Improve Physical and Cognitive Function with Tai Chi

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Because Tai Chi may impact cognitive function via a diverse and potentially synergistic set of mechanistic pathways, it is plausible that it may offer benefits superior to interventions that target only single pathways (e.g., aerobic training or stress reduction alone)” – Peter Wayne

 

The process of aging affects every aspect of the physical and cognitive domains. Every system in the body deteriorates including motor function with a decline in strength, flexibility, and balance. Impaired balance is a particular problem as it can lead to falls. In the U.S. one third of people over 65 fall each year and 2.5 million are treated in emergency rooms for injuries produced by falls. About 1% of falls result in deaths making it the leading cause of death due to injury among the elderly. It is obviously important to investigate methods to improve balance and decrease the number of fall in the elderly.

 

Perhaps more troubling than the physical decline is the mental deterioration that occurs with aging. This is called age related cognitive decline and includes decreases in memory, attention, and problem solving ability. This occurs to everyone as they age, but to varying degrees. Some deteriorate into a dementia, while others maintain high levels of cognitive capacity into very advanced ages. It is estimated that around 30% of the elderly show significant age related cognitive decline. But, remember that this also means that 70% of the elderly retain reasonable levels of cognitive ability.

 

It is, therefore, important to investigate methods to slow the mental decline during aging. Some promising methods are contemplative practices which have been shown to restrain age related declines. One particularly promising method is the ancient eastern practice of Tai Chi. It is particularly promising due to the fact that it is both a physical and a mental practice. Indeed, tai chi practice has been shown to slow cognitive decline in aging.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effects of Tai Chi and Western Exercise on Physical and Cognitive Functioning in Healthy Community-Dwelling Older Adults”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1177689028921688/?type=3&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4699673/

Taylor-Piliae and colleagues randomly assigned sedentary adults over 60 years of age to either a tai chi practice, a physical exercise program, or attention (healthy aging) training. Training occurred twice a week in 90-minute classes and three times per week in home practices. They measured the physical and mental capabilities of the participants at 6 and 12 months of training. They found that both the tai chi and exercise groups improved in both flexibility and balance in comparison to the control condition. At 6 months the tai chi group was superior with balance while the exercise group was superior in flexibility, but at 12 months the two groups were equivalently superior to the control group in both flexibility and balance. In contrast, only the tai chi group demonstrated improved levels of cognitive function including memory and semantic fluency at both 6 and 12 months.

 

These results suggest that both tai chi and exercise are effective in slowing the physical decline with aging but tai chi has the added benefit of also slowing the cognitive decline. Since tai chi is safe, with no known adverse effects, and a gentle practice it is very appropriate for an aging population. Also, since it can be taught and practiced in groups and easily maintained at home, it is a very inexpensive intervention. This makes it almost ideal for aging individuals on fixed incomes.

 

The results suggest that tai chi practice may be helpful in preventing falls as a result of improvement in balance and flexibility and slow the mental decline with aging. This indicates that tai chi practice should be recommended for elderly individuals to help maintain their physical and mental abilities. So, improve physical and cognitive function with tai chi.

 

“There is growing evidence that Tai Chi can significantly reduce the risk of cognitive impairment and improve cognitive function.” – Exercise Medicine Australia

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Stop Self-Medicating with Opioids with Mindfulness

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

 

 “The abuse of and addiction to opioids such as heroin, morphine, and prescription pain relievers is a serious global problem that affects the health, social, and economic welfare of all societies.  It is estimated that between 26.4 million and 36 million people abuse opioids worldwide, with an estimated 2.1 million people in the United States suffering from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers in 2012 and an estimated 467,000 addicted to heroin.  The consequences of this abuse have been devastating and are on the rise.” – Nora D. Volkow

 

The over prescription of opioid painkillers in the United States has become a major problem. The number of prescriptions for opioids (like hydrocodone and oxycodone products) have increased from around 76 million in 1991 to nearly 207 million in 2013. This creates a major problem because of the strong addictive qualities of opioids. As a result, opioid addiction has become epidemic in the United States. It is estimated that over 2 million Americans abuse or are addicted on opioid painkillers. These addictions have stark economic costs. It is estimated that the abuse of prescription opioids costs around $60 billion a year, with 46% attributable to workplace costs (e.g., lost productivity), 45% to healthcare costs (e.g., abuse treatment), and 9% to criminal justice costs.

