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.

Spiritual retreat can help heart patients return to psycho-spiritual well-being

Attending a non-denominational spiritual retreat can help patients with severe heart trouble feel less depressed and more hopeful about the future, a University of Michigan Health System study has found.

1 Aug 2011

UofL School of Nursing assistant professor to build theory of successful aging

People who feel a purpose in life and who can cope with change are poised to age successfully. That is what Valerie McCarthy, RN, PhD, assistant professor, University of Louisville School of Nursing, found through her theory-based research.

30 Jul 2011

Head injury and dementia - Alzheimer’s connection

According to two studies released Monday, brain injuries sustained early in life are likely boost the risk of dementia later in life. In a third study, also presented at an international Alzheimer's conference in Paris this week, researchers unveiled evidence that falling over in daily life may be an early warning sign of the onset of Alzheimer's.

19 Jul 2011

Yukon, Canadian Cancer Society announce Kordyban Lodge construction

The ground adjacent to the University Hospital of Northern B.C. is no longer a parking lot. Today, the Canadian Cancer Society B.C. and Yukon together with local government representatives and supporters celebrated the start of construction on the Kordyban Lodge by breaking ground.

16 Jul 2011

Meditation appears to change brain anatomy: Study

Two years ago, researchers at UCLA found that specific regions in the brains of long-term meditators were larger and had more gray matter than the brains of individuals in a control group. This suggested that meditation may indeed be good for all of us since, alas, our brains shrink naturally with age.

15 Jul 2011

Urban dwellers at greater risk of mental illness: Study

A new study shows that living in a city increases the risk of developing a mental disorder, including depression and schizophrenia, compared to people who live in non-urban areas. The findings of the has implications for around half of the world's population who live in cities.

23 Jun 2011

Meditation increases concentration and decreases stress

The nation's current healthcare crisis has added a new dimension to the old saying, "Prevention is the best medicine." With rising co-pays, high deductibles, confusion over coverage, and prescription drug headaches, healthcare consumers recognize that getting sick is more complicated than ever.

20 Jun 2011

UCLA's new center to explore links between brain, digestive system in chronic disorders

Investigators at UCLA's Center for Neurobiology of Stress have been studying the links between the brain and digestive system in the development and treatment of common chronic digestive disorders in adults and children.

16 Jun 2011

Train the brain to manage chronic pain

How do you function when chronic pain is a part of your daily life? The UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness (UCSD CFM) at UC San Diego Health System offers a novel program to help people who are dealing with chronic pain "train their brains" to lessen their experience of discomfort and, in some cases, eliminate it.

16 Jun 2011

Scientists zero in on dose levels of "sacred mushroom"

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have zeroed in on the dose levels of the "sacred mushroom" chemical capable of yielding positive, life-changing experiences, while minimizing the chance of transient negative reactions in screened volunteers under supportive, carefully monitored conditions.

15 Jun 2011

New UH Seidman Cancer Center center to offer latest treatments and technology

University Hospitals (UH) Seidman Cancer Center, Northeast Ohio's first and only freestanding cancer hospital, opens to patients on June 6. The ten-story, 150-bed cancer hospital will house the latest cancer-fighting treatments and technology – all in a patient-centered, healing-focused environment.

6 Jun 2011

Transcendental Meditation reduces symptoms of PTSD in veterans just within 8 weeks

Veterans of the Iraq/Afghanistan wars showed a 50 percent reduction in their symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after just eight weeks of practicing the stress-reducing Transcendental Meditation technique, according to a pilot study published in the June 2011 issue of Military Medicine.

2 Jun 2011

Yoga improves quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis

Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis who practice yoga showed statistically significant improvements in disease activity, according to a small study presented at the EULAR 2011 Annual Congress.

26 May 2011

New cancer study finds benefit in old therapy

Cancer patients who used a 5,000-year-old combination of gentle exercise and meditation experienced significantly higher wellbeing levels, improved cognitive functioning and less inflammation compared to a control group, new University of Sydney research has found.

24 May 2011

Complementary and alternative health practices show promise for management of pain

A variety of complementary and alternative health practices —including meditation and relaxation techniques, manual therapies such as massage and spinal manipulation, meditative exercise forms such as yoga, Tai Chi, and ancient health practices such as acupuncture—show promise for contributing to the management of pain according to research presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society, www.ampainsoc.org.

20 May 2011

Yoga offers unique benefits beyond fighting fatigue for women with breast cancer

For women with breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy, yoga offers unique benefits beyond fighting fatigue, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

19 May 2011

Tips to get better sleep

Your life is already tense — teens rebelling, house under renovation, work life in overload, bills piling up, elderly parents declining — yet the demands requiring your attention and time continue to grow, overflowing into sleep-time territory. Oftentimes, mass marketing's solutions to women's challenging lifestyles focus on quick fixes and more consumer goods.

18 May 2011