Integrative Body-Mind Training, Nature Exposure, and Mindfulness: A Review of Attention State Training Techniques
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When the space shuttle Atlantis returns from the International Space Station it will mark the end of an era for American space travel. We will all be holding our breath for its final safe landing to end a brilliant 30 year career. Reflecting on this, Lawrence Klein, Vice President and Co-Founder of Thought Technology Ltd., recalls, “One of our company’s proudest achievements was to have its FlexComp Infiniti system chosen as the physiological monitoring equipment used in NASA’s NEEMO-9 project.” Included in this report is a video that explains how biofeedback was used in support of the NASA mission.
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. Called Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), this in-depth eight-week program helps participants learn to better manage their experience of pain through diverse techniques such as guided meditation, gentle yoga, and breathing exercises.
Competitive athletes should not only practice their sport to improve performance; perhaps they should also practice heart rate variability (HRV). Studies have shown that learning to increase heart rate variability through biofeedback can improve sport performance and help athletes cope with the stress of competition. A link to download the original study is included in this report.
According to the American Cancer Society, more than 11.4 million Americans are currently living with cancer. While cancer treatments are plentiful, many have negative side effects. Previous studies have indicated that a significant number of patients who receive chemotherapy also experience cognitive declines, including decreases in verbal fluency and memory. Now, one University of Missouri health psychologist has found evidence that indicates Tai Chi, a Chinese martial art, might help overcome some of those problems.
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. While simple stretching exercises improved fatigue, patients who participated in yoga that incorporated yogic breathing, postures, meditation, and relaxation techniques into their treatment plan experienced improved physical functioning, better general health, and lower cortisol (stress hormone) levels. They also were better able to find meaning in their cancer experience.
According to a new study conducted by researchers in Connecticut, the Wii Fit™ offers patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) an effective workout – and one that, because it is enjoyable, patients are more likely to use. The results will be presented at the ATS 2011 International Conference in Denver.
More than a third of Americans use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and that number continues to rise attributed mostly to increases in the use of mind-body therapies (MBT) like yoga, meditation, and deep breathing exercises. The results of the study appear in the May 9 issue of theArchives of Internal Medicine.
In 2004, I introduced the concept of the “bridge.” Since that time, this author and others have been working with bridges to understand their significance in facilitating conscious influence of the body/mind. Humans, in fact vertebrate life in general, interact with the environment via fifteen bodily functions or “interfaces”. These input/output functions include the eyes, the nose, the lips, the jaw, the ears, the tongue, the throat (larynx and glottis), the hands, the breasts, the diaphragm, the urethral sphincter, the vaginal sphincter, the anal sphincter, the feet, and the skin.
While making dinner for his daughters one night, James Abram, 59, collapsed on his kitchen floor. He was rushed to Loyola University Medical Center where doctors determined he had suffered a stroke. He later suffered a second stroke and underwent emergency surgery to reduce life-threatening swelling in his brain. Included in this report is a video interview with patients who received wheelchair yoga along with a summary of how wheelchair yoga was implemented.
“Mind body” practices affect gene expression – these are the findings of Herbert Benson M.D. and William Proctor J.D., reported in their recent book: Relaxation Revolution: Enhancing Your Personal Health Through the Science and Genetics of Mind Body Healing
