Enhance Flow in Athletes with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “mindfulness-based interventions for sports are effective because they help athletes direct their attention to the current athletic task, while minimizing external distractions.” – Mitch Plemmons Athletic performance requires the harmony of mind and body. Excellence is in part physical and […]
Meditation’s Reduction of Pain is Independent of Brain Opioid Systems By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Bit by bit, as I sat noticing my breath and body sensations, I began to feel the deep knots of pain in my body start to untie themselves.” – Avi Craimer We all have to deal […]
Improve Sleep in Fibromyalgia Patients with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Now, I do live in the moment, and it is quite beautiful, I feel at peace, I feel much more confident and I am able to look to the future with confidence. I am much more compassionate with myself and […]
Improve Connectivity of Brain Areas Underlying Executive Cognitive Function with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Think of mindfulness practices as short routines or “gym” sessions that exercise your executive functions. Performed consistently, mindfulness practices strengthen your executive function muscles and help you to be more mindful when you need to be. “ […]
Relaxation and Mindfulness Training Have Differing Psychological and Neural Effects By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “this practice of nonjudgmental self-awareness is one of the most effective ways to improve mood and anxiety.” – Neda Gould Mindfulness training has been shown to improve health and well-being. It has also been found to be effective for a […]
Different Types of Meditation Techniques Affect Neural Activity Differently By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “The picture we have is that mindfulness practice increases one’s ability to recruit higher order, pre-frontal cortex regions in order to down-regulate lower-order brain activity.” – Adrienne Taren Meditation training has been shown to improve health and well-being. It has also […]
Reduce Menopausal Symptoms, Anxiety, and Depression during Menopause with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Mindfulness cannot entirely remove the symptoms of menopause, but it can help you deal with them in a calmer and more compassionate way – and self compassion boosts mental health.” – Karita Cullen Menopause occurs in […]
Improve Heart Disease with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “it is not the stress in our life, but the reaction to stress that is so potentially harmful to our health, including cardiovascular health. Hence, being in a potentially very stressful profession, meditation and relaxation techniques are extremely important and useful to minimize […]
The Variety of Meditation Experiences By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “One can have almost any type of physical sensation during meditation in any area of the body. . . The ticklish sensation in your heart just means that some normalization is occurring there, allowing for a more full expression of your emotions. […]
Improve Multiple Sclerosis’ Psychological Symptoms with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Learning a mind-body technique called “mindfulness meditation” seems to help people with multiple sclerosis cope with the depression, fatigue, and anxiety associated with the disease” – WebMD Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a progressive demyelinating disease which attacks the coating on the neural axons which send messages […]