 

Opioid abuse, however produces even worse consequences than those created by addiction. It is deadly. It has become so bad that drug overdose is now the leading cause of injury death, causing more deaths than motor vehicle accidents. This is a problem both of illegal drug use but even more so of abuse of legally obtained prescription drugs. Of the over 44,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States 52% were from prescription drugs. It would help if doctors were more judicious in prescribing opioids. But, there will still be a need to assist those who abuse or become addicted.

 

It appears that to some extent opioid abuse occurs from a desire to escape from negative emotions. The abuser then self-medicates with opioids to help them feel better. Hence, it may be helpful to better understand this self-medication to better design treatments for abuse and addiction. Mindfulness training has been shown to be helpful in recovering from addictions. So, it would seem reasonable to investigate the relationship of mindfulness to self-medication. In today’s Research News article “Low Dispositional Mindfulness Predicts Self-Medication of Negative Emotion with Prescription Opioids”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1176972385660019/?type=3&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4310788/

Garland and colleagues examined the characteristics, including mindfulness and self-medication, of opioid abusers who were seeking treatment. Remarkably they found that 95% of the abusers reported using opioids to self-medicate from the negative emotions of anxiety, fear, depression, sadness, anger, or frustration. Importantly, the higher the abuser was in mindfulness the lower the use of opioids for self-medication from negative emotions.

 

These findings suggest that mindfulness may be an antidote for self-medication use of opioids for the relief of negative emotional states. But, we cannot jump to this conclusion as the study was observational and did not manipulate mindfulness. So, mindfulness may lower self-medication, or self-medication may lower mindfulness, or some third factor such as intensity of addiction may be related to both. It will require further research to determine causation.

 

One of the key effects of mindfulness is that it appears to heighten emotion regulation. The individual then experiences the emotions fully, doesn’t suppress them, but is able to respond to them appropriately and adaptively. So, when experiencing negative emotions, a highly mindful person would be able to respond appropriately and not try to escape them with opioids.

 

Regardless of the explanation it is clear that when mindfulness is high, self-medication with opioids is low. So, stop self-medicating with opioids with mindfulness.

 

“We can teach people to use mindfulness to appreciate and enjoy life more, and by doing that, they may feel less of a need for addictive drugs.” – Eric Garland

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Calm Anxiety with Yoga

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“Yoga helps our entire system slow down. Our bodies are programmed to heal naturally, and what stops that healing are all the stressors of daily life. Yoga dissolves those stressors for the time during practice and usually the effects last for hours after.” – Elena Brower

 

Yoga practice is multifaceted. It is a physical exercise that strengthens the body. It is also a spiritual practice which can bring insights and understanding. But, it also a mind practice which can bring profound psychological changes. (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/contemplative-practice/yoga-contemplative-practice/). These psychological changes can be positive enhancing the current state. But they can also be beneficial for the treatment of negative states, mental illness.

 

Everyone experiences occasional anxiety and that is normal. But, frequent or very high levels of anxiety can be quite debilitating. These are termed anxiety disorders and they are the most common psychological problem. In the U.S., they affect over 40 million adults, 18% of the population, with women accounting for 60% of sufferers One out of every three absences from work are caused by high levels of anxiety and it is the most common reason for chronic school absenteeism. In addition, people with an anxiety disorder are three-to-five times more likely to go to the doctor and six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders than non-sufferers, making it a major burden on the healthcare system.

 

Anxiety disorders typically include feelings of panic, fear, and uneasiness, problems sleeping, cold or sweaty hands and/or feet, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, an inability to be still and calm, dry mouth, and numbness or tingling in the hands or feet. They have generally been treated with drugs. It has been estimated that 11% of women in the U.S. are taking anti-anxiety medications. But, there are considerable side effects and these drugs are often abused. Although, psychological therapy can be effective it is costly and not available to large numbers of sufferers. So, there is a need to investigate alternative treatments.

 

Contemplative practices appear to be a viable alternative (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/research-news/anxiety/). Indeed, yoga practice has been shown to be a safe and effective method to reduce anxiety (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/?s=yoga+anxiety). There are many variations of yoga practice. In order to understand which types of practice and which components are most affective against anxiety, there is a need to compare the effectiveness of different types of yoga practice for the treatment of anxiety disorders.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effect of Integrated Yoga Module on Selected Psychological Variables among Women with Anxiety Problem”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1176415959048995/?type=3&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4655636/

Parthasarathy and colleagues compared 8-weeks, 45 minutes per day, of Yoga practice, Integrated Yoga practice, and no treatment for the treatment of patients with anxiety disorders. The Yoga practice consisted of training in breath control, yoga postures, and relaxation. The Integrated Yoga practice consisted of training in loosening exercises, breath control, yoga postures, and guided meditation (Yoga Nidra). They found that both types of yoga practice reduced anxiety, but the Integrated Yoga practice produced the greatest reduction in anxiety levels. Interesting the reverse was found when measuring reactions to frustration with both yoga practices reducing reactions to frustration but with the Yoga practice superior to the Integrated Yoga practice.

