Musician Anoushka Shankar on why she skips cloggy carbs and how peace can be found when everything comes together.

Find your fitI discovered exercise as an adult. The first thing that I loved was yoga, which I started doing when I was 20. Fitness is a way to take care of my body and mind. I find the rest of my day goes better when I exercise. Its an investment that really pays dividends.

Routine readyI am not very militant about exercise as it depends on my kids and my work. I do yoga and pilates. I work with a trainer with whom I do resistance and weight training. I used to jog a little bit before but I am not doing cardio as much since my surgery last summer. For now, I am walking uphill on a treadmill.

Morning mantraI prefer to exercise in the morning. This way, once its done in the morning, I can shower and get dressed for the day. But sometimes its really nice to do a little bit of gentle yin yoga at the end of the day.

Focus groupI have some special exercises that are more focussed on my arms and my back. This includes how to keep my hips more comfortable in the sitting position.

Diet detailsMy diet is balanced. I just try to get enough vegetables. When I want to feel a bit trimmer, like after Christmas, I pare down my meals. For breakfast I will have a green smoothie with greens, avocado, peanut butter, spirulina, MCT oil (medium-chain triglycerides), seeds its really nutritious. Then I will have a big lunch of protein and vegetables.

As a snack, I will have a rice cake with hummus and then I just do broth at dinner. I eat fish to keep my mind sharp.

Mind mattersI try to meditate regularly a short session in the morning and at bedtime. I try to read a lot. Taking a walk in nature also helps me clear my mind.

Soul searchingI can get addicted to busyness and that kind of stressed and adrenalised living, which does not suit my soul at all. So I try to protect times that are not busy or filled with technology or screens. Connection feeds my soul. Connection with myself, other people, nature and art. It takes a lot of elements to come together and be in a good place.

7 Jun, 2018

7 Jun, 2018

7 Jun, 2018

7 Jun, 2018

7 Jun, 2018

View original post here:

Exercise, meditation, nature: Anoushka Shankars tips to keep body and mind in tune - Economic Times

Still, just over three years later, Ive remained personally sceptical about mindfulness meditation. As someone who writes about mental health and wellbeing as part of their job, I regularly write about mindfulness meditation as a method of self-care (and, as Ive already said, I know lots of people find it incredibly helpful), but personally, Ive always remained a bit averse to giving it another try.

But then came the coronavirus pandemic. There I was, minding my business, managing my anxiety and OCD as I have for the last couple of years, when suddenly the gravity of a massive global event marched right into my (and everyones) life. I, like many people, felt that familiar feeling of anxiety beginning to creep back into my everyday routine. Dont get me wrong my anxiety is nothing like it used to be but it made me aware of how little attention Id been paying to my mental health over the last couple of months.

With this in mind, I decided to give mindfulness meditation a second chance. Instead of expecting it to treat my mental health condition and rid me of anxiety forever, I came at it from a relaxed perspective. At a time when so many of us are trying to take care of our mental health, could mindfulness meditation help me to feel more on top of my thoughts and feelings?

Read the original here:

Does mindfulness meditation actually work? One sceptic put it to the test - Stylist Magazine

Tea ceremony exploration led by Nicoletta De La Brown, with RZA and the campers. Courtesy of TAZO

"I feel [that] transitions and shifts are happening [with us] now. When I was on my walk, I was observing the space in general, and instead of looking at the top of the trees, I was visually [thinking of] the roots and [downward]. Doing that helped me see that we're all connected," said camper Peter Lange. All of the campers were in agreement, sharing that they'd hope to continue a yearly retreat outside of Camp TAZO.

"I'm forever changed because I really am," said camper Julian, who later photographed RZA. "I feel like everyone wants to collaborate and no one wants to do the work, but everyone here has left [an] impact on me [within] 24 hours, and that's crazy to say."

