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. “ […]
Brain Structures Involved in Memory are Different in Yoga Practitioners By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “You may know that yoga is a good form of exercise that gets your blood circulation going, improves oxygen flow, and helps with overall health. But did you know that yoga also helps boost brain function? Research has found […]
Withstand Rejection Better with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “People who have greater levels of mindfulness — or the tendency to maintain attention on and awareness of the present moment — are better able to cope with the pain of being rejected by others.” – Brian McNeill Humans are social […]
Improve the Brain’s Attentional Ability with a Meditation Retreat By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Here’s where meditation begins to show itself as a biohacking marvel. Learning how to interrupt one’s reaction pattern – and then doing that over and over – can reshape behaviour. And if behaviour is changing, then the brain […]
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 […]
Improve Brain Size and Function in Healthy Elderly with Tai Chi By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Epidemiologic studies have shown repeatedly that individuals who engage in more physical exercise or are more socially active have a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The current findings suggest that this may be a result of […]
Strengthen the Brain’s Interoceptive Networks with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “mindfulness strengthens interoception, operationalized here as the mean insula connection strength within the overall connectome.” – Strong et al. Most of us spend the majority of our lives lost in thought. Even when we become aware of our surroundings […]
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 […]
Improve Mental Health with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “While mindfulness will not solve all of our problems, it is a powerful tool with great potential to help us all transform our relationship with our problems when it is not possible, or desirable, to eliminate them.” – Elana Miller Mindfulness […]
Reduce Addictions with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “it’s tempting to conclude that mindfulness is the “best new thing” for addiction treatment, but that in reality, further study is needed. “It absolutely has promise, we have a lot more to learn. This is the beginning.” – Sarah Bowen Substance abuse […]