Mind and Body

This is the meditation program that I recommend:
www.Natural-Stress-Relief.com
On meditation. I recommend an effortless meditation. It is not the nature of the mind to be controlled but rather try to be the controller. Any effort to control the mind is just the mind trying to control itself. If you can learn how to ‘not think‘, and practice it regularly, you will help improve your health in many ways.

Mind-Body Program Helped Low Back Pain
Mindfulness program reduced low back pain symptoms in older adults.

Among 282 randomized participants who had chronic low back pain, those treated with a mindfulness-based stress reduction program improved an average of -1.1 points on the Roland and Morris Disability Questionnaire after 8 weeks compared to patients in the control group, Natalia E. Morone, MD, MS, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and colleagues, reported in JAMA Internal Medicine.

By 6 months, the participants in the mind-body program also had improved measures on a Numeric Pain Rating Scale for current (-1.8 points) and most severe pain measures (-1.0). But functional improvements achieved at the 8-week mark were not sustained at 6-month follow-up.

Morone discusses the study and its implications in this video.

Another Good Resource for Meditation
http://www.mindful.org/

A series of articles by Dr. Lipton relating how your mind and thoughts really control DNA function.
The Wisdom of Your Cells Part I
by Bruce Lipton, PhD
The Wisdom of Your Cells Part 2
by Bruce Lipton, PhD
The Wisdom of Your Cells Part 3
by Bruce Lipton, PhD

Mina Bissell: Experiments that point to a new understanding of cancer
Watch this video after you have an understanding of  Bruce Lipton’s material above.  For decades, researcher Mina Bissell pursued a revolutionary idea — that a cancer cell doesn’t automatically become a tumor, but rather, depends on surrounding cells (its microenvironment) for cues on how to develop. She shares the two key experiments that proved the prevailing wisdom about cancer growth was wrong.
Mina’s Video at TED Talks

Meditation for Migraines: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
July 18, 2014 Mindfulness-based stress reduction is safe and feasible for adults with migraines. Although the small sample size of this pilot trial did not provide power to detect statistically significant changes in migraine frequency or severity, secondary outcomes demonstrated this intervention had a beneficial effect on headache duration, disability, self-efficacy, and mindfulness. Future studies with larger sample sizes are warranted to further evaluate this intervention for adults with migraines.

PubMed Reference
Journal Reference

Meditation Benefits Heart in Blacks
By Nancy Walsh, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: November 13, 2012
A stress reduction program using Transcendental Meditation (TM) significantly reduced the composite endpoint of mortality, myocardial infarction, and stroke in African-American patients with coronary heart disease, researchers reported.
Full Story

Effect of Meditation on Quality of Life, Anxiety, and Blood Pressure Control
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
Volume: 18 Issue 6: July 11, 2012
From the study….” Conclusions: Meditation treatment was associated with significant improvements in quality of life, anxiety reduction, and blood pressure control.
Full Abstract

Evidence Builds That Meditation Strengthens the Brain
ScienceDaily (Mar. 14, 2012) — Earlier evidence out of UCLA suggested that meditating for years thickens the brain (in a good way) and strengthens the connections between brain cells. Now a further report by UCLA researchers suggests yet another benefit.
Full Story

Meditation Induces Positive Structural Brain Changes
June 18, 2012 — Integrative body-mind training (IBMT), a type of Chinese mindfulness meditation, may induce positive structural changes in the brain’s white matter, new research suggests.

Building on results from a study they published in 2010, investigators found that healthy college-aged volunteers who practiced IBMT for 4 weeks showed significantly improved mood changes compared with those who did not practice the meditation technique.
Full Story

Meditation improves the immune system, research shows
Meditation improves the immune system, reduces blood pressure and even sharpens the mind, according to research.

Now new research suggests that mindfulness meditation can have benefits for health and performance, including improved immune function, reduced blood pressure and enhanced cognitive function.
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Body in mind:  the role of the brain in chronic pain

Meditation Improves Endothelial Function in Metabolic Syndrome
Pilot study may have implications for reducing cardiovascular risk in African Americans
March 18, 2011 (San Antonio, Texas) — Meditation may help improve endothelial function in patients with metabolic syndrome, potentially reducing cardiovascular risk, new research suggests. Presented here at the American Psychosomatic Society 69th Annual Scientific Meeting, a randomized trial in a group of African American patients with metabolic syndrome showed significant improvement in endothelial function in those randomly assigned to a year-long meditation program compared with their counterparts who underwent a program of health education alone.
Full Story

Rupert Sheldrake Lecture: The Science Delusion
Dispelling the Ten Dogmas of Materialism and Freeing the Spirit of Enquiry
http://vimeo.com/37792854