"Yesterday, it was okay to be vulnerable, [we] were touched by everyone's artistic ability. What I got from walking to the water and listening to [Guided Explorations] the rocks are there, but the water was high, which means shit was heavy. We all [have] weight on us, but the water was not out of bounds, it's still in control," said camper Tishmone.

Fellow camper Marjua Estevez, who was moved to tears from the experience, shared that she previously didn't want to attend Camp TAZO, as the trip was held shortly after she moved to Miami, leaving her feeling displaced. "The last place I wanted to be was here, I didn't want to be with strangers, I didn't want to share anything about myself, I wanted to shrink myself and be invisible," she said. "Knowing what I know now, I would've regretted not coming here. Hearing everyone's stories gave me permission to reclaim parts of myself that I had lost."

It seemed that our intentions from the first day had been fulfilled, prompting an emotional finale of Camp TAZO: Zen. RZA explained that the program wasn't just for advertisement purposes, but connecting participants to fulfill their own artistic vision, just as he did with Wu-Tang Clan. "My potential is bringing people together, and when they come together, it's up to them to exchange, stay together, and create something great," he said.

After we left for our respective states, despite only attending the retreat for two days, our group chat still remains active. Whether seeking wisdom from RZA or wanting an opportunity to travel, each camper reconnected with their creative abilities and a new alliance.

For RZA, the group's connection was simple: "I looked at everybody [and thought] that maybe there was something I could add on to. I saw a spark in every one of y'all [and] understood where you guys were in your creative process," he said. "All these different personalities are within this group of people. I chose everybody for a specific reason, and I feel really confident in that."

View post:

I spent 3 days at an exclusive 'zen' meditation retreat on Staten Island, where Wu-Tang Clan's RZA led tea ceremonies and told us how to unlock our...

[Source: @hannahmcswain via Twenty20]

Gaining the ability to mold and manipulate metals was one of humanitys great leaps forward. It has allowed us to build and make things, like tall buildings and great ships, that have strength and permanence to weather the vicissitudes of nature and time. So much technology that makes our lives comfortable todaycars, trains, computers, and moredepend on it, too.

Also, metal carries energy better than any other element. Electrical wires and circuit boards are evidence of this. Metal is also necessary for life, and our bodies must have metals like zinc, copper, and iron in the right amounts to function properly. Thus, when we connect to the energy of metal, we are connecting to a source of strength and to a means of energy circulation.

In our lives, we can take on the characteristics of metal to make ourselves stronger, both mentally and physically. When we exercise in a gym, we can pump iron to make our muscles big and strong, and we will become weak and listless if we dont consume enough metal micronutrients, like iron and copper. But, more importantly, our minds need to take on the traits of metal to develop strength of character and the drive to succeed. Otherwise, we are just like a building built of sticks instead of steel beams, and we will fall over when the first storm comes along.

But how does one develop true metal, a character that maintains drive and tenacity, even when everything seems to be going terribly wrong? This is a very important question since this trait is what allows achievement and separates greatness from mediocrity. Fortunately, this is something you can nurture within yourself; you do not have to be born with a steely personality. Focusing on the energetic nature of metal can help you build it within yourself.

To bring the elemental energy of metal into your daily life, I recommend having some metal objects in your home, such as bronze sculptures, metal picture frames, or brass fixtures. However, you dont need these things to bring this energy into yourself. The standing meditation below uses very common metal objectscoins or even your favorite jewelryto connect with metal and to build strength in your physical energy center, the dahnjon. Heres what you do:

While this exercise will indeed strengthen your physical body, it will also strengthen your resolve. At first, it will not be comfortable and you will need to force yourself to complete 5 minutes and then to add minutes later on. By adding time little by little, you will teach yourself to accept temporary, minor discomfort for the sake of a goal.

As you practice this, try to also watch yourself and your own character closely as you go about your day. When do you choose comfort in favor of moving forward toward your goals? If you are willing to take yourself out of the comfort zone little by little while moving toward your goals and visions, you will also be moving yourself toward the highest version of yourself.