 

These findings support the prior findings that yoga practice is a safe and effective method to treat anxiety disorders. In addition, they extend previous findings by showing that yoga practice can also improve the individual’s reaction to frustration. Since frustration often leads to emotionality, this yoga produced reduction in reactivity to frustration may be one of the mechanisms by which yoga is effective for emotional issues including anxiety.

 

It appears from the results that the addition of guided meditation (Yoga Nidra) practice to the yoga practice may add additional anxiety reduction to that produced by the yoga practice alone. It has been shown previously that yoga practice reduces anxiety. It has also been shown that meditation reduces anxiety levels (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/?s=meditation+anxiety). The current results suggest that the effects of yoga and meditation may be additive. By combining the two a significantly better treatment for anxiety is produced.

 

So, calm anxiety with yoga.

 

“Continual focus and obsession with thoughts of fear and worry will only create additional levels of anxiety. Yoga and meditation allow us to have control over our thoughts through mental detachment and the ability to focus the mind on the present experience.” – Timothy Burgin

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

 

Think More Critically with Mindfulness

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“Mindfulness slows things down so we can be more deliberate in our critical thinking process.” – Lalith Gunaratne

 

“Critical thinking is the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment.”

 

Currently, there is a major deficit in critical thinking skills being taught in schools.  Only around 5% of U.S. high school seniors demonstrated the ability to not only comprehend text, but also to analyze and evaluate it. This underscores the need to find ways to improve critical thinking.

Mindfulness, the ability to pay attention in the present moment without judgment, affects our thought processes in mostly positive ways. It has been shown to improve the ability to control our thinking, termed executive function and the extremely important ability to think critically (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/research-news/cognition/). Because of this, mindfulness training is being applied in schools to help facilitate learning (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/research-news/school/).

 

Because it is such a critical consequence of mindfulness, it is important to further investigate the effects of mindfulness on critical thinking. In today’s Research News article “Does Mindfulness Enhance Critical Thinking? Evidence for the Mediating Effects of Executive Functioning in the Relationship between Mindfulness and Critical Thinking”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1175808369109754/?type=3&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4717844/

Noone and colleagues study the relationship between mindfulness and executive function to explore whether mindfulness may produce its effects on critical thinking as a result of its effects on executive function. They measured mindfulness, critical thinking, and executive function in college students.

 

They found that the levels of mindfulness of the students were not directly related to critical thinking performance. On the other hand, they found strong relationships between executive function components and critical thinking. In particular, the updating component of executive function was strongly related to critical thinking and the Inhibition component was moderately related. Updating involves the active revision and monitoring of thinking and the continuous updating of working memory. In other words, critical thinking requires the ability to constantly revise thought processes as ideas are analyzed. Inhibition involves the suppression of intrusive thoughts or responses in order to keep attention on the problem at hand. In other words, critical thinking requires the ability to control the interference from irrelevant thinking and thereby concentrating on the problem. Interestingly, mindfulness appeared to have a small relationship with critical thinking. The observing component of mindfulness was positively related to the inhibition component of executive function which is directly facilitative of critical thinking.

 

At least in the current analysis, mindfulness appears to be indirectly and only mildly related to critical thinking through its observing facet. It appears to do so by improving attention which screens out thoughts that are not pertinent to working on the problem. It allows for better focus and therefore better critical thinking.

 

So, think more critically with mindfulness.

 

“Mindfulness practice is the kale to my high-stimulus lifestyle, but man cannot live by kale alone. I’m balancing my diet with the whole three course meal. Mindfulness, Mind Yoga and Introspective Intelligence are all practices to have on our plates.” – Jeremy Sherman

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Protect the Brain from Aging with Meditation

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“Accumulating scientific evidence that meditation has brain-altering capabilities might ultimately allow for an effective translation from research to practice, not only in the framework of healthy aging but also pathological aging.” – Eileen Luders

 

The nervous system is a dynamic entity that changes in response to the experiences of the individuals and the demands they place upon it. This is a process called neuroplasticity. Contemplative practices place demands upon the brain and as a result produce neuroplastic changes increasing the size, activity, and connectivity of some structures while decreasing them in others (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/research-news/brain-systems/). In other words, contemplative practices appear to mold and change the brain.

