| Relaxation Tip of the Week
Focus and Simplify
Practice consciously doing one thing at a time,
keeping your mind focused on the present. Do whatever you're doing more slowly, more
intentionally, and with more awareness and respect.
(from Ten Strategies for Mastering
Stress, by Joel Levey and Michelle Levey)
Mindfulness and the Immune System
by Bryan Brewer, Producer, Self-Guided.com
Most of us would probably agree that our minds --
the thoughts we think, how we think them, the quality of our mental processes, etc. -- can
have an effect on our bodies.
It's certainly true of guided imagery, where listening to
spoken suggestions can trigger a physical response.
Now comes news of new research that links the mind and
the immune system.
Published last year in the Journal of Psychosomatic
Medicine by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., and other researchers, the study documents
changes in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Subjects
who took a short course in mindfulness meditation showed higher brain activity in a region
associated with well-being and also showed higher immune system activity to fight against
the flu.
Mindfulness meditation is a mental method of simply
paying attention to what you are doing and what is happening -- as it happens.
As Joel and Michelle Levey say in their book The Fine
Arts of Relaxation, Concentration, and Meditation: Ancient Skills for Modern Minds:
"What do you really enjoy doing?
Have you ever considered that that activity could be an excellent meditation for you? Doing
anything we love to do with mindful awareness can be an effective meditation.
Meditation is not the activity, but the quality of attention that we bring to the
activity. Any activity of our daily life can become a meditation when approached with the
intention of developing concentration, clarity, compassion, or insight."
There is definitely a connection between mindfulness and
good health that you can take use for your own benefit. And it doesn't require any special
equipment ... other than your mind.
Best wishes for a healthy and mindful first week of spring.
Bryan Brewer
Producer
Self-Guided.com
bryanb@self-guided.com
Quote of the Week
"The first step in growth is to do what we love
to do and to become aware of doing it."
-- Sujata
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The Fine Arts of
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