Cherry blossoms

Researchers recently found that minutes-long meditation increases blood flow to the region of the brain that’s linked to learning and memory. In the morning, meditate for ten to 12 minutes before your cup of coffee or tea. (Caffeine can slow blood circulation to the brain.) Sit comfortably, let your eyes close and focus on your breath. If your thoughts start to wander, bring your attention back to your breath.

adpated from Natural Healing Magazine, November 2008

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meditation reduces stress

Dhyana heyah tad vrttayah.

Meditation removes disturbances of the mind. (Yoga Sutra II.11)

Research also shows that meditation can help people with anxiety disorders. Philippe Goldin, director of the Clinically Applied Affective Neuroscience project in the Department of Psychology at Stanford University, uses mindfulness meditation in his studies. The general practice is to become aware of the present moment—by paying attention to sounds, your breath, sensations in your body, or thoughts or feelings—and to observe without judgment and without trying to change what you notice.

Like most of us, the participants in Goldin’s studies suffer from all sorts of disturbances of the mind—worries, self-doubt, stress, and even panic. But people with anxiety disorders feel unable to escape from such thoughts and emotions, and find their lives overtaken by them. Goldin’s research shows that mindfulness meditation offers freedom for people with anxiety, in part by changing the way the brain responds to negative thoughts.

In his studies, participants take an eight-week mindfulness-based course in stress reduction. They meet once weekly for a class and practice on their own for up to an hour a day. The training includes mindfulness meditation, walking meditation, gentle yoga, and relaxation with body awareness as well as discussions about mindfulness in everyday life.

Before and after the intervention, participants have their brains scanned inside an fMRI (or functional MRI) machine, which looks at brain activity rather than the structure of the brain, while completing what Goldin calls “self-referential processing”—that is, thinking about themselves. An fMRI scanner tracks which brain areas consume more energy during meditation and, therefore, which regions are more active.

Ironically, the brain-scanning sessions could provoke anxiety even in the calmest of people. Participants must lie immobilized on their back with their head held in the brain scanner. They rest their teeth on dental wax to prevent any head movement or talking. They are then asked to reflect on different statements about themselves that appear on a screen in front of their face. Some of the statements are positive, but many of them are not, such as “I’m not OK the way I am,” or “Something’s wrong with me.” These are exactly the kinds of thoughts that plague people with anxiety.

The brain scans in Goldin’s studies show a surprising pattern. After the mindfulness intervention, participants have greater activity in a brain network associated with processing information when they reflect on negative self-statements. In other words, they pay more attention to the negative statements than they did before the intervention. And yet, they also show decreased activation in the amygdala—a region associated with stress and anxiety. Most important, the participants suffered less. “They reported less anxiety and worrying,” Goldin says. “They put themselves down less, and their self-esteem improved.”

reduce stress with meditation

Goldin’s interpretation of the findings is that mindfulness meditation teaches people with anxiety how to handle distressing thoughts and emotions without being overpowered by them. Most people either push away unpleasant thoughts or obsess over them—both of which give anxiety more power. “The goal of meditation is not to get rid of thoughts or emotions. The goal is to become more aware of your thoughts and emotions and learn how to move through them without getting stuck.” The brain scans suggest that the anxiety sufferers were learning to witness negative thoughts without going into a full-blown anxiety response. Research from other laboratories is confirming that mindfulness meditation can lead to lasting positive changes in the brain. For example, a recent study by Massachusetts General -Hospital and Harvard University put 26 highly stressed adults through an eight-week mindfulness-based course in stress reduction that followed the same basic format as Goldin’s study. Brain scans were taken before and after the intervention, along with participants’ own reports of stress. The participants who reported decreased stress also showed decreases in gray -matter density in the amygdala. Previous research had revealed that trauma and chronic stress can enlarge the amygdala and make it more reactive and more connected to other areas of the brain, leading to greater stress and anxiety. This study is one of the first documented cases showing change ocurring in the opposite direction—with the brain instead becoming less reactive and more resilient.

