Mindfulness Training

Research suggests that meditation may physically change the brain and body and could potentially help to improve many health problems and promote healthy behaviors. In a 2012 study, researchers compared brain images from 50 adults who meditate and 50 adults who don’t meditate. Results suggested that people who practiced meditation for many years have more folds in the outer layer of the brain. This process (called gyrification) may increase the brain’s ability to process information (Meditation: In Depth).

For instance, Davidson and colleagues (2003) conducted a study in which subjects perform mindfulness meditation for eight weeks; right after they were vaccinated with the influenza vaccine. Results show significant increases in left-side brain activation (in charge of positive affect). They also found significant increases in antibody titers among those in the meditation group compared to the control group. Moreover, they found that the increments of activation of the left-side of the brain were able to predict the amount of antibodies created in the body of those in the mindfulness meditation group. They conclude that a short program in mindfulness meditation produces noticeable effects on brain and immune function. Their findings suggest that meditation may change the brain and immune function

This is a multi-part study. For Part 1, a literature review, which examines the types and benefits of mindfulness training in the workplace, is presented. The review begins by defining mindfulness then reviews and summarizes the extant research on mindfulness in the workplace, including discussion of the psychological and physiological benefits received from mindfulness training. Then, the focus turns to social mindfulness and empathy awareness, border theory and cultural intelligence theory as well as scales used in measuring mindfulness. Part 2 of the paper will describe the method and outcome of a survey-based study of the types of mindfulness training is currently used in the Tulsa business community.

First, a brief historical origin of meditation and contextualizing mindfulness, following the literature reviewed to provide a foundational understanding of various types of meditation being practiced and what its documented effects have been. The second body of the literature reviewed on the neurobiology and mechanisms of change with mindfulness meditation practice.

It has also been noted in the literature on positive psychology that mindfulness is another dimension that is beneficial to well-being and has been getting attention across clinical and academic disciplines (Zylowska et al. 2008; Siegel 2007). It was given special notice in the field of traumatic stress studies and considered mindfulness, yoga and even martial arts as healing channels. Experts in the field of neurobiology discovered the key role of these mindfulness practices in activating the pre-frontal cortex, which promotes a greater sense of concentration and introspection (Graham, 2013; Porges,

In this scholarly paper, I will reflect on meditation treatment modality provided by University of Minnesota Center for Spirituality and Healing. (2014) and its benefits and opportunities for the older population and persons with chronic diseases (Chan & Larson, 2015). Moreover, I will analyze it in terms of Barrett’s Theory of Power (Barrett, 2010) and CAREE Process (O’Brien Lewis, 2016). In addition, throughout the paper, I will describe my thoughts and feelings regarding meditation and meditative practices for caring-healing holistic nursing.

In the course of recent years, an interest has become quickly in the advantages of mindfulness practice. From its underlying applications in drug, mindfulness preparing has spread into the fields of brain research, social insurance, neuroscience, business, the military, and instruction. There are clear information that mindfulness in adults develops wellbeing and health by means of declines anxiety, uneasiness, and sorrow; expanding neuroendocrine

A major impact meditation has is on the physical increase of thickness of the cerebral cortex (outer layer of brain tissue) and grey matter

The study shows that meditation can positively affect brain function. It may sound illogical, how could mind training actually impact the physical structure of the brain. However, the study shows that mindfulness mediation could enhance the function of one’s memory, sense of self, empathy and stress response. Practice of mindfulness mediation is like the brain talking to itself, the thoughts are floating through our consciousness. By doing more mediation, the brain can get more practices. Therefore, neural responses would be shorter; the brain can have more time to rest.

Meditation is an act that can be done in different ways. Whether you focus on one specific thing and brining your attention back where your mind wanders or where you pay all attention to all the things happening around you by simply noticing everything and not reacting. With modern technology, scientists have discovered what happens in the human brain during meditation and its effects. There has been a decrease in beta waves, wherein the brain would stop processing information actively as they normally would. Brain activities such as reasoning, planning, processing of information and more, tends to slow down, go offline, reduces flow and it dials back the

Improving self-observation as a result of mindfulness training can promote the use of a broader range of coping strategies. With self-observation, relapses in addictions and compulsive behaviors can be detected. It is not yet clear how observing one's own experience in the present moment in a non-evaluative and non-reactive way results in a beneficial effect, whether through self-awareness, focus of attention or acceptance.

The study I found to be the most convincing was the Exeter/Cambridge study performed in 2012. When compared to the other studies listed, there was a greater number of participants in this study as well as a greater diversity among its participants. For example, one of the other studies had roughly sixty participants, all of which were male. On the other hand, those in the Exeter/Cambridge study were both male and female, and more than five hundred participants were included in the study. With such a large sample size compared to the others, this study, in my opinion, provides a better representation of students’ responses to mindfulness practices as a whole. In addition, the study provides results from three months after the students participated in the program. By providing this information, readers can get a potentially more accurate depiction of how individuals might be affected by practicing mindfulness in the long

Neuroscientist Richard Davidson of the Center for Investigating Health Minds also found that mindfulness changes how the brain functions. His studies found that mindfulness improves cognitive flexibility, creativity and innovation, well-being, emotional regulation, and empathy. Regular practice also improves attention (Mindful Brain staff, n.d.).

This research tries to discover whether mindfulness training improves working memory capacity and GRE performance while reducing mind wandering. The main independent variable is the mindfulness-training course that the participants took while the dependent variables included the presence or lack of decreased mind-wanderings and/or the presence or lack of improved cognitive performance. The relationship expected was that mindfulness training helps academic performance and decreases distractions during performance. The research methodology used was experimental. Researchers were able to observe the changes in cognitive capacities of the participants and improvements in task focus and performance. The conclusion states, “Cultivating mindfulness

While investigating the benefits of mindful meditation, researchers found, “Based on our own data, we may