Deepak Chopra* was asked, "What are your most important health factors?":

"Good sleep, daily exercise and meditation and not taking myself seriously".

*A physician, endocrinologist, mystic and the best-selling author of many books, Deepak Chopra is almost synonymous with the major paradigm shift in the growing worldview of health as a product of body-mind-spirit interdependence. Instrumental in triggering many inquiries into the extent and nature of this Relationship by academics and enlightened medical professionals throughout the world, he lectures around the world, making presentations to major corporations and organizations such as the World Health Organisation in Geneva, the United Nations, and London's Royal Society of Medicine, as well as a number of major US medical institutions.

Dr Daniel Lewis reports in his latest Fibromyalgia Update newsletter:

"Research in the area of fibromyalgia has continued to gather pace. I have recently attended a conference summarising the last 12 months of research.

Sleep Important in Fibromyalgia Recovery

This is yet another study showing that getting optimal sleep is important for recovering from fibromyalgia and handling life stresses as well.

89 women with fibromyalgia kept a daily diary of both their sleep quality and fibromyalgia symptoms.

The authors concluded:

"Sleep duration and quality were prospectively related to mood affect and fatigue. Furthermore, the effects of inadequate sleep on negative affect were cumulative. There are now many sleep laboratory studies showing that those with very poor sleep might have a type of disordered sleep breathing (a type of sleep apnoea). Poor sleep can be due to any form of stress and contributes very significantly to poor memory and concentration.

When individuals without fibromyalgia have even mild stress they developed a characteristic slightly abnormal sleep pattern which consist of frequent arousals from deep sleep. Throughout the night these individuals go in and out of deep sleep. It is as if the brain is on alert just in case there is a need to become physically active at short notice.

Once the stress has resolved the sleep pattern returns to normal. In individuals with fibromyalgia "frequent arousal" occur but do not naturally resolve.

This common sleep disordered pattern is associated with the development of many symptoms".

More than Meditation

Thursday 25th February, 2010

6 consecutive Thursday evenings 7pm-8.30pm
Augustine Centre - 2 Minona St, Hawthorn 3122

Each year the numbers participating in our course grow. This tells me there is increasing interest for people to learn simple and effective ways to manage the stress of living and to enhance health.

Not only is this trend of embracing mind body techniques to enhance health becoming more popular in these difficult economic times, it can be a boon to your pocketbook because there is no ongoing cost.

Details: http://www.pathways2wellbeing.com.au or to download printable brochure click here.

The basis of all techniques is focus and attention. These exercises help train our capacity to concentrate.

We learn to focus to bring the unending stream of thoughts in our mind to a standstill and to limit the number of thoughts in our mind to only those that are relevant for the present moment.

For many, emptying our mind through focus and concentration is the most difficult but perhaps also the most important aspect of meditating.

Please click here to read more about this article.

Additional meditation articles can also be found on the articles page on our website.

When you are aware of your body, breath and immediate environment, you are more fully "in the moment." Your mind is in a receptive state, with fewer mental distractions that can prevent clear thinking. An simple mindful exercise before important mental tasks will give you greater brain power, specifically more focus and concentration.

Please click here to print out your copy of a simple mindful exercise to practice at your leisure.