Together, these studies provide exciting evidence that small doses of mental training, such as an eight-week mindfulness course, can create important changes in one’s mental well-being.

adapted from Yoga Journal, by Kelly McGonigal

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Yellow Flowers. c. 1900, unknown

Exhaustion Cause: Disconnection from Nature

It’s hard to feel tired or anxious while hiking in the wilderness or staring out at a blue expanse of ocean. “Nature has built-in mechanisms for relieving stress,” says Doreen Sweeting, M.D., founder of Psychosomatic Wellness Intuitive Life Coaching. “There’s aromatherapy in the scent of the pine trees and grass, chromatherapy in the colors of the rocks and sky and flowers, sound therapy in the birdsong and wind rustling the leaves.”

Our society, unfortunately, is increasingly cut off from this wellspring of energy. “We live in artificial light. We walk on concrete. We exercise on machines,” Sweeting says. “We go from home to work to the store and back home.”

Exhaustion Cure: Take a Morning Walk

Set your Zen Timepiece to remind you whether you live in a suburb or a bustling city, to take a walk first thing in the morning — if possible, in an area filled with trees. “You’ll feel the energy of nature replenishing you,” says Sweeting. “The tree huggers are on to something.” As often as possible, venture deeper into the woods by planning day hikes or overnight camping trips.

Signing Bowl Timers & Alarm Clocks

Make an extra effort to notice the changing seasons. “You’ll start to realize the rhythms of nature apply to you, too,” Sweeting concludes. “When you harmonize yourself with nature, you’ll develop a stronger sense of well-being. The body responds quickly to being honored in this way. And it can all start with getting out to the park.”

adapted from Body+ Soul Magazine, September 2009

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yoga supported fish pose

Beat the Blues

You can see next week’s deadlines and responsibilities building up like a wave about to crest.

Take a few moments of silence to coil your energy before you dive into another week. This pose helps ward off the Monday-morning blues, inviting energy into your body and mind.

Supported Fish
What It Does
Stretches the shoulders, neck, and chest; improves posture and deepens breathing, countering a forward hunch. Opens the heart and the throat chakras, bolstering courage and encouraging authentic expression.

How to Do It
Set your Zen Yoga Timer in Bamboo to chime after 5 minutes.  Roll up a thin blanket and lie on your back, resting your shoulder blades on the blanket. If your head doesn’t comfortably reach the floor, place another blanket or small pillow underneath.

Let your breath rise and fall naturally, and stay here for 5 minutes, or as long as you like.

adatped from Body + Soul, 2010

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lovingkindness meditation

Put it into practice.

Sit comfortably in a place where you won’t be disturbed. Take three to five quiet breaths. Gently close your eyes.

Imagine the horizon spanning through your chest with a radiant sun rising in your innermost center—your heart. As though being melted by the solar warmth, release tension in your shoulders and across your throat. Soften your forehead and rest your attention inward on the light deep within. Take 7 to 10 smooth, even breaths.

As you inhale, invite the glow from your heart to expand toward the inner surface of the body. With each exhale, let the light recede. Take another 7 to 10 peaceful breaths. Inhaling, invite the light to touch the parts of you that interact with the world—your eyes and ears, the voice center in your throat, the palms 
of your hands, the soles of your feet. Exhaling, feel your light shine more clearly. As you continue to inhale and exhale, silently say: “I radiate friendliness for those who are happy, com-passion for those who are unhappy, equanimity toward all.” Continue until your attention wavers. Then, sit quietly for several minutes.

When you feel complete, place your palms together in front of your heart and bow your head. Release the backs of your hands to your thighs and lift your head. Gently open your eyes to return to the horizon of the world.

adapted from Yoga Journal, byKelly McGonigal

Use our unique “Zen Clock” which functions as a Yoga Timer.  It features a long-resonating acoustic chime that brings your meditation or yoga session to a gradual close, preserving the environment of stillness while also acting as an effective time signal. Our Yoga Timer & Clock can be programmed to chime at the end of the meditation or yoga session or periodically throughout the session as a kind of sonic yantra. The beauty and functionality of the Zen Clock/Timer makes it a meditation tool that can actually help you “make time” for meditation in your life. Bring yourself back to balance.

bamboo meditation timer

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Utamaro Kitagawa, The Courtesan Hanaogi of Ogiya, Ukiyo-e Woodblock Print

As far back as 300 B.C., the philosopher Chuang Tzu observed that when an archer was practicing, he shot with calming relaxation and skill.  When a moderate financial award was placed in front of the archer, he got a little tense, his aim faltered and he often missed the target.  When a large award was offered for his accuracy, he became nervous and worried, with obvious results. This led Chuang Tzu to wryly observe that, “He who looks too hard on the outside gets clumsy on the inside.”

