Who we have been talking to and working with.

When any business first starts out, and you are talking to a new client, one of the first questions you are asked is who are you woking with? So I thought I would share some of the interesting organisations we are now working with and groups we are being asked to speak to. 

Last year Karen ran a couple of sessions for Semafone during their Mental Health Awareness week and is going to be running 3 sessions this year. Mental Health awareness week is 14th-20th of  May this year.  

Ann spoke to the  Local Employer Network in Exeter for organisations who've committed to promoting & supporting mental health at work - the title was 'The Power of Thought on Our Wellbeing'. 

The Corporate Soul team were at the CIPD Health and Well being conference at Exeter Race course in October and we also attended the Eden Project the previous year where we ran a workshop. 

In January Tara delivered a workshop for the Birmingham Branch of Women in Banking and Finance. The session was called Build Resilience Reduce Stress, we had over 45 participants and they all loved the Mindful Movement session.  This helps to reduce the tension in our neck and shoulders caused by too much sitting at the wheel of a car or a desk. 

In February Tara ran a couple of workshops on Mindfulness and Resilience for a Major Retailer, the audience was made up of store mangers and regional contacts, when they had completed the breathing and Mindful Movement practice, the Group HR director commented on how peaceful the energy in the room felt. 

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Tara has also been working with a Birmingham based charity RSVP, she is designing a series of Lunch and Learn workshops with the following themes. Motivation, Values Alignment, Resilience and Stress and Ways of Working. 

If you would like to know how we can help your organisation then please get in touch. 

If you would like to experience  Mindful Movement it is available as a download at the shop or you can  purchase our beautiful USB's which have 3 meditation practices and a relaxation audio. Shop

Research on the Health Benefits of Meditation

The benefits of meditation have been been widely talked about in the press over the years, and the focus of these articles has mainly been on reducing stress and anxiety, however, the benefits are wider ranging than this, there is scientific evidence of many health and well being benefits with the regular practice of meditation.

 Included are

  • Reducing heart attack and stroke risk

  • Reducing blood pressure

  • Improving sleep patterns

  • Balancing the immune system

  • Helping prevent depression

  • Improving cognitive function, including memory, intelligence, learning ability and concentration.

  • Lowering cortisol levels which reduces stress

  • Improving Diabetes sypmtoms

  • Improving Asthma symptoms

Below are a few articles that have been published in recent years.  

Science Now magazine, Meditation halves risk of heart attack (Nov 2009) Meditation can cut the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death by almost 50% in patients with existing coronary heart disease, according to a new clinical trial. The findings indicate that relaxation and mental focusing can be as effective as powerful new drugs in treating heart disease.

Nurse.com (Feb 2010) Recent studies of mindfulness meditation have shown evidence it may bolster the immune system and slow the progression of disease in patients with HIV/AIDS, improve blood pressure and reduce psychological distress in young adults, improve the emotional well-being and mental health of breast cancer patients, and be as effective as medications in treating insomnia.

USA Today (Aug 2009) Meditation being used in hospitals and schools. … Studies suggest the practice can ease pain, improve concentration and immune function, lower blood pressure, curb anxiety and insomnia, and possibly even help prevent depression.

www.NHS.uk/news There is now hard evidence that meditation can cut stress, newspapers reported October 10 2007

www.nhs.uk Meditation lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

New York Times 2007 Recent research has shown that meditation is good for the brain. It appears to increase grey matter, improve the immune system, reduce stress and promote a sense of wellbeing.

The Daily Telegraph “after meditation training of 20 minutes once a day for only five days, people, had measurably less anxiety and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

CNN, July 2000 and referencing the March edition of the journal Stroke Practising meditation may play an important role in controlling certain risk factors for heart disease. Practice for 20 minutes a day has a positive, measurable effect on the build up of fatty deposits in arteries or atherosclerosis…just a small reduction could reduce the risk of heart attack by 11 % and reduce the risk of stroke by 15%.

There is significant data that meditation can enhance healing – Executive Director, Centre for Mindfulness in Medicine, University of Massachusetts

Dr Craig Hassed, senior lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences at Melbourne's Monash University, says: "Meditation is a great adjunct for a lot of things, from chronic pain to improving sleep, helping reduce blood pressure and coping with stress, anxiety and depression."

Arthritis Today magazine Recent studies suggest meditation may balance the immune system to help the body resist disease. Many doctors today are recommending meditation; it is taught in many clinics, hospitals and health trusts, and is endorsed by universities such as Harvard and Stanford. It is becoming an accepted therapy for many conditions; some insurance providers are even paying for it because it doesn’t require medications, special equipment, or lengthy doctor’s visits.

BBC News (November 2009) Meditation ‘eases heart disease’. The American Heart Association said they had randomly assigned 201 African Americans to meditate or to make lifestyle changes. After nine years, the meditation group had a 47% reduction in deaths, heart attacks and strokes. The research was carried out by the Medical College of Wisconsin with the Maharishi University in Iowa.

Times Online Meditation therapy should be routinely available on the NHS to treat recurring depression and to help tackle Britain’s growing mental health problems, according to a new report. The study, commissioned by the Mental Health Foundation, found that fewer than one in 20 GPs prescribed meditation therapy for patients suffering depression, despite NHS guidance suggesting that it could halve depression relapse rates.

University Hospital Varanasi 1988 a study of over 1000 patients who had no relief from normal medical interventions had either complete relief or partial relief of their symptoms in 80% of cases, they were suffering  from Diabetes, Asthma, Rheumatoid Arthritis, IBS, Anxiety and Thyrotoxicosis. 

If you would like to know how a meditation programme can help the well being of your staff then please get in touch.