Beyond spirituality: the role of meditation in mental health by Jonathan Krygier & Andrew Kemp, University of Sydney.

Mind, brain and beyond

Meditation increases left-sided, frontal brain activity, an area of the brain associated with positive mood. Interestingly, this increase in left-brain activity is also linked with improvements in immune system activity. And the more you practise meditation, the greater your immune function is likely to be.

Studies have shown that long-term meditators have increased volumes of grey matter in the right orbito-frontal cortex and hippocampus regions of their brain which are responsible for regulating emotion. Similar changes have also been found in non-meditators who completed an eight-week course in mindfulness training.

So even a limited stint of meditation has the potential to change the structure of the brain.

Great news! read the whole article…

https://theconversation.edu.au/beyond-spirituality-the-role-of-meditation-in-mental-health-4326

“SETTING NEW MOON INTENTIONS” (+ meditation) FREE to our Personal Meditation Group.

We did this last month with a small group of friends at Yasmin’s – it’s interesting – a bit like resetting New Year’s resolutions – monthly, with astrological favour.

Please RSVP (essential due to limited space) via this link: www.yasminboland.com/2011/04/may-in-sydney-new-moon-intention-setting/

B x

ABOUT YASMIN

Journalist turned astrologer, New Age writer and owner of Moonology.com and MoonologyShop.com, Yasmin Boland has been scouring the skies for insights for over 10 years. Passion turned to profession when she realised just how much the astrological ‘weather’ affects everyone, herself included, and she started writing about it.

As a result, she’s now read by millions of people each week via her astrology and New Age columns in publications including the Sunday Telegraph, madison, Cleo and New Idea. She also writes the daily Stars for Yahoo! Australia and New Zealand, and for various US and UK sites. Her website www.moonology.com is one of the most popular astrology sites in Australia with around 850,000 page views a month. She also has a strong social networking base.

Yasmin takes her craft seriously, and as well as having completed formal journalistic training early on in her career, she also considers herself an on-going student of astrology. She’s a member of the Sydney Astrological Research Society (SARS) and in 2009 she presented seminars on “Fixed Star Algol, Medusa and the re-emergence of the Divine Feminine” at SARS and the Astrology Association of New South Wales (AANSW).

Yasmin is often called upon to comment on the stars on television (the Kerri-Anne Kennerley show) and has a monthly gig on radio (Mix FM’s Body and Soul show).

Her reach extends internationally: over the years she has written columns for publications and websites based in Australia, UK, USA, South Africa, Malaysia and Abu Dhabi, and has followers across the world.

She’s also the author of several books – two novels, one non-fiction book and two series of astrology books published in Australia, the UK and India and distributed internationally.

Yasmin was born in Germany of Maltese/English heritage and grew up in Tasmania, then moved to live and work in Sydney, London and Paris. She’s now married with a son and is pretty much happy to spend time wherever she can find a good modem connection and some sunshine.

Maybe re-creating a regular daily meditation practise was one of your New Year’s resolutions – & maybe fallen by the wayside too? It’s possible to re-establish easily with a change in approach – by asking: “when is the next available 20 minutes to meditate?” it’s like a re-start – & can be more manageable that way. Don’t get caught in – “I can’t do it because I haven’t done it for a while”. You can also re-inspire your practise by coming along to A GROUP YOGA & MEDITATION SESSION @ Garden Life (please contact me for details)

ALL Personal Meditation Courses & follow up sessions are now at the upstairs studio at Garden Life – it’s a lovely meditation home and a very comfortable place to BE.

For those of you who don’t know – Garden Life – is my husband, Michael & his brother Richard’s garden design business, last year they completed the renovation at their boutique retail outlet & created a beautiful haven for Garden Life Café – TWIG – run by Lorraine & Richard Francis – it’s a lovely space and has completely transformed the corner of Cleveland/Young Streets. This week Michael & Richard are in India sourcing new product – all more reason to come & check things out. www.gardenlife.com.au

ADDITIONAL PERSONAL MEDITATION WORKSHOP TIMES
Inspired by my friend, Mary – with 3 children under 3, renovation plans and an annual event to run – she doesn’t have time to do the workshop over a weekend!
Please be sure to let your family and friends know to contact me for details about the condensed Personal Meditation Workshop – Mondays & Tuesdays at lunchtime.

till next time – which I hope won’t be too long!
Barbara x

Congratulations! it will be a pleasure to teach you – with a structured course you’ll learn all you need to know to meditate comfortably & confidently as part of your own routine –  a great way to start to 2011!

Thanks to everyone else who entered - click here to send me an instant message for details of how to claim YOUR discount for the – kick-start 2011 – Personal Meditation New Year Course.

Wishing you an (inner) peaceful & transformational New Year!

Here’s a paragraph from 2 September 2010:

“This is going to sound really weird, but there are worse things in life than death. I’m sure we are never the same after the death of a loved one but even in such a terrible event, there is a gift. The death of my own son has loosened the grip of many things that once I held too tightly. I care little for reputation, status or material things. It has awakened me to the lovely things that I was inclined to overlook. The value of time, the richness of fun, the comfort and healing power of real conversation, the rarity of intimacy, the measure of enough. Although sadness is always with me, I’ve never been more alive and I hope my own death, will be the same kind of gift to those I have loved. It’s funny that it is often only in darkness that we begin to see the light.”

Further on there’s a great line:

“We’re not much like a church which might suit you if you’re not much like a Christian.”

This resonates with me, as I’m not in any way religious. I teach meditation but don’t feel it’s my job to advocate codes of behaviour that stem from ancient traditions/religions. I don’t believe in Guru Worship and that surrendering your judgment in favour of someone else’s is necessary to enjoy the full benefits of meditation. Meditation naturally allows you to connect with a deep still part of yourself that is YOURS; your own spirituality has personal expression that is sometimes beyond words or meaning for anyone else.

The Wayside Chapel has provided unconditional love, care and support for people on and around the streets of Kings Cross since 1964.

Each year, thousands of people visit Wayside for assistance in gaining equitable access to essential health, welfare and related services.

In the past year alone Wayside has provided, amongst other services, 8275 meals (either for free or a handful of change), 4370 changes of clothing, 2120 counseling sessions and over 1790 referrals to services and agencies.

PERSONAL MEDITATION COURSE TOTAL $330

Includes INTRODUCTION,  CONSOLIDATION and MAINTENANCE to establish your own Personal Meditation routine.

*see COURSE/Details & Timetable

Learn all you need to know to establish your own Personal Meditation routine in a structured process:

INTRODUCTION, CONSOLIDATION and MAINTENANCE

INTRODUCTION: (2 x 1 hour sessions over 2 consecutive days)

day 1:  in private one-to-one instruction learn the meditation technique.

day 2: learn all the practical points you’ll need to know to make meditating on your own as easy as possible.

CONSOLIDATION – follow up  (2 x 1 hour sessions)

You will learn a short sequence of yoga positions and a breathing technique designed for deeper meditation.

MAINTENANCE – Xpress Meditation (2 x 30 min sessions)

Drop in – de-excite – defuse – drift home leaving work behind.

*(see COURSE/timetable.)