 

We all want to live longer. We celebrate the increasing longevity of the population. But, aging is a mixed blessing. The aging process involves a systematic progressive decline in every system in the body, the brain included. It cannot be avoided. But, there is evidence that it can be slowed. Contemplative practices such as meditation, yoga, and tai chi or qigong have all been shown to be beneficial in slowing or delaying physical and mental decline with aging (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/research-news/aging/).

 

Using modern neuroimaging techniques, scientists have been able to view the changes that occur in the nervous system with aging. In addition, they have been able to investigate various techniques that might slow the process of neurodegeneration that accompanies normal aging. They’ve found that mindfulness practices reduce the deterioration of the brain that occurs with aging restraining the loss of neural tissue (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/research-news/brain-systems/). Indeed, the brains of practitioners of meditation and yoga have been found to degenerate less with aging than non-practitioners.

 

The structural changes that occur in the brain with aging involve a decrease in both grey matter, the neuron cell bodies, and white matter, the axons that interconnect structures. There have been numerous studies of the changes in grey matter that occur with aging and with contemplative practices, but there has been little research into changes in white matter. In today’s Research News article “Effects of Long-Term Mindfulness Meditation on Brain’s White Matter Microstructure and its Aging”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1174947885862469/?type=3&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4712309/

Laneri and colleagues performed diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) on a group of adult long-term meditators and a comparable group who had never meditated. DTI measures the volume, connectivity, and integrity of white matter. They specifically investigated five areas of the white matter that are connected to areas that had previously been shown to be affected by meditation practice.

 

They found that four of the five areas investigated, Thalamus, Insula, Amygdala, and Hippocampus had significantly higher volume and activation in the meditators relative to the control participants. In addition, the meditators did not show the age related decline in volume and activation in all five structures that was apparent in the non-meditators. In other words, long-term meditation practice appears to spare the connections between key structures in the brain from age related declines. This supplements previous findings of increases in grey matter volume in these areas in meditators.

 

These results, together with previous studies of meditation effects on the brain suggest that meditation not only increases the size of neural areas but also the size and activation of their interconnections. Hence meditation appears to result in improved function in these areas. Importantly, these results suggest that meditation practice also helps to maintain the integrity of these structures during aging. These may be the neural changes underlying the protection that meditation produces from cognitive decline that occurs in aging.

 

Hence, meditation is an anti-aging practice. It may help to keep our nervous systems healthier for longer and as a result keep our mental abilities sharp for longer. So, protect the brain from aging with meditation.

 

“There is a natural and easy method to turn aging on its heels that few people know about. It is the simple practice of meditation.” – EOC Institute

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Reduce Stress in Kids with Yoga

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“Yoga is about exploring and learning in a fun, safe and playful way. Yoga and kids are a perfect match.” – PBS Parents

 

Childhood can be a wonderful time of life. But, it is often fraught with problems that can stress the child. Grammar school aged children are exposed to many stressors including problems at home. These can vary from simple disciplinary problems to physical and sexual abuse to familial economic stresses. At school they can be discriminated against, teased, bullied, or laughed at. In addition, modern testing programs insure that these children are constantly exposed to high stakes testing. All of these stresses can occur while the child has yet developed adequate strategies and mechanisms to cope with the stress. So, there is a need to develop methods to assist young children, perhaps even more so than adults, to cope with stress.

 

Yoga practice has many positive physical and psychological benefits including reducing the physical and psychological responses to stress in adults (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/contemplative-practice/yoga-contemplative-practice/). It has even been shown to benefit high school students (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/10/24/keep-grades-up-with-downward-dog/). It is known that mindfulness training has positive effects on 4th and 5th grade children (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/08/08/building-a-better-adult-with-elementary-school-mindfulness-training/) and even with preschool children (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/building-a-better-adult-preschool-mindfulness-training/).  This suggests that there it is reasonable to further explore the effects of yoga practice on stress at earlier ages.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effects of a Classroom-Based Yoga Intervention on Cortisol and Behavior in Second- and Third-Grade Students: A Pilot Study”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1174408595916398/?type=3&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4410873/

Butzer and colleagues conduct an uncontrolled trial of 10 weeks of yoga training for 2nd and 3rd grade students and measured salivary cortisol levels, a marker of stress, and obtained teacher behavioral ratings. The children received instruction in the classroom in all components of yoga practice, including breathing exercises, physical exercises and postures, meditation techniques, and relaxation. They practiced twice a week for 30-minutes for the 10 weeks. Measures were taken before and after the 10-week yoga practice period.

