The Noble Eightfold Path: Right Effort By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “The Fourfold Right Diligence is nourished by joy and interest. If your practice does not bring you joy, you are not practicing correctly.” – Thich Nhat Hahn In order to progress on the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path, effort must be […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Mindfulness practices help children improve their ability to pay attention, by learning to focus on one thing (e.g., breath, sound) while filtering out other stimuli. Mindfulness also provides kids with skills for understanding their emotions and how to work with them. I’m not sure if there any other skills besides […]
Improve Social Anxiety Disorder with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Using mindfulness, we can begin to notice what happens in the body when anxiety is present and develop strategies to empower clients to “signal safety” to their nervous system. Over time, clients feel empowered to slow down their response to triggers, […]
Tai Chi Fails to Improve Pain and Quality of Life in Patients with Spinal Cord Disorders By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Tai chi is often described as “meditation in motion,” but it might well be called “medication in motion.” There is growing evidence that this mind-body practice, which originated in China as a […]
Mindful Fatherhood By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Mindful Fathering is the act of consciously checking into your life as a father. It’s about staying present in your life as a father, observing the dreary, ugly, and painful parts of fathering with acceptance and non-judgement, and honoring those parts with our full attention, […]
Improve Social Anxiety Disorder with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “regular and consistent mindfulness meditation will help to strengthen your ability to overcome the initial problems that you experience. If you are suffering with the symptoms of social anxiety disorder (SAD), regular practice will eventually improve your self-concept and ability to handle […]
Improve Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with Mind-Body Practices By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “mindfulness practice can help us pay attention better, resist distractions, be less impulsive, remember what we are doing in the moment, and regulate our own emotions, it is helpful whether we have ADHD or not. But it holds […]
Mindfulness is Associated with Improved Athletic Psychology in Elite Athletes By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Meditation is becoming popular for many reasons, especially related to health. Athletes are also taking up the practice more and more because research has shown that meditation can be used as a tool to manage pain, decrease anxiety and […]
Mindful Motherhood By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “There could not be a better time to learn mindfulness than during pregnancy and early motherhood. For one thing, this is a time when most people have a strong motivation to become the best person they can be in a relatively short period of time. When you […]
Improve Stress and Trauma Effects on Children with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “mindfulness practice helps children connect with positive emotional and social experiences, often things that a traumatized brain struggles to do.” – Mindful Trauma comes in many forms, from abuse to warfare, from children to the elderly, from […]