Mindfulness

Be in the present moment

Mindfulness practice helps people relax, focus, and breathe, which calms the mind and body. 

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MSBR) training has been studied scientifically and found to improve physical symptoms (such as chronic pain, high blood pressure, shortness of breath, and insomnia) and to decrease emotional and psychological distress (such as anxiety and depression). Brain MRIs before and after an eight-week course show growth of temporal lobe areas (memory, emotional stability) and shrinkage of the amygdala (anxiety, anger, fear).

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., a physicist trained at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, first developed the program in 1979. The course is now offered by medical centers, healthcare organizations, and other sites around the world. Mindfulness was the topic explored by Anderson Cooper on CBS' 60 Minutes. National Public Radio did a story on how mindfulness can beat painkillers for treating chronic low back pain.