 

They found that the 2nd graders showed a significant decrease in salivary cortisol levels from the beginning of the 10-week training period to the end. This suggests that there was a decrease in stress levels in these children. The teacher rating again revealed significant improvement in the 2nd grade children in social interactions with classmates, attention span, ability to concentrate on work, ability to stay on task, academic performance, ability to deal with stress/anxiety, confidence/self-esteem, and overall mood. This suggests that there was an increase in academic, social, and emotional abilities in the 2nd grade children over the testing period. Unfortunately, they did not observe similar benefits in the 3rd grade children.

 

These are encouraging results. But, it must be kept in mind that this was an uncontrolled pilot trial. Without a control group there is no way to tell if the children simply improved due to their maturing, growing more accustomed to their environment, or learning from the normal instruction over the 10-week period. There is also the possibility of a bias effect as the teachers who taught the yoga were the same ones doing the ratings. In addition, the fact that the 3rd grade students did not show similar responses as the 2nd graders, limits the generalizability of the results and questions their validity. It is possible, though that the differences between the 2nd and 3rd grade were due to differences in the teachers or the classroom environments rather than the yoga training.

 

Regardless, these pilot results provide support for implementing a larger randomized control trial of the application of yoga to grammar school children and, perhaps, demonstrate a safe and effective method to reduce stress in kids.

 

“We can learn so much from how children respond to uncertainty with a sense of curiosity and adventure. Rather than fearing that we’ll fail to meet an expectation, we can adopt a child’s practice of letting go, and so much more becomes possible. We can create more magic, inspiration, happiness, love, joy, and laughter both on and off the mat.” –  Kali Love

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Religiosity Protects against Alcohol and Drug Abuse

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“Research investigating the relationship between religious commitment and drug use consistently indicates that those young people who are seriously involved in religion are more likely to abstain from drug use than those who are not; moreover, among users, religious youth are less likely than non-religious youth to use drugs heavily” – Gerald Bachman

 

Alcohol intake is a ubiquitous fact of life. In the United States 87% of adults reported that they drank alcohol at some point in their lifetime; 71% reported that they drank in the past year; 56% reported that they drank in the past month. If alcohol intake is tempered by moderation and caution it can be enjoyed and may be potentially beneficial. But as alcohol intake gets out of control it can lead to binge drinking and alcoholism. It is reported that 25% of U.S. adults reported that they engaged in binge drinking in the last month and 7% have what is termed an alcohol use disorder.

 

This is troubling as it can be very dangerous and potentially fatal. Nearly 88,000 people in the US and 3.3 million globally die from alcohol-related causes annually, making it the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Drunk driving accounted for over 10,000 deaths; 31% of all driving fatalities. Excessive alcohol intake has been shown to contribute to over 200 diseases including alcohol dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancers, and injuries. It is estimated that over 5% of the burden of disease and injury worldwide is attributable to alcohol consumption. So, clearly, it is important to control excessive alcohol intake.

 

Spirituality and religiosity have been shown to be associated with successful treatment and relapse prevention with substance abuse in general including alcoholism. Alcohol intake and binge drinking rates are higher in sexual minorities than in heterosexuals, especially women. So, it makes sense to further investigate the relationship of spirituality and religiosity with alcohol intake in sexual minority women. In today’s Research News article “Religiosity as a protective factor for hazardous drinking and drug use among sexual minority and heterosexual women: Findings from the National Alcohol Survey”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1173823035974954/?type=3&theater

Drabble and colleagues revisit a major national survey of alcohol intake patterns and investigate participation in religion and alcohol intake in sexual minority women.

 

They found that sexual minority women had significantly higher rates of drug use in general including alcohol intake, higher rates of hazardous drinking and lower rates of being lifetime abstainers from alcohol. Sexual minority women had significantly lower rates of high religiosity and participation in religions that had norms unfavorable to alcohol intake. This was particularly true with lesbian women. So, sexual minority women are more likely to drink and misuse alcohol and are less religious than heterosexual women. They also found that religiosity was associated with higher rates of lifetime abstinence of alcohol regardless of sexual orientation. But, religiosity and participation in religions that had norms unfavorable to alcohol intake were associated with lower rates of hazardous alcohol or illicit drug use in heterosexual women but not in sexual minority women. So, religiosity appears to have less of an impact on alcohol intake in sexual minority women than heterosexual women.

