There are two fun ways to practice this. 1) Just…Run! Truly give yourself over to the experience of running just for running’s sake, with no other agenda. This will mean going whichever way your desire tells you to go, listening to your body to determine your speed and the distance you travel, and remaining alert and curious to all that’s going on within and outside of you. Try this: See if you can take note of things as you run that perhaps you haven’t noticed before....

The study used stop-action photography of eye blinks and electrodes attached to the ears of the canines to measure reactivity to stimuli. Prior to being exposed to chew toys, treats, and bowls of kibble, the study subjects “had a mini-retreat in ‘The Canine Meditation Hall,’”—an isolation room furnished with specially crafted, dog-friendly zabutons, or meditation mats—and were shown videos of other dogs (mostly owned and trained by American meditation teachers) sitting erect and peacefully....

Although research on mindfulness, especially with children and adolescents, is still in relatively early stages, an increasing number of studies have shown the potential benefits of mindfulness practices for students’ physical health, psychological well-being, social skills, academic performance, and more. Other studies have indicated that mindfulness may be effective for reducing stress and burnout in teachers and administrators as well. The following list of selected articles, with brief descriptions of each study and its results, provides an overview of the current research on mindfulness in education....

For Holmes, the benefits of mindfulness are elementary. The talented sleuth is hyperaware of his surroundings. He solves mysteries armed primarily with the ability to live in the here and now. “You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear,” explains Holmes to his sidekick Watson in A Scandal In Bohemia. No question that Holmes’ powers of observation are extreme. Yet Konnikova says practicing mindfulness may help us clue-in to our lives (pardon the pun) and improve our decision-making skills too: Who can say how many valuable insights are hiding in plain sight?...

In the meantime, learn more about their life-changing work in Barry Boyce’s article, Inner City Inner Peace. UPDATE: Click here to watch video from NBC’s visit with HLF.

Begin Within is attempting to raise at least $12,500 (through Kickstarter.com) by October 17 in order to fund the project. At the time of this posting, they had $11,027. For more information, or if you’re interested in donating, click here.

I know that:

Researcher Karen Renaud talks to Mindful about how the simple act of being aware of one’s email habits changed her own sending style, as well as the solutions her research teams were coming up with to solve email overload. KR: I’ve been doing email research for about ten years now. In the beginning, I was really interested in interruptions and how people recover from being interrupted when they’re working on their computers....

I’m under time pressure—and I know I’m not alone. If you’re a woman, or a single parent, or practically anyone living in today’s go-go-go American society, you probably are, too. When researchers surveyed Americans before 2011, about half said they almost never had time on their hands and two-thirds said they sometimes or always felt rushed (though a more recent study suggests things may be improving a bit). As researcher Cassie Mogilner and her colleagues write in a 2012 paper, “With waking hours largely consumed by work, precious minutes remain for the daily list of to-dos, including exercise, cleaning, and socializing with friends and family....

To make playgrounds radically inclusive, Goldberg recommends “three levels of inviting,” meaning the space should be physically, socially, and emotionally welcoming to all ages and abilities. Spiral walkways allow wheelchair and walker access. Slides are extra wide so a care-giver and a child can go together. Before the pandemic, workshops were offered to help others create accessible playgrounds, and in the decade since Portland, Oregon-based HP began, eight more playgrounds have been built (one as far away as Tokyo)....

“As a bedside hospice volunteer,” writes Goldberg in an earlier Mindful article, “The Hard Work of Dying,” “I’ve found that the ideas and emotions people carry with them through life often determine the quality of their death.” Goldberg recently won a 2011 International Book Award in the Spirituality: Inspirational category for his book Lessons for the Living: Stories of Forgiveness, Gratitude, and Courage at the End of Life, published by Trumpeter, an imprint of Shambhala Publications....

The story has been told many times of how Kabat-Zinn ended up teaching people in a hospital function-room to eat a raisin as if for the first time, to scan each and every area of their body, to stretch, turn, twist, breathe, walk, and above all pay attention to moment after moment after moment. The son of an immunologist, he had trained at MIT as a molecular biologist but also practiced yoga....

Ginger’s flavor is strong and subtle, as is its appearance: Beneath rough beige skin you wouldn’t expect flesh that shines so golden like the sun. Its initial heat yields to a lingering earthiness and zest. What better antidote to winter’s chill? The Mindful Kitchen Recipe: Ginger Tea Enjoy the bright yet earthy spice of ginger with a cup of soothing tea. Peel and slice a 2-inch knob of ginger and throw it in a pot with a couple cups of water....

The Mindful Kitchen: Roasted Garlic Grab a head or two of garlic and preheat your oven to 400°. Peel away the loose outer layers of skin, leaving the whole head intact. Trim about a quarter-inch from the top of the head, exposing the cloves. Place the garlic on a sheet of aluminum foil, drizzle it with olive oil, wrap it up, and bake until each clove is soft and golden—40 minutes, give or take....

However, not all peaches are made equal. When not quite ripe or in season, peaches can be mealy, dry, and lacking in flavor. A sure way to improve the flavor and texture of less-than-ideal peaches is by cooking them, which helps loosen up their juices and soften their texture. Nothing beats a perfect peach, so for something truly spectacular, try this recipe with ripe fruit. The Mindful Kitchen: Try This Recipe for Grilled Peaches Pit and slice some peaches to about half-inch thickness....

Food for Thought Regular mindfulness practice may temper food-related desires in daily life. In a small preliminary study, Esther Papies of Utrecht University and her colleagues surveyed 33 meditators, and results showed practitioners who were able to detach themselves from thoughts about food—for instance, viewing their reaction to, say, a tempting chocolate as a “transient mental event” that soon fades away—had fewer food cravings. That was more so for women than for men....

We curate this website in order to deliver the heart of what mindfulness is. Because it’s heart work. It’s hard work. It takes practice, and it’s worth it. Whether you’re in need of a better night’s sleep, a chance to practice gratitude, or simply a reminder to take a deep breath, here are our most popular guided meditations from 2018. The Top 10 Guided Meditations of 2018: A Basic Breathing Meditation....

A 12-Minute Loving-Kindness Meditation to Check in with Yourself read more Stacee Reicherzer June 16, 2022 Aden Van Noppen June 23, 2022 Barry Boyce August 2, 2022

For the past few months I’ve made it a conscious goal to shift how I relate to unwanted interruptions. I try to be mindful in all my relationships, but for some reason my good intentions can quickly go down the toilet in the presence of a faceless pair of ears paid to listen to me rant. Spending hours on the phone being bounced around through call centers can incite strong emotions in me, such as outrage, victimization, and irritability....