- Why does mindfulness meditation begin by focusing on the breath?
- Does mindfulness-based somatic awareness (cultivated through attention to breath, body sensations) change the brain?
- Our lab investigates mindful body awareness as an “active ingredient” in mindfulness meditation, Tai Chi and other mind-body therapies.
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“Mindfulness starts with the body: a view from the brain.” TED talk by Catherine Kerr, Director of Translational Neuroscience, Contemplative Studies Initiative Assistant Professor (Research), Department of Family Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI.
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Before arriving at Brown, Dr. Kerr was at Harvard Medical School where her original focus was on developing innovative approaches for investigating placebo effects. Currently, her work focuses on using Magnetoencephalography (MEG) and other tools to investigate brain mechanisms underlying body-based attention and healing in mindfulness and other mind-body practices such as Tai Chi; http://mindinbodylab.org/.
TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, under the slogan “ideas worth spreading.” It is headquartered in New York City and Vancouver, BC; www.ted.com.
Dear Peter, how good it is to read your blog. I do miss our weekly web mindfulness meditations, and am sad that I am not able to be in Victoria on Tuesdays to attend in person.
🙂 Monica
Hi Peter – Just found your blog on the Coursera website – I believe we are both doing the course on the Brain. I have also just completed the Jon Kabat-Zin course on MBSR and am enrolled at Stellenbosch University for a 2 year post-graduate Diploma Course in Mindfulness Based Interventions. On graduation I will be qualified to teach the MBSR