From the category archives:

Meditation

Walking Meditation: Thich Nhat Hanh

by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on December 16, 2012

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Health Strategy: Walking Meditation

by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on December 16, 2012

(Keep in mind that meditation reduces the risk of a heart attack by at least 50%) from www.MeditationOasis.com Walking Meditation How to meditate while walking Walking meditation can be just as profound as sitting meditation, and has the advantage of bringing the meditative experience into our activity. There are a number of different walking meditations. [...]

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Arrythmias and Stress

by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on December 14, 2012

Note the emphasis on: “social support, relaxation therapy, yoga, meditation, controlled slow breathing, and biofeedback” Acute Emotional Stress and Cardiac Arrhythmias Roy C. Ziegelstein, MD JAMA. 2007;298(3):324-329. doi:10.1001/jama.298.3.324. Episodes of acute emotional stress can have significant adverse effects on the heart. Acute emotional stress can produce left ventricular contractile dysfunction, myocardial ischemia, or disturbances of [...]

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Heart Meditation: Videos

by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on December 13, 2012

How To Do A Heart Chakra Meditation 4th Chakra Clearing Meditation How to Open Your Heart Chakra Karunesh: Heart Chakra Meditation Heart Chakra Meditation: Tibetan Sound How to Open Your Heart Chakra The Singing Bowl Meditation

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Heart Meditation IV

by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on December 13, 2012

Heart Chakra Meditation | Guided Meditation Practice The following is a dictation of the practice of a heart chakra meditation taught by Swami Sivajnanananda. This practice is designed to help open the heart chakra, stimulated emotional release and sensitizing the practitioner to the traits of love, compassion, and joy. This practice can be used by [...]

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Heart Meditation III

by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on December 13, 2012

from www.care2.com Meditate on the Heart The purpose of this exercise is to give you the experience of making your heart pure enough to witness spirit. Pure here doesn’t mean good and virtuous; it means free from impurity, with no value judgment intended. In the words of William Blake, we are cleansing the doors of [...]

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Heart Meditation II

by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on December 13, 2012

from www.freemeditations.com Heart Centered Meditation Begin by finding a quiet spot where you will not be disturbed. Take the phone off the hook. Turn off your mobile phone, radio, and television, as well as any unnecessary electrical equipment in the area immediately surrounding where you will be meditating. Sit or lay down in a comfortable [...]

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Yogabasics: Heart Chakra Meditation

by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on December 13, 2012

(Daily meditation reduces heart attack risk by about 50%..) from yogabasics.com This heart chakra meditation is a simple technique to release sadness and fear and to bring compassion and love into your life. Sit in a comfortable position, either cross-legged on the floor or in a chair. Sit up tall with the spine straight, the [...]

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Alternative Views of Heart Issues: The Heart Chakra

by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on December 13, 2012

Healing and the Heart Chakra When most people start studying the mind-body-spirit connection, they realize that the heart helps healing. Unconditional compassion, pure love: intuitively, we know that these vibrations can transform dis-ease into wholeness and bliss. We also sense that a “broken heart” can contribute to illness, and that extreme anger can cause a [...]

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Reducing Heart Attack Risk Through Meditation

by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on May 25, 2012

[In the 60's, when meditation become more mainstream. the phrase I would often here is: "If you are too busy to meditate, you are too busy." -- And today the phrase I came across was, "It is important to meditate twenty minutes a day.... If you are too busy to meditate, meditate for an hour [...]

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Reducing Inflammation Through Compassionate Meditation

by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on May 24, 2012

[There are many different styles and practices of meditation, and many of them have health benefits. Reduction of inflammation is particularly important for heart health...] Eastern and Western medicine unite for mind/body health January 4, 2010 Geshe Lobsang Tenzin Negi, PhD, senior lecturer in the Department of Religion at Emory, and Charles Raison, MD, in [...]

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Warming Your Hands and Heart: Autogenic Training

by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on October 20, 2010

When the idea behind biofeedback of training people to warm their hands to reduce their migraine headaches was developed at the Menninger Clinic in the 60′s, the technique they taught people was “autogenic training.” It essentially is a technique developed by a combination of positive thinking and self-hypnosis; the participant goes through a series of [...]

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Warm Thoughts…. Warm Images… Warm Hands…

by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on October 19, 2010

Yesterday’s post suggested that if you warm your hands by holding a cup of hot coffee, you will have “warmer” thoughts about the people you meet. Even more importantly, you can train your hands (and other parts of your body) to become warm and/or relaxed through a number of mental and physical techniques. Over the [...]

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Warm Hands, Healthy Heart

by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on October 17, 2010

Relaxation techniques — including Yoga, meditation, mindfulness and prayer — all have in common that the reduce the flight-fight response and increases the “relaxation response” of the body. Research clearly has shown that chronic stress suppresses the immune system. Much of the original research has its origins in some serendipitous findings and events at the [...]

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Mindfulness, the Immune System and Antibodies (and Jacuzzis and Music)

by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on October 16, 2010

One of the earlier and frequently cited studies on mind-body interactions is a 2003 article in psychosomatic medicine: Psychosomatic Medicine 65:564-570 (2003) © 2003 American Psychosomatic Society Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Richard J. Davidson, PhD, Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, Jessica Schumacher, MS, Melissa Rosenkranz, BA, Daniel Muller, MD, PhD, Saki [...]

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Meditation and Cardiovascular Disease: 30% Mortality Reduction

by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on October 15, 2010

Yesterday’s post suggested that as one takes pills, it is a good idea to breathe deeply, relax, and visualize the expected effects of the medication/supplement/vitamin. This suggestion is based on the “placebo effect” — which is another way of describing how powerfully the mind can effect the body. As far as I know, no research [...]

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