 

Why is religiosity associated with lower overall and hazardous use of alcohol? One possible reason is that religions in general have negative teachings about alcohol. Buddhism teaches that intoxication is an impediment to spiritual development. Other religions completely prohibit alcohol while many decry the behaviors that occur during alcoholic stupor.  This provides a cognitive incompatibility between drinking and religiosity. The recognition that drinking is not an OK thing to do might provide the extra motivation to help withstand the cravings. In addition, religious groups tend to be populated with non-alcoholics. So, increased religiosity also tends to shift the individual’s social network away from drinking buddies to people less inclined to provide temptation. It is very difficult to not drink when those around you are not only drinking themselves but encouraging you to drink. So shifting social groups to people who either abstain or demonstrate controlled drinking can help tremendously.

 

But, why does religiosity appear to have a smaller effect on sexual minority women than heterosexual women? One possibility is that many religions are associated with negative teachings regarding homosexuality. For sexual minority women, their rejection of these teachings may generalize to affect their adherence to the other teaching of the religion including alcohol intake. As a result, being religious has less of an impact on alcohol and drug use for these women. It would be interesting to investigate the relationship of religiosity and alcohol intake in sexual minority women who belong to religions that are very tolerant to homosexuality versus religions who are intolerant.

 

Regardless, protects against alcohol and drug abuse with religiosity.

 

“Religious involvement can protect against substance use by providing opportunities for prosocial activities, which themselves may promote antidrug conduct norms, and for interaction with nondeviant peers. Youth who are involved in religious activities tend to form peer groups with youth who are involved in similar activities, and they are less likely to form friendships with deviant peers.” – Flavio Marsiglia

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Meditate Naked!

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That all is as thinking makes it so, and you control your thinking. So remove your judgments whenever you wish and then there is calm.” – Marcus Aurelius

 

There are a number of meditation practitioners who literally meditate naked, without clothes. They report that the openness and the sensations from the air moving over the skin are both pleasant and helpful to being open to experience in meditation. We have been taught that being naked is something we should be ashamed about, and that we should hide our imperfections. By meditating naked, we can accept what we truly are.

 

For most people meditating without clothes is not acceptable or appropriate and would certainly be problematic in group meditation settings. But, unclothed meditation is not essential to the true meaning of meditating naked. What we’re referring to is meditation that involves an unclothed mind, one where the mental process with which we cloak our experiences have been stripped away and they are appreciated simply as they are unvarnished by thinking.

 

We tend to live in our thoughts far away from what is actually happening around us. I find when teaching meditation that it is a complete shock to the beginning student to discover that they are unable to control their minds and thoughts simply arise regardless of their efforts to stop them. They have always believed that they were in control, that they were the rulers of their internal mental state and to discover that they are not is a revelation. Meditation is wonderful when we can strip off our thoughts, when we can be mentally naked and completely open to our immediate experience.

 

At first the student tries to stop the thoughts, thinking that this is what it means to be mentally naked in meditation. But, this is a misunderstanding. To be aware in the present moment is to be aware of all of our experiences and that thoughts are simply a part of that experience. What we need to do is strip away our attachments to our thoughts, to our beliefs that our thoughts represent reality and what we truly are and simply let them be part of our experience. We simply watch the thoughts, naked of attachments, and not hold onto them but allow them to simply and spontaneously arise and fall away.

 

We need to meditate naked of goals and aspirations. Meditators make the mistake of trying to accomplish something. A goal or an aspiration engages the mind in seeking and attempting to control experience in order to attain the goal. This is also a mistake as there is no goal to meditation. There’s just relaxing, letting go, and letting experience rise up and fall away, stripped of effort, of accomplishment, and of control. We need to strip away all notions that there is a goal that must be pursued.

 

We need to meditate naked of judgments. Meditators often classify their meditations as either good or bad depending upon how close to their expectations they came during the meditation. This is a mistake. Meditation is about letting go and just letting things be as they are. So, however they are is fine, not good, not bad, just what is at the moment. The human mind is constantly weighing and judging everything. This is useful in everyday life but in meditation it is a refusal to recognize that what occurs is simply what occurs neither right nor wrong. Strip off judgements and see things just as they are.

