Welcome to Mindful May at Urban Vybe! Join us this month as we explore how Mindfulness & Meditation can improve your life! Although MIT scientist Jon Kabat-Zinn first coined the term Mindfulness in the 1970s, the concept has recently increased in popularity.
David Gelles, author of Mindful Work: How Meditation Is Changing Business From the Inside Out breaks it down even better. “It’s really the practice of learning how to be right here, right now in an accepting way with whatever is happening, rather than letting our thoughts carry us away,” Gelles explained to the Dallas Morning News.
This focus is central to our practice of yoga. This month at Urban Vybe we are offering even more opportunities to learn and practice meditation. However, his goes far beyond the gym. Yogis and non-yogis alike are realizing how mindfulness can help us throughout the different areas of our lives.
Our lives are so filled with technology that we are used to constantly multitasking between phones, computers, TVs, smartwatches, and more. Many of us find it hard to focus on one single thing at a time, let alone focusing on nothing at all. Mindfulness and meditation help us to take that break and clear our minds.
Research on the Practice of Mindfulness
Studies and research have shown the practice of mindfulness has many benefits. These include decreasing stress and anxiety, improving attention, strengthening compassion, and helping emotional regulation. What’s even more interesting is how mindfulness practice can actually change your brain. The amygdala (involved in processing emotion), the hippocampus (responsible for memory and emotional responses), and the prefrontal cortex (involved in problem solving, personality development, complex thinking, and regulating behavior and emotions), can all be positively affected by mindfulness training and practice.
Practicing Mindfulness & Meditation
More practice will produce better results, but don’t be discouraged if you don’t have a ton of time for dedicated training. This study saw improvements in attention and self-regulation after only 5 days of meditation training (20 minutes per day). Every little bit helps! The more you learn about these techniques, the more you can practice them on your own when you find a few free minutes. Join our Mindful May Challenge and start a new habit!
Meditation at Urban Vybe
Are you ready to get started with a regular meditation practice or want to enhance your current practice? Join our 21 Day Mindful May Meditation Challenge. The challenge will begin on Sunday, May 7th, at 12:00pm with Mark’s Intro to Meditation. Attend any yoga class which will include a 5 minute meditation, as well as our scheduled 15 minute Meditation classes to build your time. The challenge will finish with a meditation celebration on Saturday, May 27th. Participants with the most meditation minutes will win prizes. Enrollment is free!
Sources:
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/08/mindfulness-education-schools-meditation/402469/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17940025
http://www.mindfulschools.org
http://time.com/1556/the-mindful-revolution/
http://www.dallasnews.com/business/business/2016/01/26/companies-like-aetna-and-goldman-sachs-turn-to-meditation-to-soothe-the-corporate-soul
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