Balance September 2017 - 20

M II N
D
N AV I G AT
OD
N FSILEUL G

t h e manual

The

MINDFUL
index
Big brain benefits
Magnetic resonance (MR)
images have shown that daily
meditation for eight weeks
increases grey matter density
in the hippocampus - the
part of the brain associated
with learning and memory.
Meanwhile it decreases in
the amygdala, which is
responsible for feelings of
stress and anxiety.

THERE ARE NOW
SOME 1,300 MINDFUL
APPS AVAILABLE.
HEADSPACE, HAS
BEEN DOWNLOADED
OVER 11 MILLION
TIMES AND HAS
8.5M ACTIVE USERS.
WORLDWIDE FANS
INCLUDE RICHARD
BRANSON

Mindful sex

involves being able
to observe and describe
what's happening inside
your body and mind without
P
sorting experiences into
TO
'bad' and 'good'. In a study,
5
women who practised it
reported feeling much
Most
more aroused, much
mindful cities
more quickly.
1) Aarhus (Denmark)
2) Lucerne (Switzerland)
3) Reykjavik (Iceland)
4) Bergen (Norway)
5) Turku (Finland)

MINDFUL
COLOURING
BOOKS
GENERATED
£18.4MILLION
IN REVENUE
DURING 2015,
IN THE
UK ALONE

3 TOP MINDFUL COMPANIES

❶

mindfulness is devoid of
any religious connotations

Google offers its
employees daily
practice sessions
in more than 35
offices worldwide,
and day-long
meditation retreats
in five locations.
It has embedded
mindfulness
at meetings and has
introduced initiatives
to encourage
both teams and
offices to practise
mindfulness together.

MINDFULNESS IS
THE ABILITY TO BE FULLY
PRESENT AND SELF-AWARE.
ORIGINATING IN BUDDHISM AND
THE VEDAS TRIBES FROM ANCIENT
INDIA, IT WAS POPULARISED IN
THE WEST FOR THE TREATMENT
OF STRESS BY U.S PROF
JON KABAT-ZINN

❷

Transport
for London offers
its staff a six-week
programme - which
teaches CBT and
other techniques as
well as mindfulness
- to help them
develop a healthier
approach to life. This
has led to a 71%
reduction in days off
for stress, anxiety
and depression;
absences across the
board fell 50%.

❸

Tees, Esk and
Wear Valleys NHS
Foundation Trust
launched the Staff
Mindfulness Project
in 2012 for those who
have experienced
depression or are
stressed. Since then,
12 mindfulnessbased cognitive
therapy eight-week
programmes have
been delivered a year
and 150 staff have
completed courses.

Analysed data included
attributes such as social
tolerance, work-life
balance, civic engagement,
healthcare, ecological
footprint and income levels.
(The World Economic
Forum)

INCREASE
IN ONLINE
SEARCHES FOR
'MINDFULNESS'
OVER THE L AST
FIVE YEARS

30 %

OF BRITISH GP s REFER
PATIENTS AT WAR WITH
THEIR THOUGHTS FOR
MINDFULNESS-BASED
COGNITIVE THERAPY

HEALTH
BOOST

Try it
Slowly breathing in
through your nose
and then exhaling for
longer through your
mouth stimulates
the parasympathetic
nervous system
- your body's natural
stress reliever.

Mind-Body
medicine pioneer
Deepak Chopra
estimates that
people who meditate
for many years have a
biological age five to
10 years lower than
their actual age.

Just 4 days
of mindfulness
meditation has been
found to cut pain
perception in half of
those taking part.

A different perspective

Heartfulness is an approach to life that focuses on what your heart is
telling you rather than your mind. It's about cultivating compassion
and connecting with the world through the qualities of the heart.

the meditation industry rakes in over $1billion a year globally

BA LA N CE September 2017

WORDS: XXXX
XXXX SOURCES:
XXXX6.5PT/8PT
APERCU
COMPILED
BY:XXXX
JADEXXXX
HARDING.
MENTALHEALTH.ORG.UK;
THEMINDFULNESSINITIATIVE.ORG.UK; FT.COM; UK.BUSINESSINSIDER.COM; AXAPPPHEALTHCARE.CO.UK; AWAREMEDITATIONAPP.
COM; AURAHEALTH.IO; PSYCHOLOGYTODAY.COM; MINDBODYVORTEX.COM; WELLTODOLONDON.COM; UK.STYLE.YAHOO.COM; MINDFUL.ORG; TELEGRAPH.CO.UK; WEFORUM.ORG

is mindfulness misunderstood? here are the facts

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Balance September 2017