Ian-Gawler-My-Meditation-app

Want to keep in touch, meditate with me, continue to learn and deepen your meditation, and use my guided exercises via a simple to use App?

All this is now possible with the My Meditation app. It provides both a complete meditation course as well as support for your practice. It has a new, updated version and is working reliably.

This week, a request for you to join me via the app (with details of how to access it further down this post), plus details of what the app offers and how to use it, but first



         Thought for the day

                If the doors of perception were cleansed

                Everything would appear
               As it is …
               Infinite.

                          William Blake








The My Meditation app has been named to make it easy. “What meditation app are you using to learn, deepen and support your meditation?” My Meditation App!

The app itself has grown out of several years developing a web based meditation program (Mindbody Mastery), and 3 years of app development with my partner in this venture, Saurabh Mishra.

Earlier research showed that within 3 months, people using this program actually tripled the amount of practice they did, and even more amazingly, they tripled their sense of satisfaction with their practice.

This latest release of the app is comprehensive in the features it offers, and it is working very reliably.

It provides a complete meditation course, as well as a support for your practice.

THE TEACHINGS
While you can download all the exercises from day one and simply use the practice functions of the app, there is a complete training offered through the app.

This will be excellent as a meditation review for many of you, but as the course unfolds, it does include a thorough training in contemplation and guided imagery - with the support of guided exercises for those practices as well.

How the teaching component works
The teaching program is structured over an initial period of 8 weeks. Each week you are provided with the appropriate guided exercise to practice for that week, along with a PDF delivered to your email explaining what to do. Also, daily emails are integrated into the program to add extra tips, insights and inspiration.

In the first 8 weeks we cover relaxation, concentration, mindfulness, stillness, contemplation on gratitude and guided imagery. Then the program moves on to consolidate meditation with additional exercises to download, all supported by the daily emails.

Meditate with me - virtually

A new feature we have finally been able to implement (this was the hardest thing for our talented developers to work out how to do) is that twice a week I have set up a group meditation that we can all link to.

I will be practicing with you at home or wherever I happen to be - the joys of an app - and you will receive an automatic reminder and can then join in with me and others wherever you happen to be around the world.

Personally, I find meditating together like this quite inspiring and very helpful for deepening practice, so look forward to continuing this.

Once you have signed up to the app, it is quite easy to opt in.

If you choose, you can also use the app to set up your own separate virtual meditation group with your friends.


Contemplation and Guided Imagery
To be frank, the real aim of the app has been to encourage and support people to develop a daily meditation practice and sustain it. We know from experience that this is not easy, so we have taken a long view to this.

The first year of the program is devoted primarily to all facets of Relaxation, Mindfulness and Meditation. Then, in the second year, we move on to focus for 6 months on Contemplation, followed by 6 months on Guided Imagery. The teachings are quite comprehensive and will hopefully help you expand your understanding and use all of these key practices.

What else can I do with My Meditation app ?

• Access a range of useful guided exercises (same content as the earlier Mindbody Mastery program).

• Customise your practice sessions - you can combine exercises, add bells to start and finish and include silent times as you choose - a very popular feature. Means you can personally adjust how much silence you want and set the content and length of what you listen to.

• Join virtual meditation groups - I have setup virtual group meditation sessions at 8pm AEST for every Tuesday and 12 noon AEST on Wednesdays. If you are in USA or Europe, one of these times should still work well for you. Once you join a group, the app lets you know when the next session is about to start. Then at the allotted time, you just open the app and the tracks I have chosen are broadcast for all to hear, and we meditate together.

• Be supported with daily emails that are fully integrated with the program.

• There is a mindfulness reminder bell function that you can set for whenever you choose.

Many enjoy this function too - at the times you set the bell will sound on your phone reminding you to pause, check your mindfulness and your state of relaxation too if you choose, recalibrate if necessary, and then go on with your day more mindfully.




Please do give us feedback
We are very happy with this new release and feedback from early users has been very positive, however, the app will continue to be upgraded based on feedback and new developments, so please do share with me any questions or feedback - via info@insighthealth.com.au.

