Tabla de contenidos para April 2019 en Mindful

Editor-in-Chief barry@mindful.org Our must-read story this issue: In “Wake Up to the Wild,” on page 40, renowned mindfulness teacher and wilderness expert Mark Coleman reveals why our relationship with nature is more important than ever in the age of climate change. An older man and woman carrying packages and two small children make their way onto a subway car—by all appearances grandparents with their grandchildren, who also are carrying bags. No one gets up to offer a seat, not even the young athletic man wearing earbuds. The elevator door opens and you’re about to get out, but several people, eager to enter, are blocking your exit. You have to jostle through. On the way into a mindfulness event, I encounter a man who nearly knocks me over as he leaves…

DOES ONLINE MINDFULNESS WORK? A study in Australia found that an online 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program helps employees feel more optimistic and engaged in their work, and may decrease levels of striving and need for recognition. “While the ‘human element’ may potentially enhance the efficacy of face-to-face MBSR programs, the online program is more easily accessed, and this may mean the benefits of these programs reach more employees,” the study authors wrote in a paper published in Physiology & Behavior. HOPE FOR GLAUCOMA SUFFERERS An innovative study has shown that meditation may help with glaucoma. The leading cause of blindness, glaucoma affects almost 70 million people worldwide. It’s characterized by intraocular pressure that progressively damages the optic nerve. The researchers randomly divided 90 glaucoma patients in New Delhi into…

Avocados strike a magical balance between creamy and light, their high fat levels paired with substantial water content. They grow around the world, from Australia and Indonesia to Peru and the US, but Mexico—where avocados are thought to originate from—is by far the top producer. In the world of fruit, avocados are uniquely buttery; in fact, before they became a luxury food item, some people referred to them as “poor man’s butter.” Their mild flesh pairs well with many flavors, making them an ideal creamy counterbalance to crunchy salads and crusty sandwiches. Some recipes even use avocado as a rich base for vegan desserts. ENJOY AVOCADO MINDFULLY With a fork, mash an avocado until you get it to a fairly smooth consistency. Take a taste on its own, then throw…

“TUNE IN TO YOURSELF,” says Taryn Toomey, the latest étoile du jour to light up the fitness world, addressing a women’s retreat in upstate New York last summer. “Know there’s a part of you that really wants the suffering and part of you that really wants the awakening. “Know who’s running the show.” Therein lies the essence of the Taryn Toomey phenomenon—suffering and awakening, hurting and healing. Toomey is the birthmother of The Class, a body-depleting, mind-bending workout that defies both definition and category. Physically demanding and emotionally exhausting, it is, to its throngs of acolytes who sweat regularly in her signature TriBeCa gym, spiritually and psychically cathartic. The hallmark of The Class is a series of repetitive motions devoid of rep count; there is no telling when the torture…

Among psychiatrists, what constitutes “trauma” is controversial. Some define trauma based on the nature of the event: Psychiatry’s diagnostic manual, for instance, says a traumatic experience must be outside the range of what humans normally encounter. Others define trauma based on how people respond to an experience: Intense fear, helplessness, horror, or distress would be symptoms of trauma. A circular definition—“trauma is something that leaves you traumatized”—is obviously not ideal. Nor is “outside the range of normal experience” a reliable measure: Tragically, many experiences that once were outside that range no longer are, such as natural disasters, mass shootings, or wartime horrors. Scholars are therefore trying to do better. An emerging definition holds that trauma challenges a person’s “assumptive world”: her belief in how people behave, how the world works,…

CBC RADIO Episode: Wearables go beyond fitness tracking to help people with chronic health conditions Rapidly evolving technologies are revolutionizing health science, a prime example being wearable health trackers—think the FitBit, but capable of feats like tracking the blood glucose of diabetics, or monitoring blood pressure, via a tiny patch on the skin. For people with chronic illness, this may take the constant vigilance and guesswork out of maintaining health. But for healthy people, these devices—like self-driving cars that “remember” the route for us—may tempt us to ignore the feedback we’re always getting from our body, rather than growing to better understand that feedback. ON BEING WITH KRISTA TIPPETT Episode: The Magic Shop of the Brain, with Dr. James Doty Most people don’t appreciate “the power of their intention to…

