Scientists at UCLA, Stanford University, Univeristy of Michigan and University of North Carolina have shown that daily meditation (for a duration of as little as 10 minutes) can decrease anxiety and make people happier. Meditation changes the physical structure of the brain by increasing gray matter and developing more connections in areas of the brain related to managing emotions, attention and making mindful choices.Benefits of meditation include increasing your awareness of the present moment and your ability to observe without judgment (regarding yourself and others). Researchers at Stanford University showed that meditation helped people with anxiety how to handle distressing thoughts and emotions without being overpowered by them.
Meditation is an essential component to the Kundalini yoga techniques that I teach, and I believe it is a powerful tool in making positive lifestyle changes.Most of you are familiar with our work in relation to food and know that many people struggle with making the healthy food choices that they know are essential.Awareness of yourself is the key to overcoming emotional attachments to foods and we offer yoga and meditation as methods for developing awareness.Katy is currently offering meditation instruction in private sessions at the yoga studio, Kundalini Yoga of Wisconsin at 402 W Lakeside St. in Madison, WI.