 

We need to meditate naked of interpretations. Meditators tend to interpret whatever is happening during the meditation. Hearing a sound the mind automatically interprets it as footsteps. Feeling a tactual sensation the mind interprets it as an itch. Seeing the light dim, the mind interprets it as a cloud moving to cover the sun, etc. This is a mistake. Strip away these interpretations. Just interpret the sound simply as an experienced sound, the tactual sensation as a just a sensation, the light dimming as just light falling away. Just be, watching, feeling, hearing stripping away any attempt to interpret the experience

 

Finally we need to meditate naked of expectations that we can actually maintain a meditation naked of thoughts, goals, aspirations, judgments, and interpretations. We need to strip away any belief that complete naked meditation can actually be accomplished. We’re human beings with minds that we can’t control. We need to strip away any notion that we can. It’s OK when we interpret, when a thought arises, when we judge, when we try to accomplish something. It will happen and will happen frequently. These things happen, even to the most experienced and adept meditators. Strip away any notion of a perfect meditation. Every meditation is perfect in its own way but not in the way that our minds think it should be. The thoughts, goals, aspirations, judgments, and interpretations are just as much part of our experience as the sounds of birds chirping, as the sight of a sunset. Strip away any regret that you are not the naked meditator that you want to be. Just be what you are, experience what it, and be exposed to your true nature.

 

So, strip the mind and meditate naked.

 

“We could say that meditation doesn’t have a reason or doesn’t have a purpose. In this respect it’s unlike almost all other things we do except perhaps making music and dancing. When we make music we don’t do it in order to reach a certain point, such as the end of the composition. If that were the purpose of music then obviously the fastest players would be the best. Also, when we are dancing we are not aiming to arrive at a particular place on the floor as in a journey. When we dance, the journey itself is the point, as when we play music the playing itself is the point. And exactly the same thing is true in meditation. Meditation is the discovery that the point of life is always arrived at in the immediate moment.” – Alan Watts

 

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Better Control Drinking with Mindfulness

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“mindfulness gives us the strength psychologically and neurologically to sit in discomfort, to lean into the void, as opposed to avoid it and jump to our addiction.” – Mindful Muscle

 

Inappropriate use of alcohol is a major societal problem. In fact, about 25% of US adults have engaged in binge drinking in the last month and 7% have what is termed an alcohol use disorder. Alcohol abuse is very dangerous and frequently fatal. Nearly 88,000 people in the US and 3.3 million globally die from alcohol-related causes annually, making it the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Drunk driving accounted for over 10,000 deaths; 31% of all driving fatalities. Excessive alcohol intake has been shown to contribute to over 200 diseases including alcohol dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancers, and injuries. It is estimated that over 5% of the burden of disease and injury worldwide is attributable to alcohol consumption.

 

Alcohol abuse often develops during adolescence and it on display with college students where about four out of five college students drink alcohol and about half of those consume alcohol through binge drinking. About 25 percent of college students report academic consequences of their drinking including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall. More than 150,000 students develop an alcohol-related health problem.

 

Alcohol abuse can have dire consequences as 1,825 college students die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries and between 1.2 and 1.5 percent of students indicate that they tried to commit suicide within the past year due to drinking or drug use. But, drinking has widespread consequence to not only the students but also the college communities, and families. More than 690,000 students are assaulted by another student who has been drinking. More than 97,000 students are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape. 599,000 students receive unintentional injuries while under the influence of alcohol.

 

These facts clearly highlight the need to explore methods to control excessive alcohol intake. One potential method is mindfulness as it has been shown to assist in the control of alcohol intake (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/research-news/alcoholism/) and in recovery from alcohol addiction (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/research-news/addiction/). So it would make sense to further explore the effects of mindfulness on alcohol intake in college students.

 

In today’s Research News article “How to think about your drink: Action-identification and the relation between mindfulness and dyscontrolled drinking”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1172645472759377/?type=3&theater

Schellhas and colleagues do exactly that, examining the relationships between mindfulness, alcohol intake, difficulty in controlling alcohol intake, and their identification with alcohol intake in college students. Interestingly, they did not find a relationship between mindfulness and weekly use of alcohol. But there was a relationship between mindfulness and the ability to control alcohol intake. In other words, mindful individuals drink as much as those with low mindfulness but they are better able to control their intake.

 

They also found that mindfulness also had an indirect effect on alcohol consumption. Mindfulness was negatively related to the use of alcohol to escape emotional problems. This escape use of alcohol intake was strongly related to the inability to control alcohol intake. In other words, students high in mindfulness were less likely to use alcohol to deal with their emotional problems and this in turn allowed the students to better control, their intake.

 

The results suggest that mindfulness may help students control alcohol intake. The study, however, did not actively change levels of mindfulness, but simply measured existing levels and their relations to alcohol consumption. As a result, it cannot be concluded that mindfulness was responsible for the better control of intake. It could be that individuals who are better at controlling behavior are more mindful or that some third factor such as emotional maturity was related to both. Future research is needed where mindfulness training is implemented to increase students’ mindfulness and observe its subsequent effect on intake and ability to control intake.

 

Regardless it is clear the mindfulness and control of alcohol intake are positively related. So, better control drinking with mindfulness.