See original here:

Five Elements Nature Meditation: Metal for Strength and Determination - Patheos

Meditate with scenes from the North Shore.

Derek Montgomery for MPR News

A guided meditation with North Shore scenes.

With Minnesotas stay-at-home order extended until May 4, were all finding our lives changed, disrupted and paused in any number of ways.

Despite orders to stay in place, it can still be difficult to find a sense of stillness with the constant flow of news, especially if we live with others or work in an essential field.

Ben Connelly is a Soto Zen and secular mindfulness teacher based at the Minneapolis Zen Meditation Center. He teaches classes focusing on things from addiction recovery to police training. We spoke about how to bring some Zen practices into your life during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has been shortened and edited for clarity.

Watch the video above for a short guided meditation.

Zen meditation is practicing being where you are in the way that is most beneficial to yourself and everyone. What that usually looks like is sitting in an upright posture and usually focusing on the breathing, and letting the attention to the breathing help you be more aware of your own body, your own feelings, be more aware of your surroundings, your sensory experience and your mind.

Zen is a sect of Buddhism that originated in China about 1,500 years ago.

In Zen, we focus on sitting meditation practice. A very simple approach to drawing attention into the body and the senses. In our Soto Zen school, Im a Soto Zen priest, we emphasize wholehearted activity. That is doing simple tasks, or actually any tasks with your whole attention and your whole heart, and letting go of a focus on an outcome.

One of the ways its often used is things like cleaning, sweeping. There are a lot of famous Zen stories about Zen masters sweeping the floor. Cooking, washing the dishes. Because its hard to focus in this way sometimes when you're doing something thats very intellectually engaging. We actively say, now I'm going to clean, and Im just going to put all my attention into doing this. And I dont have [to] think about something else or focus on when its going to get done.

I can just be like, this is what its like for me to be doing this right now, washing the dishes or cleaning. Finding some simplicity. As a Zen teacher were trying to make space for everyone to process all their difficult feelings during this pandemic. But also to say as Zen students or practitioners, you have a great opportunity because you are sequestered and can take advantage of slowing down.

You know, the best bet is to focus on doing this starting inward your body and your feelings and then just practice really deeply hearing and seeing the people in your house. So it's very easy to start walking past each other or when you're near each other, you're kind of caught in your ideas about what the other person is. Take those opportunities. You just pause and just see what's going on with the person. And they may be: I'm tired of being with you. You can just be: That's what that person feels. So you just practice tuning your whole attention to the other person without trying to get something out of that. And then it's like a little connection opens up.

But you don't have to do a specific thing. I mean, it's great to, you know, play games and do stuff together. It's great to meditate together, but not everyone wants to do it. So if they want to do it, that's great. But you can just focus on how I am right now and just practice, like when someone turns to me and says something, I'm going to give them all of my attention right now.

The sense of alienation from the world is one of the fundamentals of Buddhist thinking, as one of the drivers of all of our suffering. So a little bit paradoxically, one of the things we do is focus on the body and our feelings. So we turn the light inward and we practice connecting with ourselves. And by my feelings, I don't mean what you think about your feelings, but actually just the feelings. From that strengthened connection, we open up and try and connect with what's going on.

So definitely you want to look for ways to actually connect with other human beings right now. But we live in changed conditions. Basically, you can find ways to feel connected to anything. One of the best ways to do that is to focus less on trying to get something from it or control it or get rid of it. All of that makes you feel alienated from it. So if you just connect with yourself, that will help you feel more connected in general and that will make you better able to connect with other people.

I came to Zen meditation principally because I had a pretty long history with addiction and mental illness and I was suffering a whole lot. So I was looking for a means to be well. I used many of [those means] and still do, including recovery groups and yoga. And I used to do psychotherapy for years. But part of that was meditation. And meditation brought me to Zen because I found that people in Zen practice were really committed to and knowledgeable and good at supporting meditation practice.

