Help! I’ve Gone Out and Left My Brain at Home

Here I sit, dumbfounded.

I get into my little truck and head for Home Depot.  I pull into the lot of the Quarry Shopping Center in Minneapolis and find a great parking space perfectly in between the entrance and exit; all is right with the world.  I walk in, grab a cart and head right for ….

I cannot remember what the hell I came in to buy.

So looking back, there I sat, dumbfounded.

Good News, Bad News

Okay, the first thing you say is that I was having a senior moment, a brain fart, or whatever,  The reality is this- I have been doing this all of my adult life, from time to time.  And …

It’s at least half good news.

Here is the bad news part of it.  I have somehow stressed myself out. This is exactly what happens when I am experiencing an overload of stress.

Good news — I realize, this is my red light on the dashboard – that I am carrying more stress than I thought.

Good news 2.0 – New Scientist reports on a study originating in China in cooperation with the University of Oregon.  Using Integrative Body-Mind Training (IBMT), stress measurements were decreased significantly.

Why is this big news?

The current research shows a decrease in stress reaction and an increase in attention using this process in as little as a week.  The researchers divided a group of students into two groups – a control group and another using IBMT.

Those using IBMT (and the others using a standard mindfulness technique) practiced 20 minutes a day for 5 days.

IBMT, short for integrative body mind technique, is said in this press release from the University of Oregon to be practiced by thousands of people in China. It is also being taught to dozens of students at UO, who are taking part in research of the practice. Why do we care?  Because unlike most meditative relaxation techniques which take months or years to master, IBMT can help Americans relax the way they like to do everything: fast. University of Oregon researchers have found evidence that IBMT produces measurable changes in attention and stress reduction in just five days.

Brain scans using fMRI showed, according to a post by SportsGeezer

• increased brain blood flow in significant areas related to self-regulation;
• lower heart rates;
• lower skin conductance responses;
• increased belly breathing amplitude; and
• decreased chest respiration rates

These effects, according to researchers, “reflected less effort exerted by participants and more relaxation of body and calm state of mind.”

The first quality of this training that attracted me was that it sidestepped any effort to control thoughts, something I see as futile and a discouraging factor for those new at meditation and mindfulness practice.

IBMT avoids struggles to control thought, relying instead on a state of restful alertness, allowing for a high degree of body-mind awareness while receiving instructions from a coach, who provides breath-adjustment guidance and mental imagery and other techniques., while soothing music plays in the background. Thought control is achieved gradually through posture, relaxation, body-mind harmony and balanced breathing. A good coach is critical, Tang said. University of Oregon

I am looking for more information on the practice itself and will present it here.  When I find it, you will have it.

Oh, yeah, now I know, I was going to get Velcro strips to hold this little thingymabob still on my desk.

Now I think of it!  Back to Home Depot.  I have it on a list now.

Mike

Art via  alicepopkorn’s photostream

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