Getting started 

The Cost
Only US$5.99 per month, or alternately you can take 3-month (US$16.99), 12-month (US$43.99) or 36-month (US$109.99) subscriptions that come with substantial discounts. Of course there is a free trial option, but why not dive in???

For iPhone/iPad users 
1. If you are viewing this on your device -  Tap here

2. If you are viewing this on your computer, you will need to use your device - iPhone, iPad etc - and go to the App Store. Search for mymeditationapp (all as one word). (Note: Ours is a new app, and you may need to scroll down the list to find it. It is called My Meditation and the title features Imageryworks - our business name. Persevere and you will find it!) Download the app, sign up, and off you go.

For Android users 
1. if you are viewing this on your device – Tap here

2. If you are viewing this on your computer, you will need to use your phone etc and go into Playstore. Search for My Meditation app. Download it, sign up, and off you go.

To visit the related website, go to www.meditationapp.net

Some extra clarity

Some of you may have been using, or heard of the Meditation Gateway app, which is a precursor of the My Meditation app.

With very similar features, we made Meditation Gateway app an open platform where any meditation teacher can upload their own material and offer their programs to their students.

We are also looking to offer this platform to corporations like Health Insurance funds, who are happier to endorse a multi-teacher platform so their members can have a choice of programs that suit their particular requirements.


The Meditation Gateway app is currently being upgraded to the same new standards as My Meditation, however, it is still a work in progress and will be released in its new format in a few weeks.

My material is also available in the Meditation Gateway app and there it is called Mindbody Mastery. The content is very similar to that on the My Meditation app, so if you are using that already, no need to switch. There are virtual group meditation sessions in this program too.

Thanks to those of you already involved in this new network of app meditators; looking forward to linking with more of you...

Please do consider sharing these details with your friends
We are hoping this app will make it possible to help many people in a very direct way.  The more of us using it, the more momentum we will all gather… You can use this link

THE NEED - a quote…

Historically, the general public has not conceptualized meditation as a quick fix toward anything. It is a skill or state one learns and practices over time to increase one’s awareness, and through this awareness gain insight and understanding into the various subtleties of one’s existence. Training the mind in awareness, non-judgmentalness, and the ability to become completely free of thoughts or other activity are daunting accomplishments. 

While some meditators may feel these tasks are easy, they likely overestimate their own skills due to a lack of awareness of the different degrees to which these tasks can be done or the ability to objectively measure their own progress. Since becoming an expert at simple skills such as swimming, reading, or writing (which can be objectively measured by others) takes a considerable amount of time, it follows that meditation would also take a long period of time to master. 

FROM
Comparative Effectiveness Reviews  (No. 124 : Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-Being) prepared for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

RUTH'S NEXT MEDITATION RETREAT  

COMING SOON

Reconnecting to Ourselves

3rd - 9th December 2018

Yarra Valley Living Centre, Victoria

This is an opportunity to take time out and deeply reconnect with your self through a nourishing and rejuvenating week of meditation and self compassion practices.

Enjoy gentle movement, delicious vegetarian meals made with love, and time and space to relax in a beautiful, natural environment.

Very highly recommended. This will be a wonderful, wonderful week...

Details - Click here

The-latest-meditation-research-Does-it-work?

Meditation is consistently identified by GPs as one of their most accepted “non-medical” interventions. Therapeutic meditation has widespread acceptance, largely due to what is perceived to be a large body of positive research. Of course, in clinical experience, many doctors have witnessed the wide range benefits flowing into meditator’s lives.

But what interesting new research is there? And what does closer scrutiny using meta-analysis techniques reveal? To counsel people appropriately, meditation teachers and clinicians alike need to know the answers, so this week we ask the hard question… Does meditation and mindfulness really work?

Also, good news with the widely updated and improved version of my meditation app ready for release in a week or two (details will follow on the next blog post), but first

Thought for the day

                  A Black Swan Event 

1. Is an outlier, as it lies outside the realm of regular expectations, because nothing in the past can convincingly point to its possibility.
2. It carries an extreme 'impact'. 
3. In spite of its outlier status, 
human nature makes us concoct explanations 
for its occurrence after the fact, 
making it explainable and predictable.