 

“mindfulness is likely an effective tool in helping people with addiction because it’s a single, simple skill that a person can practice multiple times throughout their day, every day, regardless of the life challenges that arise. With so much opportunity for practice—rather than, say, only practicing when someone offers them a cigarette—people can learn that skill deeply.” – Sarah Bowen

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Help Kids Emotionally and Cognitively with Mindfulness

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“Mindfulness within schools makes a lot of sense. There is a growing body of evidence that supports the claims that mindfulness improves working memory, attention, academic skills, social skills, emotional balance and self-esteem.” – Joseph Pound

 

Childhood is a miraculous period during which the child is dynamically absorbing information from every aspect of its environment. This occurs almost without any intervention from the adults as the child appears to be programmed to learn. It is here that behaviors, knowledge, skills, and attitudes are developed that shape the individual. But, what is absorbed depends on the environment. If it is replete with speech, the child will learn speech, if it is replete with trauma, the child will learn fear, if it is replete with academic skills the child will learn these, and if it is replete with interactions with others the child will learn social skills. It is up to adults to structure the environment to be conducive to learning what is most important.

 

Elementary school is a wonderful time to structure the environment to develop knowledge, attitudes, and skills. This has been known for centuries. But, which ones are most important to the development of a high functioning adult? Elementary school environments stress academic skills. This is appropriate and necessary. But at times, particularly in the United States, the emphasis on academic skills, especially factual learning, is so great that other important learning is neglected. There is often little effort to develop the so called softer skills; emotional, mindfulness, creative, meta-cognitive, psychological, and social skills. This is unfortunate as these skills are important unto themselves’ and also turn out to be very important in developing academic skills. In addition, it’s been shown that these softer skills in childhood predict health, financial stability, and educational attainment into adulthood.

 

One method that has recently been employed to help develop these softer skills in school children is mindfulness training. This has occurred for good reason as mindfulness training has been shown to improve academic performance, social skills, emotions, and meta-cognitive skills in grammar school children (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/08/08/building-a-better-adult-with-elementary-school-mindfulness-training/) and even in preschool children (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/building-a-better-adult-preschool-mindfulness-training/). This is a potentially very important development and as such deserves far greater research scrutiny.

 

In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness Training in Primary Schools Decreases Negative Affect and Increases Meta-Cognition in Children”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1172028366154421/?type=3&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4709470/

Vickery and Dorjee delivered twelve ½-hour mindfulness lessons over approximately 3-weeks to 7-9-year old primary school children in the classroom in addition to the typical curriculum. A second group of children were provided the typical curriculum without the additional mindfulness training. Children were measured with objective and observational measures before and after training and 3-months later. They found that positive changes in mindfulness were associated with positive increases in emotional awareness in the mindfulness trained children. They also found that at follow-up the mindfulness training produced a significant increase in teacher rated meta-cognitive skills and also a significant decrease in negative emotions.

 

These are potentially important findings. Meta-cognitive skills include working memory, planning/organizing, organization of materials, initiating and monitoring activities. These are important skills that are generally predictive of academic performance and success later in life. Mindfulness, paying attention to the content of the present moment, may be a prerequisite for meta-cognition. One cannot initiate, plan, organize, remember, or monitor activities without paying attention to them as they are occurring. So, mindfulness skills may be seen as foundational for cognitive skills. It is exciting that this appears to be effective in young 7-9-year old children and makes a strong argument for the implementation of mindfulness programs in grammar schools.

 

The decrease in negative emotions is also important. They can lead to anxiety and depression. It has been shown that mindfulness training in adults and adolescents is effective for the reduction of anxiety and depression. It is exciting to observe that mindfulness training may have similar effects in 7-9-year old children. This suggests that the mindfulness training may develop resilience and psychological well-being in the children. It is possible that mindfulness training may be an effective early intervention for the prevention of later psychological problems and act to promote the development of psychological health.

 

It should be noted that Vickery and Dorjee did not find significant changes in measures of mindfulness, positive emotions, emotional awareness and expressive reluctance, and positive well-being. It is possible that a the total of 6-hurs of training is simply insufficient to impact these domains. Further research is needed to clarify this issue. Regardless, the positive findings that were reported are exciting and potentially important and support the further development and research on the use of mindfulness training in grammar school curricula.

 

So, help kids emotionally and cognitively with mindfulness.

 

“People are stepping back on that full focus on reading and math scores and are looking more holistically at all the skills that really matter. Social-emotional learning is not only crucial to academic success, but also career success and lifelong being.” – Sara Bartolino Krachman

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies