Benefits of Meditation and Profound Meditation 3.0

Ubiquity University

Benefits of Meditation

Physical Health Benefits

Psychological Benefits

Relationship Benefits

Spiritual/Transformative

Benefits

Professional Benefits

Cautions of Meditation

Benefits of Brainwave Entrainment &

iAwake Meditation

Cautions to the Use of Brainwave

Entrainment

Resources

The benefits of meditation/mindfulness are many: physical, emotional/psychological, cognitive, transformational, relational and professional. In the next several slides we’ll review some of the highlights.

Here are some resources you might also check out:

Meditation: What You Need to Know/United States’ National Institute of Health (NIH): http://nccam.nih.gov/health/meditation/

Meditation: A Simple Way to Reduce Stress/Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.org/meditation

20 Scientific Reasons to Start Meditating Today/Psychology Today: http://www.psychologytoday.com/meditation

Health Benefits of Meditation/PsychCentral.com: http://psychcentral.com/2014

The impact of stress on physical health is powerful – some doctors will tell you that most of the issues they see are at the very least exacerbated by stress, if not caused by it. So including meditation into one’s health regimen as a way of reducing stress can be very beneficial.

Research has found that meditation can:• lower blood pressure• strengthen the immune system• support healthier heart functioning• support better sleep• possibly decrease age related neural degeneration in parts of the brain• increase cortical thickness – leading to improved neural communication• support pain management, decreasing need for medication

Sources: Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.org • WebMD: http://www.webmd.com • International Journal of Behavioral Medicine: http://link.springer.com • NIH: http://nccam.nih.gov/health/meditation/overview.htm

Research has found that people who meditate experience:

• greater happiness• more resilience• less symptoms of depression• less symptoms of anxiety related disorders• lessened stress response• Increased capacity for self-observation• increased emotion regulation• increase in emotional balance• increased capacity for empathy• a maturing sense of morality• greater between the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems

Sources: http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/mindfulness-meditation-may-ease-anxiety-mental-stress-201401086967 • Dr Heather Urry, Dr Andrew Newberg, Dr. Daniel Siegel

supports more attuned communication supports more of a sense of social connection helps to increase emotional intelligence supports more flexibility in response to stress –

leading to less conflict reduces feelings of loneliness Increases capacity for compassion and empathy

Check out these four short videos on Meditation and the Brain:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdHRR_XuJQo

Meditating can facilitate:

• Deep feelings of peace and relaxation• Experience of being in the present moment – the power

of Now• Deep feelings of connection with all life – unity

experiences• Clarity of thought and perspective• Deep insights into self and the nature of reality• Increased empathy and compassion• Increased capacity to witness interior dimension• a stronger sense of purpose• Increased in access to intuition• Equanimity

Reduces stress Increases capacity for focus and concentration Increases productivity Increases creativity Supports better decision-making Improves teamwork Facilitates more self-awareness Generates a more positive mood (better morale) Decreased absenteeism due to stress/health

Sources: Meditating At Work/Noetic Sciences: http://www.noetic.org/noetic/issue-nineteen-february/meditating-at-work/ • Forbes: How Meditation Can Make You a Better Leader: http://www.forbes.com/sites/insead/2014/01/28/how-meditation-can-make-you-a-better-leader/ • Companies that Meditate/MBA: http://www.onlinemba.com/blog/10-big-companies-that-promote-employee-meditation/ • Chopra Center: http://www.chopra.com/ccl/5-ways-meditation-can-benefit-businesses

While meditation is generally experienced as an incredibly supportive and positive activity (though certainly challenging at times!), there are some cautions to consider:

For people who have significant trauma, meditating can trigger trauma re-experiencing, which in the short-term can be terrifying, though in the longer term is an opportunity for healing and integration. The key here is support and knowledge about responding effectively to the reactivation and using acceptance, releasing and integration strategies, particularly of a somatic nature.

Meditation can be contra-indicated if the person has very weak ego strength and/or severe mental health issues which might lead to decompensating symptoms, such as chaotic thoughts, obsessive-compulsive patterns, suicidal thoughts, etc.

If the person tends towards very negative thinking, meditation could initially exacerbate that pattern - so it would be important to help this person manage this effectively - ultimately its an opportunity for shifting the negative pattern.

For some people meditation can even trigger what’s called a “dark night of the soul” - a term that describes a harrowing experience of deconstruction of one’s whole belief system and life structure. It has also been called a “spiritual emergence” - again ultimately can signal a movement towards a next stage of growth but living through it can be quite the challenge. Again, knowledgeable support is very important.

People who meditate with iAwake/brainwave entrainment accrue all the benefits of meditation but in addition:

• Experience a faster shift into feelings of peace and relaxation• Find it easier to establish and stay with the practice of meditation as the

technology assists with the quieting and focus that can be frustrating in the initial stages

• Helps to decrease “monkey-mind”• Motivates to meditate: Gives people experiences of peace and insight that can

normally take years to achieve • Increases resilience: brainwave entrainment gently stimulates/stresses the brain,

which causes it to adjust/adapt to the stress, as in chaos theory• Improves sleep – the delta brainwaves in particular help people sleep better• Can trigger full-blown (or less dramatic) spiritual experiences• Tends to facilitate intense and sometimes life-changing dreams – particularly in

the early phase of use• Infuses creative expression and removes blocks

(continued): People who meditate with iAwake/brainwave entrainment accrue all the benefits of meditation but in addition:

• Often a marked decrease in depressive symptoms• Can assist in supporting people in recovery from substance and process

addictions in many ways, by helping to better manage cravings, enabling people to meditate who wouldn’t normally be able to sit for very long, provides positive non-drug-oriented state experiences, increases self-observation

• decrease in anxiety and trauma symptoms – these can initially be exacerbated by the technology, but with continued use can decrease significantly

• Can facilitate remarkable emotional release – can initially bring these feelings to the fore, that can then be released with the aid of releasing techniques

• Higher IQ - some studies have shown increase in IQ points after use of these technologies

• Increased cognitive flexibility – more capacity to think outside the box• potential spiritual-related experiences• Supports state training – learning how to identify and work with different states of

consciousness

People who meditate with iAwake accrue all the benefits of meditation and brainwave entrainment meditation but in addition:

Report more of a sense of “pull” rather than the “push” associated with traditional brainwave entrainment programs – easier to integrate

iAwake’s stimulation/recovery cycles in the technology, based on sports psychology, facilitate a more powerful yet more organic process

iAwake’s panning (EMDR-like)* supports release of constriction, trauma and emotional material more effectively

iAwake’s biofield component impacts the whole body, not just the brain, making for a more holistic entrainment effect.

Includes “Evolved Mind” brainwave patterns discovered by Maxwell Cade – scientist and biofieedback pioneer.

Less invasive so works well with traditional meditation forms

*EMDR – Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing – effective in the treatment of trauma symptoms for many people

Some Basics:

Don’t listen to these tracks and drive

Do not listen to brainwave entrainment tracks for more than 2 hours a day

Stay hydrated

These tracks can occasionally trigger memories and experiences of past emotional trauma -this is normal and one of the gifts of the technology, so:

Know this may happen

Have a plan if this occurs. Use strategies you already know.

Here are some simple guidelines:

Allow yourself to fully feel the feelings that are arising

Become aware of where in your body you feel these feelings

Bracket the thoughts/memories associated with the feelings – set them aside and just stay with the feelings and body sensations

Eventually you will feel a sense of release – which includes a kind of new spaciousness/emptiness and is often accompanied by new insight into the feeling experience

iAwake’s manuals and website are full of resources for working with and releasing emotions and trauma. See the website for more details: http://www.iawaketechnologies.com

Overwhelm - it is possible for people new to the technology or if it is used too much,

that over stimulation can occur. Signs include:

irritability,

heightened reactivity,

increased anxiousness,

mild headache, or other uncomfortable physical symptoms.

If this happens:

Switch to PMP3’s Releasing Meditation tracks and

Use an inner releasing technique

Stop listening for several hours or days

Go here for the Full Disclaimer

Meditation: What You Need to Know/United States’ National Institute of Health (NIH): http://nccam.nih.gov/health/meditation/

Meditation: A Simple Way to Reduce Stress/Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.org/meditation

20 Scientific Reasons to Start Meditating Today/Psychology Today: http://www.psychologytoday.com/meditation

Health Benefits of Meditation/PsychCentral.com: http://psychcentral.com/2014

Sources: Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.org • WebMD: http://www.webmd.com • International Journal of Behavioral Medicine: http://link.springer.com • NIH: http://nccam.nih.gov/health/meditation/overview.htm

: http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/mindfulness-meditation-may-ease-anxiety-mental-stress-201401086967 •

Dr Heather Urry,

Dr Andrew Newberg,

Dr. Daniel Siegel

Meditating At Work/Noetic Sciences: http://www.noetic.org/noetic/issue-nineteen-february/meditating-at-work/ • Forbes: How Meditation Can Make You a Better Leader: http://www.forbes.com/sites/insead/2014/01/28/how-meditation-can-make-you-a-better-leader/ • Companies that Meditate/MBA: http://www.onlinemba.com/blog/10-big-companies-that-promote-employee-meditation/ • Chopra Center: http://www.chopra.com/ccl/5-ways-meditation-can-benefit-businesses

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/272833.php