Uber driver Kasim Eldilemi spotted an injured hawk while driving along the multilane FDR Drive in New York City. So he threw on his emergency blinkers, pulled over, took the bird to his car, and drove his passenger to Brooklyn with the hawk under his arm. He then found police, who brought the bird to a rehabilitation center. Poker champion Scott Wellenbach has been donating his winnings to charity since 2010. A regular meditator now in his sixties, Wellenbach recently won his biggest jackpot to date—$671,240—and will give it all to charities including Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders. 21-year-old medical student Hamzah Selim was at a London Tube station heading home from an anatomy lecture when he heard a woman scream. He rushed over to find her in labor, and…

TARYN TOOMEY steps in so close to my face I think she’s going to kiss me. And though generally not into women, I am fairly certain in that instant that I will kiss her back, until I realize that this is how she greets people, up in their grill, under their skin. “Does anything hurt?” she asks after not kissing me. “Yes,” I tell her. “Everything.” “Perfect,” she replies. “We’ll take care of that.” I don’t know what she means, or what she is—sort of beautiful, sort of plain, absolutely radiant, her blonde streaked hair tumbled just so atop her head, her skin aglow with the slightest brush of the expensive highlighter she sells in the gift shop outside of her Bridgehampton pop-up. To get to her, to The Class,…

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Can a cold-blooded killer learn compassion from Walt Disney? One Missouri judge thinks so: He ordered a poacher, who’d killed hundreds of deer for trophy heads, to watch Bambi at least once every month during his yearlong jail sentence. The key to romantic harmony: Don’t drink alone. University of Michigan researchers found US couples in which both or neither of the partners drinks alcohol reported sunnier relationships—for example, being less critical of each other—than couples where one partner drinks and the other abstains. California recently enacted a bill banning pet stores from selling dogs, cats, or rabbits obtained from pet breeders, which can be hotbeds of animal abuse. A Utah state worker goofed up by emailing a potluck invite to 25,000 state employees, spawning a “Reply All” nightmare—on a Friday,…

As you listen to the please hold music, set the intention to be present, open, and curious. Bring awareness to your breathing. Feel your inbreath, feel your outbreath As you hold, take a moment to prepare: The person I am about to connect with has a body that experiences joy and pain—just like me. This is a person who has hopes, dreams, and fears, just like me. Once the call has begun, keep in mind: The chances are pretty good that at some point, this person has known sadness, been disappointed, felt angry, hurt, abused, or confused. They have had to stand in lines, wait to be served, or fight for fairness, just like me. Remember: This person might have a family they love and care for, just like me. They…

Anxiety starts in either the amygdala (via fight-or-flight physical sensations) or the cortex (via thoughts). Sensory signals of external stimulus (e.g. seeing a snake or a rope, hearing a loud sound, speaking in front of a crowd) go to the thalamus, which translates and sends out two messages: 1 Amygdala pathway One message goes directly from the thalamus to the amygdala, which reacts quickly and triggers a fight-or-flight response before the cortex realizes what’s happening. 2 Cortex pathway A more precise message goes to the cortex, which determines if the external stimulus is a threat. If it is, the cortex signals the amygdala to activate a fight-or-flight response. If it isn’t, the cortex tamps down the alert. EXAMPLES A Danger is real, amygdala reacts External stimulus may be a danger…

ANTHROPOCENE Edward Burtynsky, Jennifer Baichwal, and Nicholas de Pencier • Goose Lane Editions It’s a museum exhibit, a movie, a podcast, and a book—all in service of a bold notion that shakes you into an appreciation for just what human life on this planet means. The Anthropocene, so the hypothesis goes, is our current geologic age, wherein the largest effects are not a result of natural events (such as volcanism or glaciation) but rather the outgrowth of human habitation, and it is the current passion of master photographer Edward Burtynsky and his colleagues. The book and the movie depict stunning landscapes and tell poignant stories that let us know the depth of the effect we’ve been having during our short history on this rock. It’s one thing to read about…

3 MEDITATIONS TO CONQUER ANXIETY AND BUILD RESILIENCE 1 A 10-Minute Meditation to Work with Difficult Emotions from Carley Hauck Build Resilience. Uncertainty is like fertilizer for difficult emotions. This meditation reminds you that life is always in flux and the most courageous thing you can do is slow down, turn toward your difficult emotions, and meet them with compassion. By staying with both the highs and lows of your inner experience, over time you become more resilient, meeting each moment with strength. 2 A Simple Anxiety Practice from Hugh Byrne Respond with Calm. Anxious feelings often provoke us to act in habitual ways. For example, when you’re anxious you may find yourself chewing on your nails or lashing out at close friends. By practicing mindfulness, you can bring awareness…