In summary, this is what characterises
a Black Swan Event  - rarity, extreme 'impact', 
and retrospective (though not prospective) predictability. 

A small number of Black Swans explain 
almost everything in our world, 
from the success of ideas and religions, 
to the dynamics of historical events, 
to elements of our own personal lives.

                                               Nassim Taleb


PART 1 Some interesting recent research

1. Mindfulness changes brain structure and improves mental health
Building upon earlier research and following a brief 8 weeks Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training program, researchers identified significant brain changes - cortical thickness increase in the right insula and the somatosensory cortex - coupled with a significant reduction of several psychological markers related to worry, state anxiety, depression and alexithymia.

Taken together, these findings also provide new and plausible neurobiological evidence of a major role of the right insula in mediating the observed psychological changes.

Santarnecchi et al. Interaction between Neuroanatomical and Psychological Changes after Mindfulness-Based Training. PLoS ONE 9(10): e108359. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0108359


2. Meditation is anti-inflammatory
A new and rigorously designed mindfulness study, by the Georgetown University Medical centre, showed that hormonal, inflammatory reactions to stress were reduced after meditation training.

Hoge EA et al. 2018, The effect of mindfulness training on biological acute stress responses in generalised anxiety disorder. Psychiatry Res; 262, 328-332.


3. Meditation improves quality of life for breast cancer survivors

Women who had been treated for breast cancer and were cancer free were taught to meditate and the effects evaluated.

Over time, the group that meditated reported significant decreases in depression, anxiety, perceived stress, and an increase in quality of life, satisfaction with life, post-traumatic growth and quality of sleep.

Significantly, participants had a high attendance rate in the program, which speaks to the likelihood of the applicability of the meditation program on an outpatient basis.


Yun MR et al.  The Effects of Mind Subtraction Meditation on Breast Cancer Survivors' Psychological and Spiritual Well-being and Sleep Quality: A Randomized Controlled Trial in South Korea. Cancer Nurs. 2017 Sep/Oct 40(5); 377-385.


PART 2 The analysis
In scientific circles, one study is a bit like one swallow - it does not a summer make. To analyse a number of studies in the one field, complex, modern techniques use what is called meta-analysis to tease out wider and hopefully more accurate conclusions. While there is increasing criticism of the way in which meta-analyses are conducted, they do remain a “gold-standard” for current researchers.

Given the huge increase in the number of meditation and mindfulness studies, meta-analyses are becoming more possible. Here we reveal 2 specific reviews, and one wider one.

1. Does meditation improve cognitive function in the elderly?

Well this is good news - even if a little cautious!

With so many people worried about loss of mental capacity with aging, and so many actually developing dementia, researchers analysed the scientific literature on meditation and concluded : "There is preliminary evidence that meditation can improve cognitive function."

They then investigated the results of 6 Mindfulness Based Interventions in older people based upon MBSR and MBCT. They reported preliminary positive effects on memory, executive function and processing speed.

However, most reports had a high risk of bias and sample sizes were small. The only study with low risk of bias, large sample size and active control group reported no significant findings.

The conclusion? More research is needed, and while meditation and mindfulness may well be useful for the elderly, maybe it is wise to start meditation at an early age!

Berkl L et al.  Can mindfulness-based interventions influence cognitive functioning in older adults? A review and considerations for future research. Aging Mental Health 2017 Nov : 21 (11):1113-1120. 

2. Does meditation reduce stress and anxiety in college students?
We hear a good deal about meditation and mindfulness providing effective self-help solutions for stress and anxiety. Many studies have focused on the impacts upon students, so how do those studies stack up when researched objectively?

In this analysis of 57 studies, researchers examined anxiety in 40 studies, self-reported stress in 34, physiological stress in 11, and mindfulness in 24.

Thirty-three of 40 and 25 of 34 studies showed significant decreases in anxiety and stress respectively; 22 of 24 showed an increase in mindfulness.

