Meditation News and Research

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The term meditation refers to a variety of techniques or practices intended to focus or control attention. Most of them are rooted in Eastern religious or spiritual traditions. These techniques have been used by many different cultures throughout the world for thousands of years.

Today, many people use meditation outside of its traditional religious or cultural settings as a form of mind-body medicine. Many claims have been made about its value in promoting or improving health and wellness.

Tips to overcome Hurricane Sandy stress

It's more than chaos. It's more than uncertainty. The upheaval brought about by a natural disaster the likes of Hurricane Sandy forces us to reorganize how we see the world. "We lose our mental mind map," says Henri Roca, MD, medical director of Greenwich Hospital's Integrative Medicine Program in Greenwich, Connecticut. "The challenge is that everything is different, from the places we usually go, the routes we drive, the colleagues and friends we see. We don't realize how much we depend on the things we consider solid and foundational," said Dr. Roca.

4 Nov 2012

BWH researchers propose new model that shifts how we think about mindfulness

Achieving mindfulness through meditation has helped people maintain a healthy mind by quelling negative emotions and thoughts, such as desire, anger and anxiety, and encouraging more positive dispositions such as compassion, empathy and forgiveness. Those who have reaped the benefits of mindfulness know that it works. But how exactly does it work?

31 Oct 2012

Complementary and alternative therapy offers self-reported benefits for arthritis patients

Nearly a quarter of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis used complementary and alternative therapy (CAT) to help manage their condition, according to a study in the November issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

30 Oct 2012

Neurofeedback enhances a brain network responsible for cognitive-control

A breakthrough study conducted in Canada has found that training of the well-known brainwave in humans, the alpha rhythm, enhances a brain network responsible for cognitive-control.

25 Oct 2012

Integrative Medicine helps people heal faster

The body has an innate desire to heal itself. Encouraging self-healing is the focus of Greenwich Hospital's Integrative Medicine Program.

19 Oct 2012

VOICES of children with ADHD support medication use

Children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder benefit from the use of stimulant medication and do not feel that it turns them into “robots,” suggests research.

16 Oct 2012

Cognitively-based compassion training can boost empathic accuracy

A compassion-based meditation program can significantly improve a person's ability to read the facial expressions of others, finds a study published by Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.

5 Oct 2012

Spirituality often enhances health regardless of a person's faith

Despite differences in rituals and beliefs among the world's major religions, spirituality often enhances health regardless of a person's faith, according to University of Missouri researchers. The MU researchers believe that health care providers could take advantage of this correlation between health - particularly mental health - and spirituality by tailoring treatments and rehabilitation programs to accommodate an individual's spiritual inclinations.

21 Aug 2012

Mindfulness meditation prevents feelings of loneliness

Many elderly people spend their last years alone. Spouses pass and children scatter. But being lonely is much more than a silent house and a lack of companionship. Over time, loneliness not only takes a toll on the psyche but can have a serious physical impact as well.

15 Aug 2012

Montefiore launches first fellowship program in Women's Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Montefiore Medical Center has launched the nation's first fellowship program in Women's Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (WPM&R), and established a new clinical program in this specialty.

6 Aug 2012

Research supports ability of some herbal agents against sunburn

Recent research supports the ability of some herbal agents, taken orally or applied topically, to prevent sunburn and limit the damage caused by excessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light.

1 Aug 2012

Group yoga can boost motor function and balance in stroke survivors

Group yoga can improve motor function and balance in stroke survivors, even if they don't begin yoga until six months or more after the stroke, according to "Post-Stroke Balance Improves With Yoga: A Pilot Study," published online July 26 in the journal Stroke.

30 Jul 2012

Study uncovers pathways by which yoga impacts biological processes

Six months ago, researchers at UCLA published a study that showed using a specific type of yoga to engage in a brief, simple daily meditation reduced the stress levels of people who care for those stricken by Alzheimer's and dementia. Now they know why.

25 Jul 2012

Pastoral support, not life-prolonging care, improves QoL at end of life

Quality of life at the end of life is improved when advanced cancer patients avoid being hospitalized, when their worry is reduced, they are given pastoral as well as medical care, and when they feel they are in alliance with their physician, show results of the Coping With Cancer study.

18 Jul 2012

Mindfulness techniques show health benefits

Specific types of "mindfulness practices" including Zen meditation have research-proven benefits for patients with certain physical and mental health problems, according to a report in the July Journal of Psychiatric Practice.

12 Jul 2012

Comparative study on meditation

New to meditation and already thinking about quitting? You may have simply chosen the wrong method. A new study published online July 7 in EXPLORE: The Journal of Science and Healing highlights the importance of ensuring that new meditators select methods with which they are most comfortable, rather than those that are most popular.

8 Jul 2012

Unique brain characteristics behind people's excellence

Scientists trying to understand why some people excel - whether as world-class athletes, virtuoso musicians, or top CEOs - have discovered that these outstanding performers have unique brain characteristics that make them different from other people.

19 Jun 2012

First study to explore how meditation might affect multitasking in realistic work settings

Need to do some serious multitasking? Some training in meditation beforehand could make the work smoother and less stressful, new research from the University of Washington shows. Work by UW Information School professors David Levy and Jacob Wobbrock suggests that meditation training can help people working with information stay on tasks longer with fewer distractions and also improves memory and reduces stress.

15 Jun 2012

IBMT linked with positive structural changes in brain connectivity

A Texas Tech University scientist studying the Chinese mindfulness meditation known as integrative body-mind training (IBMT) said he and other researchers have confirmed and expanded on changes in structural efficiency of white matter in the brain that can be related to positive behavioral changes in subjects practicing the technique for a month and a minimum of 11 hours total.

14 Jun 2012

Mindfulness can help cancer patients with anxiety and depression

When being diagnosed with cancer, people will naturally worry about their future, their family and about dying. Actually, no less than 35-40% of cancer patients suffer from significant anxiety and depression symptoms. An interdisciplinary research project carried out between Aarhus University, Business and Social Sciences and Aarhus University Hospital and the Danish Cancer Society now shows that mindfulness can help cancer those patients suffering from anxiety and depression.

12 Jun 2012