Improve Response Inhibition with Yogic Breathing By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “At its core YOGA is early study of human psychology. For me, to be curious about yoga is to be curious about yourself, and about other people…I’m curious about YOU! I’m interested in the way our community responds, and more importantly […]
Reduce Anxiety by Coloring Mindfully By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Researchers have discovered that coloring activities help relax the amygdala – the section of the brain that is activated in situations where you feel stressed or scared. Simultaneously, coloring activates the parts of the brain that support creativity. . . those who […]
Improve Brain Processing of Emotional Stimuli with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “If you’re a naturally mindful person, and you’re walking around very aware of things, you’re good to go. You shed your emotions quickly,” Moser said. “If you’re not naturally mindful, then meditating can make you look like a person […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “A large part of being a human being is having social, emotional and attention skills and in the majority of schools I visit, we don’t actually teach kids how to pay attention or how to deal with their inner states in a healthy way. We just assume […]
Improve the Regulation of Emotions in Social Anxiety Disorder with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “One way to do this . . . is mindfulness meditation, in which you observe your thoughts and feelings with the objectivity of a disinterested, nonjudgmental witness. This form of mental training gives you the wherewithal […]
Produce Lasting Improvement in Fibromyalgia with Yoga By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “For the nearly 10 million people who suffer from this condition, the thought of any movement can be overwhelming. What makes yoga perfect though is that it can be adapted for each person’s individual needs. Additionally, yoga’s ability to calm […]
Improve Fibromyalgia with Yoga Practice By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “If you are suffering from fibromyalgia, it can be hard to get yourself moving, but movement and exercise are key ways to help manage and minimize pain. Practicing yoga daily can help. Yoga targets not only the body but also the mind. You […]
Decrease Sadness with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Meditation can be helpful. . . We are like a plant in winter: cold, dark, dormant. If we can accept this feeling as a natural part of having a human heart—that it breaks sometimes—we can give it the attention and love it needs. […]
Change the Brain with Mindfulness 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. In other words, our more primal responses to stress seem to be superseded by more thoughtful ones.” […]
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, […]