more clearly. Meditate to Boost Your Memory and IQ Meditation is beneficial in reducing stress, lowering blood pressure, and improving mood. However, did you know that meditating regularly can also boost your memory and IQ? Boost your Memory A study in Consciousness and Cognition revealed that participants who meditated for 20 minutes for four days showed lowered stress levels as well as significant improvements in memory and cognition. Those who meditated also scored as much as 10 times better on a working memory task. In anoth...

  Bedtime Meditation: Why It Works & How to Do It A regular bedtime meditation practice can be an enjoyable way to end the day and a powerful tool for improving the quality of your sleep, reducing stress, calming anxiety, and letting go of negative thoughts. But it’s not always easy to get into that meditative state when you are tired or stressed out from a long, busy day of work. Thankfully, there are many great tips and simple techniques to help make meditation before bed an easy and joyful part of your evening ritual. Why you should practice meditation before bed An evening meditation practice is a great way to improve your health, wind down from your day, let go of the worries and stresses of work and rejuvenate your body and mind. Practicing meditation in the evening is best for people who can’t fit practice in during the morning or afternoon hours because they have too much going on at home or at their jobs. It’s also ideal if you’re trying to fall asleep quickly aft...

                   Meditation is an ancient practice believed to have originated in India several thousand years ago. Throughout early history, the practice was adopted by neighboring countries quickly and formed a part of many religions worldwide. The terminology used today to “meditate” was not introduced until the 12th century AD, coming from the Latin word  meditatum. Ancient history The earliest documented records that mentioned meditation involved Vedantism, which is a Hindu tradition in India, around 1500 BCE. However, historians believe that meditation was practiced before this time, as early as 3000 BCE. Between 600-500 BCE, the development of other meditation forms was recorded in Taoist China and Buddhist India, although the exact origins of these practices, particularly Buddhist meditation, continue to be debated among historians. The formula for the salvation of morality, contemplative concentration, knowledge, and lib...

  How Meditation Affects Your Brain and Boosts Well-Being Mindfulness meditation is the practice of nonjudgmental, intentional awareness of the present. It can strengthen areas of your brain responsible for memory, learning, attention, and self-awareness. The practice can also help calm down your sympathetic nervous system. Over time, mindfulness meditation can increase cognition, memory, and attention. It can also decrease emotional reactivity, stress, anxiety, and depression. Nowadays, it feels like people praise meditation as a cure for anything that ails you. Pain? Stress? Distraction? There’s a meditation for that.  But what is actually happening in your brain when you meditate? Kristoffer Rhoads , a psychologist at Harborview Medical Center, notes that mindfulness meditation has been studied the most while there are various kinds of meditation.  “Mindfulness meditation is the very intentional awareness of the present moment in a nonjudgmental fashion,” he says. “It’...

Reduce Stress in 10 Minutes and Improve Your Well-Being Taking breaks throughout the day may help relieve stress, ease tensions, or lessen worry. But we often don’t take breaks. Even 10 minutes is enough to improve your mental health. Let’s commit to taking 10 minutes today to do something for ourselves. Connect with Others to Reduce Stress Having meaningful relationships can create a sense of belonging. A feeling of being cared for, valued, and supported can help us become more resilient.  This is called social connectedness. Connecting with others can help us cope with stress and become more resilient. Here are some ways to reduce stress by connecting with others: Reach out  to your community, family members, or friends.  Talk  with someone you trust about your feelings or any concerns. Make time  for cultural, spiritual, or religious activities. Volunteer  with organizations that interest you. Giving back to others can help you too. Get outside  with others, ...

  Fathers of Meditation He was ‘the father of meditation’ in the West – Paramahansa Yogananda traveled from India to America in 1920 and established an alternative spirituality that would take the West by storm. Elvis wanted the secret of his meditation technique, and the founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, read Yogananda's  Autobiography of a Yogi , every year, for good measure. As another father of meditation, SN Goenka the founder of Vipassana Meditation, recently passed away, meditation is entering the mental health scene.   Meet Brother Nakulananda of the Self Realisation Fellowship in LA and clinical psychologist Dr. Bruno Cayoun, founder of MiCBT in Hobart. FOLLOW US :