Decrease Stress Hormones with Meditation By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Individuals who scored high on the mindfulness questionnaire also had low levels in cortisol, both before and after the retreat. Subjects whose mindfulness score increased after the retreat also showed a decrease in cortisol.” – Tonya Jacobs Stress is an integral […]
Relieve Trauma Symptoms and Stress in Prisoners with Meditation By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Ever since a kid, I’ve just been miserable being myself. After just one month of meditating, I’ve felt so much energy, it’s amazing how good I feel.” – Geoff, prison inmate serving life sentence Around 2 ¼ million […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “If you have unproductive worries, you can train yourself to experience those thoughts completely differently. You might think ‘I’m late, I might lose my job if I don’t get there on time, and it will be a disaster!’ Mindfulness teaches you to recognize, ‘Oh, there’s that thought […]
Focused and Self-Compassion Meditation Have Different Effects on Attention, Well-Being and Classroom Performance By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “There is no good or bad meditation — there is simply awareness or non-awareness. To begin with, we get distracted a lot. Over time, we get distracted less. Be gentle with your approach, be patient […]
Mindfulness Reduces Stress and Negative Emotions in College Students By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul.” – Marcus Aurelius In the modern world education is a key for success. Where a high school education was sufficient in previous generations, […]
Improve Immune function with a Meditation Retreat By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “meditative practice enhanced immune function without activating inflammatory signals. This suggests that meditation, as a behavioral intervention, may be an effective component in treating diseases characterized by increased inflammatory responsiveness with a weakened immune system.” – Vijayendran Chandran The immune […]
Priming Improves the Effectiveness of Mindfulness to Reduce Stress and Improve Attention By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Mindfulness is the awareness that arises from paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn One of the primary effects of mindfulness training is an improvement in the ability to […]
Improve Quality of Life with Yoga and Meditation By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Though the benefits of a yoga practice initially arrive on our mats, a regular practice expands those benefits as they permeate into our daily lives beyond the four corners of our mats.” – Crystal Borup-Popenoe Yoga practice has […]
Improve Shoulder Pain with Brief Meditation By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Mindfulness also helps deconstruct the pain: Rather than seeing it as a solid block that has taken over a part of your body, you go into the pain and see moments of pressure, moments of burning, moments of iciness, etc,” – […]
Improve Secure Attachment and Resilience in Adolescents with Meditation By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “meditation for teens. The practise of meditation will help you to let go of what is out of your control. To lessen the negative and draining energy of worry and anxiety.” – Tejay Dowe Adolescence is a […]