By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Meditation provides an atmosphere of deep relaxation beneficial to the mind and body, offering myriad physiological effects such as lower blood pressure and a slower heart rate. When the body is extremely relaxed, the mind, nerves and muscles work at an optimum level, allowing for the enhancement […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Meditation gives you the wherewithal to pause, observe how easily the mind can exaggerate the severity of a setback, and resist getting drawn back into the abyss.”— Richie Davidson Mindfulness practice has been shown to produce improved emotion regulation. Practitioners demonstrate the ability to fully sense and […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Mindfulness meditation is proving to be of significant help in not only reducing migraines or chronic pain, but improvements in mood, outlook on life and illness, increased coping skills, enhanced sense of well-being, changes in perception of pain, higher tolerance of pain, enhanced immune function, less fatigue […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “practicing yoga is one of the best things you can do for the health of your lungs. Yoga will strengthen the muscles of your chest, increase your lung capacity and boost oxygen intake.” – Tania Tarafdar Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) are progressive lung diseases that […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Through Mindfulness, you can embrace that staying positive in the face of cancer includes recognizing and validating all the feelings you are experiencing, negative ones included.” – Richard Dicken Over half of the people diagnosed with cancer are still alive 10 years later and this number […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “mindfulness – or intentionally paying attention to the present moment with nonjudgment – turns out to be equally as beneficial for those of us who are caregivers as it is for those of us who need caregiving. A mindfulness practice can improve not only our experiences of […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Cancer patients who practice yoga as therapy during their treatment often refer to their yoga practice as a life-saver. No matter how sick from treatments and no matter how little energy, many find that the one thing that would bring relief were a gentle set of therapeutic […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “For people with cardiovascular disease, meditation provides a technique for reducing stress and focusing on things they can do to be healthier. Meditation is a way of allowing you to come to balance in your life. It can also help you to sleep better, which is a very important […]
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 […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “In the last few years, mindfulness has emerged as a way of treating children and adolescents with conditions ranging from ADHD to anxiety, autism spectrum disorders, depression and stress. And the benefits are proving to be tremendous.” – Juliann Garey The last component of the nervous […]