Since we know that meditation strengthens the brain and that pain is always created in the brain, one would think that meditation is good for chronic pain. And quite right – meditation has been shown to help through many neurological mechanisms, as described here, here, and here.
…Continue reading Considerations for using mindfulness as pain relief
Noting is a technical concept in meditation teaching, which means that we notice something with an attentive presence.
It is very empowering for the mindfulness training.
…Continue reading Noting practice: A mindfulness multi-tool
In this meditation path, you anchor yourself and merge with external visual impressions, external sound and physical body sensations.
Focusing on the sensory experiences of the outside world creates an experience of being grounded. It calms your mind and gives you more awareness, equanimity and presence in the situation you are in and in life itself.
It is a tangible strategy that pulls you away from the past, future and thoughts and shows you the possibilities of the present moment.
…Continue reading Focus out: Anchor and merge
A micro-practice is a small meditation session – from a few seconds to a few minutes.
This is a way of practicing that does not necessarily need to be combined with formal practice, but which also strengthens a formal practice.
…Continue reading A sprinkle of mindfulness on everyday life
Do nothing is a way to meditate that involves very little and eventually no effort at all.
…Continue reading Nothing and Being: The Do nothing-technique
Meditation as an aid to stress is a long-term project that becomes more and more effective the longer you stick to it. But sometimes we need a quick fix without several weeks of training first. Nor is all the meditation practice you have already done in vain when using such quick fixes. The previous practice only makes them work better.
…Continue reading Breathing as a quick fix for stress
Meditation on the breath is a central exercise in many traditions. To such an extent that many people think that it is an important part of all meditation. But that’s not how we normally teach it to beginners in Unified Mindfulness.
There are several reasons for this.
…Continue reading Meditation on the breath is an intermediate practice
In this meditation path, we are interested in what is changing in our experience at the moment. In Unified Mindfulness we call this flow, in East Asian medicine and martial arts it is called qi / chi / ki, and in Buddhism it is called impermanence (pali: anicca). And in Taoism we see this idea in the relationship between yin and yang.
…Continue reading Focus on change
Have you ever thought about why aeroplane food tastes so little? There are several reasons, but research shows that an important reason is that the noise from the plane drowns out the other senses. The fact that the plane also shakes helps to inhibit the sense of taste. Two senses overtake the third.
This strange phenomenon may seem insignificant, but it is an illustration of something essential. It is about our basic attention.
…Continue reading Pleasure and delicacies
Not many people had heard of mindfulness before the physician Jon Kabat-Zinn published his first study on meditation and chronic pain in 1982. This started an ever-growing snowball of research and analyzes that have given mindfulness and meditation the scientific weight it has today with over 6000 peer-reviewed studies.
…Continue reading Why does mindfulness help for chronic pain?