In modern times people who play golf find their swing is near perfect when there is no ball to hit. But once a ball is placed on the tee and someone is keeping score, the inexperienced golfer’s swing inevitably fails and the ball goes off its intended path.  When a golfer has a drink, he often becomes more relaxed and his game improves.  So even though a specific feat can be improved by artificial means, it is at the expense of our being fully present and reduces our ability to respond to other circumstances.  Imagine how our performance in everyday life would improve if we could learn to find rest and calming relaxation from within ourselves.

The question is, “How could we relax in the process of living?” or, “How can we have rest in our daily lives? How do we live for the rest of our lives?”

Ohara Koson (Shoson) 1877-1945, Ukiyo-e

Here are six resting points or techniques that can assist us in finding rest and calming relaxation, peace, tranquility, and restoration within ourselves and within the great self that embraces and holds us all.  Try one and you’re on your way to the rest of your life.

1. The Breath:  Following the rise and fall of your breath can bring you to a peaceful and calm place and restore your energy.  It brings you present. Allow your breath all the way into your belly to reduce stress.  The key to natural and full breathing is in the exhalation – the letting go.  However, don’t force anything.

2. The Nap:  It is very underutilized in our culture.  Twenty minutes is ideal but even a five-minute nap can be very restorative.  Don’t go more than 20 minutes or you may feel groggy.  If you only have a minute, try this.  Hold some keys in your hands and bend forward in your chair with your lower arms resting on your thighs.  As you nod off, the keys will drop and wake you up. Even in that minute, you will feel a little more refreshed.  The point here is that taking a little time for yourself for rest, prayer, meditation, or spiritual exercises can profoundly affect the quality of your day. Remember to set your Zen Chime Timer to awaken you gently.

3. The Pause:  Learning to pause is a great tool to have up your sleeve.  Its value is in bringing you consciously present.  You can pause a moment in your daily routine and say,  “I am present.  I am here, now.” Then allow yourself to be with whatever is revealed.  A further refinement is to bring your attention to the pause between exhaling and inhaling.  Even doing this once will give you a moment of rest and restoration.

4. Silence:  The word “listen” contains the same letters as the word “silent.”  Choose to be present and alert and to listen past the inner conversations of the mind.  Listen past the sounds of the world and just listen to the silence. Listen attentively to whatever comes forward out of the silence.  If things start to distract and disrupt you, bring your focus back to the silence. When you practice bringing your presence into the silence, you will experience a knowing and a wisdom that will start flowing within you.  It will usually bring you to a state of peace, calm and clarity.

5. Doing nothing:  A great way to interrupt the pattern of habitual doing.  It is akin to entering a state of observation, where you perceive things clearly just for what they are.  An analogy is watching boats going out to sea.  You observe them as they pass you.  Then you observe the next one.  If you gawk or think about how you would like to be in a boat, you have moved out of observation.  Observation is only about what is, not what you know or don’t know about a situation.  The power that comes from that, internally, is tremendous.  It’s an active place of neutrality.  The process of observing what is, is the process that releases and restores us.

6. Meditation – Resting in Yourself: “To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.” Lao-Tzu.  When you haven’t developed an intimate relationship with life or with yourself, you’ll tend to look toward having sex or acquiring more money, or to any attractive distraction to fill the emptiness inside.  To fill yourself, you have to be prepared to spend time alone – quality time with yourself, not with a good book, not watching television, art or with music.  Although those have their place, learn to be quiet with your own inner self.  Any time you can bring your focus onto one thing, a flower, a sacred word, a scene in nature, you are meditating.  The simplest way to meditate is to observe the rising and falling of your breath.

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Adapted from Men’s Health, June 2003 by Paul Kaye, DSS, President of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness (MSIA)

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