Meditation for Relaxation
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MEDITATION AND RELAXATION
Stress Reduction
Goyal, Madhav, Sonal Singh, Erica Sibinga, Neda F. Gould, Anastasia Rowland-Seymour, Ritu Sharma, Zackary Berger, Dana Sleicher, David D. Maron, Hasan M. Shihab, Padmini D. Ranasinghe, Shauna Linn, Shonali Saha, Eric B. Bass, and Jennifer A. Haythornthwaite. “Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being.” JAMA Internal Medicine 174, no. 3 (2014): 357-68. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.13018. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24395196.
Orme-Johnson, David W., and Vernon A. Barnes. “Effects of the Transcendental Meditation Technique on Trait Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.” Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 20, no. 5 (2014): 330-41. doi:10.1089/acm.2013.0204. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24107199.
Rosenkranz, Melissa A., Richard J. Davidson, Donal G. MacCoon, John F. Sheridan, Ned H. Kalin, and Antoine Lutz. “A Comparison of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and an Active Control in Modulation of Neurogenic Inflammation.” Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 27 (2013): 174-84. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2012.10.013. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159112004758.
Improved Sleep
EOC Institute. “Meditation vs Sleep: 5 Reasons Meditation Replaces Your Sleep.” Accessed February 27, 2019. https://eocinstitute.org/meditation/require-less-sleep-with-meditation-460/.
Martires, Joanne, and Michelle Zeidler. “The Value of Mindfulness Meditation in the Treatment of Insomnia.” Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine 21, no. 6 (2015): 547-52. doi:10.1097/mcp.0000000000000207.
Nagendra, Ravindra P., Nirmala Maruthai, and Bindu M. Kutty. “Meditation and Its Regulatory Role on Sleep.” Frontiers in Neurology 3 (2012). doi:10.3389/fneur.2012.00054.
Reduced Blood Pressure
Levine, Glenn N., Richard A. Lange, C. Noel Bairey-Merz, Richard J. Davidson, Kenneth Jamerson, Puja K. Mehta, Erin D. Michos, Keith Norris, Indranill Basu Ray, Karen L. Saban, Tina Shah, Richard Stein, Sidney C. Smith Jr, and the American Heart Association Council on Clinical Cardiology; Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; and Council on Hypertension. “Meditation and Cardiovascular Risk Reduction: A Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association.” Journal of the American Heart Association 6, no. 10 (2017). doi:10.1161/jaha.117.002218.
Principles of Meditation
Fletcher, Emily. “What’s the Difference between Mindfulness and Meditation?” Mindbodygreen. October 13, 2017. Accessed February 27, 2019. https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-27292/whats-the-difference-between-mindfulness-meditation.html.
Om Swami (blog). “Six Principles of Meditation.” March 14, 2017. Accessed February 27, 2019. http://omswami.com/2014/05/six-principles-of-meditation.html.
PsychAlive. YouTube. January 03, 2013. Accessed February 27, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmEo6RI4Wvs.
MBSR
Ackerman, Courtney. “MBSR: 25 Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction Exercises and Courses.” Positive Psychology Program—Your One-Stop PP Resource! January 10, 2019. Accessed February 23, 2019. https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/mindfulness-based-stress-reduction-mbsr/.
“History of MBSR.” University of Massachusetts Medical School. November 17, 2016. Accessed February 28, 2019. https://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/mindfulness-based-programs/mbsr-courses/about-mbsr/history-of-mbsr/.
MBCT
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy. “About MBCT.” Accessed February 23, 2019. http://www.mbct.com/.
Types of Meditation
Gaiam (blog). “Meditation 101: Techniques, Benefits, and a Beginner’s How-to.” Accessed February 23, 2019. https://www.gaiam.com/blogs/discover/meditation-101-techniques-benefits-and-a-beginner-s-how-to.
Lechner, Tamara. “5 Types of Meditation Decoded.” The Chopra Center (blog). March 2, 2018. Accessed February 23, 2019. https://chopra.com/articles/5-types-of-meditation-decoded.
Sockolov, Matthew. “17 Types of Meditation—Which One Is for You?” One Mind Dharma. December 11, 2018. Accessed February 23, 2019. https://oneminddharma.com/types-of-meditation/.
Welch, Ashley. “A Guide to 7 Different Types of Meditation | Everyday Health.” EverydayHealth.com (blog). June 22, 2018. Accessed February 23, 2019. https://www.everydayhealth.com/meditation/types/.
PRACTICES
Deep Belly Breaths
Yogapedia.com (blog). “What Is Pranayama? Definition from Yogapedia.” Accessed February 23, 2019. https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/4990/pranayama.
Belly Full
Underwood, Emily. “Your Gut Is Directly Connected to Your Brain, by a Newly Discovered Neuron Circuit.” Science | AAAS. September 20, 2018. Accessed February 23, 2019. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/09/your-gut-directly-connected-your-brain-newly-discovered-neuron-circuit.
Acknowledgments
A special thank you to my mom, Beckie O’Neill, for bringing the wisdom of yoga and meditation to our family for all of these years. I simply would not have been able to write this book without the invaluable insights you’ve shared throughout my entire life. Thanks for inspiring us to be ambitious and confident (and to have the audacity to do things like write books!). Writing this guide to meditation brought me closer to you, to so many of the things you say, and to your way of being in the world, and it gave me a renewed respect and appreciation for what you’ve been trying to tell us for so long. I love you. Thank you . . . for everything.
To my incredibly supportive, smart, funny, beautiful, and loving wife, Anya: Thank you for the countless compromises you make. I marvel at you. I am so grateful for you. I love you this much.
To my friend and business partner, Robert “Sunshine” Sidoti: Thanks for all the two-and-a-half-hour-one-way commutes, the crashing on the couch, the travel. Thanks for creating those amazing classes that bring strength and growth to so many lives and for sticking it out all these years. This book would not have happened were it not for the decade-long journey we’ve shared. Thanks for doing what you do, the way you do it.
About the Author
Adam O’Neill is the CEO of YFM.tv, a company born from the merger of Broga® Yoga (which he cofounded) and Yoga for Men. YFM is an abbreviation of “Yoga. Fitness. Mindfulness.” Adam lives on a small farm in central New York with his wife, Anya, daughter, Maeve, and their dog, cat, goats, and chickens.