A lot of the things that I've been saying before still stand, but for recovering people, the relationship, the human relationship component is so fundamental and so just find it.

Keep looking for means to find a connection. You know, there are lots of online meetings. It's not the same as being there in person, but nothing is more powerful than that. Find shared peer support for working on your liberation and your healing.

Here is the original post:

Zencast: Zen meditation and the North Shore - Minnesota Public Radio News

If you're one of the millions of people social distancing or quarantining right now, you might waiver from boredom to overwhelmed in a matter of minutes. Although you may have more down time at home, you're likely feeling anything but relaxed.

That's completely normal during this strange time, said Ethan Nichtern, a Buddhist teacher, author, and host of the podcast "The Road Home."

"I think, for everyone, there's just this kind of invisible anxiety slash foreboding," he told Business Insider. "It doesn't feel like anyone's on vacation, you know, I haven't talked to anybody who feels that way."

So how do you feel more calm during this strange and unpredictable time?

Practicing meditation is one way to improve physical and mental health. A 2018 study by the University of Delhi showed that eight weeks of meditation and mindfulness reduced inflammation and hypertension in participants. A 2007 study published in the journal Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience found that mindfulness meditation increased people's attention spans.

It's also good for your emotional well being. A 2009 meta analysis of research on mindfulness showed that the practice can reduce stress and cortisol levels. And Harvard University research shows that mindfulness may actually change the brain of people with depression.

Meditation doesn't have to be simply sitting in silence. Here are four creative ways to meditate or be more mindful.

See the original post:

A Buddhist teacher on how to meditate during the coronavirus pandemic - Business Insider - Business Insider

The Via Crucis, or Way of the Cross, meditations for Good Friday this year have been prepared by prisoners, volunteers, family members and others, associated with a corrections facility in Northern Italy.

By Francesca Merlo

Each meditation represents a life and a story. Each one is associated with the fourteen stations of this years Via Crucis, or Way of the Cross. The meditations have been written by people whose lives are in some way connected to the Due Palazzi correctional facility in Padua, Northern Italy. They were collected by the prison chaplain, Fr. Marco Pozza, and journalist, Tatiana Mario.

Lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Italy began on 8 March. Prison riots around the country followed when prisoners were told they could no longer receive visitors. Two days after the riots, Pope Francis offered Mass for prisoners: I would like to pray for those who are in prison, he said. They are suffering, and we must be near to them in prayer, asking that the Lord might help them and console them in this difficult moment.

The author of the first meditation is serving a life sentence. My crucifixion began as a child, he says, explaining that his stutter made him an outcast. He says he feels more like Barabbas than Jesus. Sometimes he weeps. After 29 years in prison I have not yet lost the ability to cry, to feel ashamed of my past, and the evil I have done. In the non-life he lived previously, he always sought something that was life, he says. Today, strange as it may seem, prison has become my salvation, he adds.

If, for some, I am still Barabbas, that does not make me angry: I know in my heart that the Innocent One, condemned like me, came to find me in prison to teach me about life.

The parents of a girl who was brutally murdered recount how theirs was a life of sacrifices based on work and family. They used to ask themselves: Why has this evil overwhelmed us?. They could find no peace. "At the moment when despair seems to take over, the Lord comes to meet us in different ways, they say. He gives us the grace to love each other like newlyweds, supporting each other, even with difficulty". Today, they continue to open their doors to all those in need.

The commandment to perform acts of charity to us is a kind of salvation: we do not want to surrender to evil. Gods love is truly capable of renewing life because, before us, his Son Jesus underwent human suffering so as to experience true compassion.

It was the first time I fell. But for me that fall was death. The third meditation is written by a prisoner. He did not know about the evil growing inside him, he says. After a difficult life, one evening like an avalanche. anger killed my kindness I took someones life. After considering committing suicide in prison, he found people who gave him back the faith he had lost, he says.