Physiological stress had inconsistent results indicating a need for further research.



Overall, the researchers concluded that mindfulness meditation shows promise in reducing stress and anxiety in college students. Additionally, there are a number of differences in mindfulness interventions including frequency, duration, instructional method, and inclusion of yoga, that need quantitative examination (meta-analysis) to determine which is most effective.

Bamber MD, Kraenzle Scheider J, Mindfulness-based meditation to decrease stress and anxiety in college students: A narrative synthesis of the research. Education Research Review, May 2016; Vol 18, P1-32.  doi:10.1016/j.edurev.2015.12.004

3. Therapeutic meditation - is it effective?

This is the big one! A large group of investigators from Johns Hopkins University’s Evidence-based Practice Center in Baltimore, set out to determine the efficacy of meditation programs in improving stress-related outcomes in a wide range of adults. They used very stringent standards for their investigation.

Remarkably, they were able to examine 18,753 studies! But then they selected only randomized clinical trials with active controls for placebo effects. Next the strength of evidence was graded using risk of bias, precision, directness, and consistency, and then the group determined the magnitude and direction of effect by calculating the relative difference between groups in change from baseline. When possible, meta-analyses were conducted using standardized mean differences to obtain aggregate estimates of effect size with 95% confidence intervals.

Only 47 trials (with 3515 participants) met the criteria to be included in the final analysis. Perhaps saying “only” here is a bit unkind, given the stringent criteria set for this meta-analysis.

What does the meta-analysis show? 



Mindfulness meditation programs had moderate evidence of improved anxiety at 3-6 months,

depression at 8 weeks and at 3-6 months, and pain and low evidence of improved stress/distress and mental health-related quality of life.

The analysis found low evidence of no effect or insufficient evidence of any effect of meditation programs on positive mood, attention, substance use, eating habits, sleep, and weight.


Significantly, no evidence was found to demonstrate that meditation programs were better than any active treatment (ie, drugs, exercise, and other behavioural therapies).

Conclusions and Relevance
The researchers suggested clinicians should be aware that meditation programs can result in small to moderate reductions of multiple negative dimensions of psychological stress. Thus, clinicians should be prepared to talk with their patients about the role that a meditation program could have in addressing psychological stress. Stronger study designs are needed to determine the effects of meditation programs in improving the positive dimensions of mental health and stress-related behaviour.

It is worth noting most studies only evaluated short-term effects, and there may well be significant differences between different techniques and different times people spend practicing these techniques - see the next article…

Goyal, M et al. Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2014 Mar;174(3):357-68. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.13018.


FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR MEDITATION RESEARCH
The JAMA article that is cited above and forms the basis of this article was itself based on a more comprehensive report, one in a series of Comparative Effectiveness Reviews
(No. 124 : Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-Being) prepared for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/ehc/products/375/1830/Meditation-report-140106.pdf

That report makes good reading, part of the conclusion having great relevance to the therapeutic application of meditation and something we are bound to hear more of as meditation is used more widely for its healing potential. A quote from the report…

Historically, the general public has not conceptualized meditation as a quick fix toward anything. It is a skill or state one learns and practices over time to increase one’s awareness, and through this awareness gain insight and understanding into the various subtleties of one’s existence. 

Training the mind in awareness, non-judgmentalness, and the ability to become completely free of thoughts or other activity are daunting accomplishments. 

While some meditators may feel these tasks are easy, they likely overestimate their own skills due to a lack of awareness of the different degrees to which these tasks can be done or the ability to objectively measure their own progress. Since becoming an expert at simple skills such as swimming, reading, or writing (which can be objectively measured by others) takes a considerable amount of time, it follows that meditation would also take a long period of time to master. 

However many of the studies included in this review were short term (e.g., 2.5 hours a week for 8 weeks), and the participants likely did not achieve a level of expertise needed to improve outcomes that depend on a mastery of mental and emotional processes. The short-term nature of the studies, combined with the lack of an adequate way to measure meditation competency, could have significantly contributed to results.

Lots to contemplate in all of this ……