Meditation Health Facts
Watch Leah Marie share information on how to meditate for stress reduction,
anxiety relief, reducing chances of developing dementia, a positive state of mind and pain management.
anxiety relief, reducing chances of developing dementia, a positive state of mind and pain management.
Why is Meditation so important to our health?
• New research shows that meditation can physically change and strengthen the brain significantly helping those with memory loss and Alzheimer’s.
• Findings of a study confirmed that daily meditation can improve cognitive function were conducted at the University of Pennsylvania and have been sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation (www.alzheimersprevention.org).
• Studies show that 12 minutes per day for 8 weeks results in significant improvements to brain function.
• Physicians have increasingly started prescribing meditation instead of pills to benefit their patients. A Harvard Medical School report released in May found that more than 6 million Americans had been recommended meditation and other mind-body therapies by conventional health care providers.
• Several studies suggest changes through meditation can make you happier and less stressed.
• Meditation can help you control your eating habits and even reduce chronic pain, all the while without taking prescription medication.
• Some scientists believe that in a generation, Americans will see meditation as being as essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle as diet and exercise.
Meditation is an intimate and intense exercise that can be done solo or in a group, and one study showed that 20 million Americans say they practice. In one study, a research team from Massachusetts General Hospital looked at the brain scans of 16 people before and after they participated in an eight-week course in mindfulness meditation. The study, published in the January issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, concluded that after completing the course, parts of the participants’ brains associated with compassion and self-awareness grew, and parts associated with stress shrank.”
The Dalai Lama cautions that meditation takes patience, so new mediators should not expect immediate results. He says, “It depends on practice.”
(Excerpts from a report published on 7/28/11 by ABC News’ Dan Harris, Erin Brady, Maggy Patrick and Lauren Effron)
Meditation is being recommended by medical researchers from:
Harvard Medical School, Mass General Hospital, the Alzheimer's Research and Prevention Foundation, and even the US Department of Health and Human Services informs us that meditation is as important as diet and exercise.
Meditation is a workout and fitness exercise for your brain!
In fact, studies and MRI brain scans have shown that after instituting a practice of mindfulness based meditation on a daily basis, the brain restructures itself by setting up
new neuro-pathways and even grows grey brain matter in the areas of learning,
language and compassion.
It has been scientifically proven that 12-27 minutes of meditation daily will help you re-wire negative thoughts out of your consciousness and inspire your body to produce
more relaxation hormones for a happier state of being.
You must avoid chronic stress and unhealthy thought patterns that trigger disease provoking toxins if you want to be in a state of good health. Chronic stress and
negative thoughts actually create increased cortisol (a stress hormone) production in
the body which triggers diseases.
Chronic cortisol production becomes a condition over time and increases harmful inflammation in the body. This inflammation activates auto-immune disorders and diseases, such as cancers, dementia, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease among many other conditions.
Alzheimer's Disease alone is at crisis levels in America with 1 in 4 people over 65 year
old affected and 1 in 2 over 85 years old affected. The disease process begins very early...usually around the mid 40's and is UNDETECTED until symptoms start showing
up later in life.
Also adversely affected by Alzheimer's Disease, are family members caring for their
loved ones with the disease. One in 5 family caregivers providing direct care die before the person they are caring for due to the lack of self care and impacts of chronic stress.
Our thoughts and perceptions, along with time allotted for self care/stress
management, have that much of an impact on our state of health and well-being!
Brain health and stress management needs to be a focus for all of us if
interested in living a healthy, thriving existence. Our health approaches, stress management coping strategies and ability to maintain a positive state of being is essential to keeping our brains well and bodies' free of illness. If you are not already making sure you are taking appropriate steps to keep your brain and health safe
...think again!
• Findings of a study confirmed that daily meditation can improve cognitive function were conducted at the University of Pennsylvania and have been sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation (www.alzheimersprevention.org).
• Studies show that 12 minutes per day for 8 weeks results in significant improvements to brain function.
• Physicians have increasingly started prescribing meditation instead of pills to benefit their patients. A Harvard Medical School report released in May found that more than 6 million Americans had been recommended meditation and other mind-body therapies by conventional health care providers.
• Several studies suggest changes through meditation can make you happier and less stressed.
• Meditation can help you control your eating habits and even reduce chronic pain, all the while without taking prescription medication.
• Some scientists believe that in a generation, Americans will see meditation as being as essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle as diet and exercise.
Meditation is an intimate and intense exercise that can be done solo or in a group, and one study showed that 20 million Americans say they practice. In one study, a research team from Massachusetts General Hospital looked at the brain scans of 16 people before and after they participated in an eight-week course in mindfulness meditation. The study, published in the January issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, concluded that after completing the course, parts of the participants’ brains associated with compassion and self-awareness grew, and parts associated with stress shrank.”
The Dalai Lama cautions that meditation takes patience, so new mediators should not expect immediate results. He says, “It depends on practice.”
(Excerpts from a report published on 7/28/11 by ABC News’ Dan Harris, Erin Brady, Maggy Patrick and Lauren Effron)
Meditation is being recommended by medical researchers from:
Harvard Medical School, Mass General Hospital, the Alzheimer's Research and Prevention Foundation, and even the US Department of Health and Human Services informs us that meditation is as important as diet and exercise.
Meditation is a workout and fitness exercise for your brain!
In fact, studies and MRI brain scans have shown that after instituting a practice of mindfulness based meditation on a daily basis, the brain restructures itself by setting up
new neuro-pathways and even grows grey brain matter in the areas of learning,
language and compassion.
It has been scientifically proven that 12-27 minutes of meditation daily will help you re-wire negative thoughts out of your consciousness and inspire your body to produce
more relaxation hormones for a happier state of being.
You must avoid chronic stress and unhealthy thought patterns that trigger disease provoking toxins if you want to be in a state of good health. Chronic stress and
negative thoughts actually create increased cortisol (a stress hormone) production in
the body which triggers diseases.
Chronic cortisol production becomes a condition over time and increases harmful inflammation in the body. This inflammation activates auto-immune disorders and diseases, such as cancers, dementia, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease among many other conditions.
Alzheimer's Disease alone is at crisis levels in America with 1 in 4 people over 65 year
old affected and 1 in 2 over 85 years old affected. The disease process begins very early...usually around the mid 40's and is UNDETECTED until symptoms start showing
up later in life.
Also adversely affected by Alzheimer's Disease, are family members caring for their
loved ones with the disease. One in 5 family caregivers providing direct care die before the person they are caring for due to the lack of self care and impacts of chronic stress.
Our thoughts and perceptions, along with time allotted for self care/stress
management, have that much of an impact on our state of health and well-being!
Brain health and stress management needs to be a focus for all of us if
interested in living a healthy, thriving existence. Our health approaches, stress management coping strategies and ability to maintain a positive state of being is essential to keeping our brains well and bodies' free of illness. If you are not already making sure you are taking appropriate steps to keep your brain and health safe
...think again!
“Our elders eagerly look forward to Leah’s Groups. Leah has a great ability to connect with each member of the group. Her style and knowledge about the benefits of meditation make participants eager to follow her simple instructions and self-help strategies. Leah’s passion about her work is contagious. Our elders benefit tremendously from her teaching. Leah has been a gift to our program this past year.”
Susan Mitchell – Program Director at the Behavioral Medicine Clinic at Saint Anne’s Hospital-Steward Hospitals Group
Susan Mitchell – Program Director at the Behavioral Medicine Clinic at Saint Anne’s Hospital-Steward Hospitals Group