Here’s Why Meditation Is So Amazing For Your Mental Health

“impressive results”

“A study done on this specific type of meditation showed that it was able to alleviate stress-related disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, because of the way it affects the parasympathetic nervous system (responsible for moderating heart rate and hormone release), and curbs the body’s stress response.”

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Yogic Breathing: What are the benefits?

"not only aims to remove day-to-day stresses, but also target negative emotions you may not know are still affecting you"

A specific kind of yoga called Sudarshan Kriya is in the limelight. Focused on breathing, this form has been shown to provide relief from depression and has even shown promise in reducing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans, according to a recent study in the Journal of Traumatic Stress.

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Editor's Picks: The Seven Most Powerful People In India

"emphasizes meditation as a way to relieve stress ... cuts across religious lines, and offers practitioners a tool to deal with urban angst"

Art of Living Founder Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar is in Forbes’ list of India’s seven most powerful people “(The) Art of Living program, which emphasizes meditation as a way to relieve stress and prevent violence, commands an enormous following both in India and around the world, cuts across religious lines, and offers practitioners a tool to deal with urban against.

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3 Science-Backed Ways to Relieve Pain and Stress

"Calm your nervous system with the relaxation response"

"Guided relaxations calm the nervous system by decreasing blood pressure, heart rate and muscle tension while increasing blood flow. When your mind is in a state of stress from pain or anxiety, your breathing becomes tense and shallow. But research shows that when you consciously change your breathing, you can quickly change how you feel as well."

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You’re Not Breathing Right

"classes that will school you in the art of inhaling"

"said to increase feelings of well-being through rhythmic breaths at varying speeds"

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5 Wellness Retreats to Detox and Restore Your Bliss

"The Art of Living Retreat Center offers programs rooted in ancient Ayurvedic healing principles"

"The center offers an ever-changing schedule of retreat options, from traditional models like yoga and meditation to less common styles like silent retreats and a happiness program, to allow guests to select a getaway that’s truly tailored to their wellness needs."

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Art Of Living Teacher In Iraq Saved Hundreds Of Women From Being Raped By ISIS

"held over 6,000 training sessions in trauma relief and counselling for Iraq war refugees and survivors"

"She and a team of 27 Iraqis will return back to the war-torn region to bring peace to one of the most conflict-ridden and traumatized regions of the world.... [They] rescued and rehabilitated a 15-year-old girl victim of gang-raping along with many other women who are trapped and are being sold by ISIS for as little as USD 10."

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Breathing is the New Yoga! 9 Shortcuts to Calming Anxiety

Sudarshan Kriya’s engagement of the parasympathetic nervous system can rebalance brain chemistry.

In scientific terms, a controlled breathing practice cuts into stress hormones, dances with our nervous system, and regulates the oxygen, CO2, and pH levels in our blood. It has therapy potential against depression, anxiety, and PTSD. In sidewalk terms, breathing lets us get a grip.

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An Incredible Alternative to Mindfulness You Never Heard Of

"Does meditation make you anxious or mad? Here's a science backed alternative."

"We keep seeing more studies demonstrating how mindfulness meditation can change the brain, make us feel better, and generally improve our lives. That’s great. But what if it doesn’t work for you? Maybe the practices that were supposed to take you to a calm place made you feel anxious or irritable. Your skin crawls, you have ants in your pants, and you swing between anxiety attacks and rage. Not exactly Zen."

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Why Students At Elite Colleges Are Turning To Meditation

“It makes you realize that you have a choice of how you feel and that you can control your own environment rather than it controlling you.”

“The practice makes it easier for them to connect with people,” Annalies Richmond, director of training for the Art of Living Foundation, told HuffPost. “It expands their capacity as a leader and makes them realize how big their potential is or how powerful they are. Somehow, one can feel very transformed in those five days.”

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How Meditation Transformed This Entrepreneur’s Approach To Work And Life

“It changed my life literally overnight.” ~Louis Gagnon, CEO of MyBrainSolutions

Louis Gagnon, CEO of MyBrainSolutions and former executive at Audible Inc., ... shared his view that we can only reach our highest potential as individuals and leaders if we find peace of mind.

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WGNers learn to de-stress in 2 minutes or less

“thank you so much for helping us out, and saving us on psychology bills. “

“You’re taking all that tension that you may have had this morning, that's the air, the breath, filtering that out so you can have a clear, focused mind. “

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11 Yoga Retreats You Can Actually Afford

“this weekend course will teach you meditation and breathing practices to help you focus on the present”

“You’ll learn Sudarshan Kriya, a breathing technique that helps you sync with your body’s natural rhythm to eliminate stress, fatigue, and other negative emotions.”

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The Easy Breathing Technique That Can Lower Your Anxiety 44%

"many people reported better sleep, improved self-awareness, and even fewer PMS symptoms"

Six months later, their anxiety scores had decreased by about 44%, and many no longer qualified for a clinical diagnosis. Scores on a comprehensive measure of psychological symptoms—including depression, phobias, and hostility, among others—also fell by 45%.

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Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Desktop Yoga and Doga

“It (Yoga) is not aerobics. It’s something that transforms your attitude towards people and yourself—a technology.”

Indian Spiritual Guru Sri Sri Ravishankar teaches New Yorkers Desktop Yoga and shares the virtues of this centuries-old practice at the City’s first International Yoga Day celebrations.

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Stanford scholar helps veterans recover from war trauma

"the first randomized controlled study on a form of meditation or yoga for veterans with PTSD that has shown such long-term, lasting effects"

Newly published research by Stanford scholar and author of The Happiness Track, Emma Seppala, shows how meditation and breathing exercises can help military veterans recover from post-traumatic stress disorder. One year after the study, the participants' PTSD scores still remained low, suggesting that there had been long-lasting improvement.

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Art of Living on CNN Project Life

“Life Changing”

“Meditation is like a mental workout. The more you exercise these parts of the brain, the healthier and happier your mindset will be.”

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Emperor of Air

"Art of Living may be the fastest growing spiritual practice on the planet"

If you try to understand things through experience, the proof is in the pudding. You do the practice and the stress leaves you and you feel better. It promises a very satisfying and immediate thing. You can feel better without relying on someone else to explain it rationally and without relying on the promise of heaven later.

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Take a Deep Breath

"just as emotions impact how people breathe, how they breathe can also impact their emotions"

The breathing technique Shankar teaches is based on the notion that just as emotions impact how people breathe, how they breathe can also impact their emotions. By controlling their breath, the idea goes, people can counter their stress and recover from natural disasters and violent surroundings.

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Quest for Spirituality

"A modern spiritual movement that symbolizes our desire for inner peace"

“Breathing exercises, meditation and prayer. they all help us open our minds, take stock of who we are, and put life back into perspective. and let's face it - most of us could do with a little of that.”

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Breathing Lessons

"A yoga-based technique that targets healing and stress is gaining favor"

Students of the Art of Living program say the breathing technique can bring greater awareness, a fuller and happier life, less stress, greater mental focus, and a bevy of other health benefits. – Los Angeles Times

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Media Contacts

Lucie Lapierre
Lucie.lapierre@artofliving.ca