My first fall was failing to realize that goodness exists in this world. My second, the murder, was really its consequence, for I was already dead inside.

The author of the fourth meditation is a mother whose son is in prison. She says she was not tempted even for a second to abandon her son in the face of his sentence. That day, she says, the whole family went to prison with him. She describes people pointing fingers like knives, and wounds that grow with every passing day. She has entrusted her only son to Mary and says she feels her closeness. I confide my fears to Mary alone, because she herself felt them on her way to Calvary.

In her heart she knew that her Son would not escape human evil, yet she did not abandon Him. She stood there sharing in His suffering, keeping Him company by her presence. I think of Jesus looking up, seeing those eyes so full of love, and not feeling alone. I would like to do the same.

The author of the fifth meditation is a prisoner. He says he hopes to bring joy to someone someday. Everyone knows a Simon of Cyrene, he explains. It is the nickname of those who help others carry their cross up their own Mount Calvary. He describes his cellmate as another Simon of Cyrene: someone who lived on a bench, without a home or possessions.

His only wealth was a box of candies. He has a sweet tooth, but he insisted that I bring it to my wife the first time she visited me: she burst into tears at that unexpected and thoughtful gesture.

The catechist and author of the sixth meditation wipes away many tears, just like Veronica. They flood uncontrollably from hearts that are broken, he says. In the dark reality of prison, he describes meeting desperate souls, trying to understand why evil exists. Finding an answer is hard, he says. He asks how Jesus would wipe away their tears if He were in that position. How would Jesus ease the anguish of these men, he asks. So, he tries to do what he believes Jesus would do.

In the same way that Christ looks at our own weaknesses and limitations with eyes full of love. Everyone, including those in prison, has an opportunity each day to become a new person, thanks to Christs look which does not judge, but gives life and hope.

The prisoner responsible for the seventh meditation says he often walked past prisons, thinking to himself he would never end up in there. Then he was convicted of drug dealing, and found himself in what he calls the cemetery of the living dead. Now, he says, he did not know what he was doing.

I am trying to rebuild my life with the help of God. I owe it to my parents... I owe it above all to myself: the idea that evil can continue to guide my life is intolerable. This is what has become my way of the cross.

The author of the eighth meditation describes how her whole life was shattered when her father was sentenced to life in prison. She has been travelling around Italy for twenty-eight years, following her father as he is moved from prison to prison. Deprived of her fathers love, and his presence on her wedding day, she has had to cope with her mothers depression as well.

Its true: there are parents who, out of love, learn to wait for their children to grow up. In my own case, for love, I wait for my Dads return. For people like us, hope is a duty.

The author of the ninth meditation recognizes the many times he has fallen. And the many times he has risen. Like Peter, he has sought and found a thousand excuses to justify his mistakes, he says.

It is true that my life was shattered into a thousand pieces, but the wonderful thing is that those pieces can still be put together. It is not easy, but it is the only thing that still makes sense here.

The author of the tenth meditation is a teacher. Just as Jesus was stripped of His garments, so he has seen many of his students stripped of all dignity and respect for themselves and others in prison. They are helpless, frustrated by their weakness, often unable to understand the wrong they have done. Yet, at times they are like newborn babies who can still be taught, he says.

Even though I love this job, I sometimes struggle to find the strength to carry on. In so sensitive a service, we need to feel that we are not abandoned, in order to be able to support the many lives entrusted to us, lives that each day run the risk of ruin.

The author of the eleventh meditation is a priest who was falsely accused, and later acquitted. His own Way of the Cross lasted ten years, he says, during which he had to face suspicion, accusations and insults. Fortunately, he also encountered his own versions of Simon of Cyrene who helped him carry the weight of his cross. Together with me, many of them prayed for the young man who accused me, he says.

The day on which I was fully acquitted, I found myself happier than I had been ten years before: I experienced first-hand God working in my life. Hanging on the cross, I discovered the meaning of my priesthood.

The author of the twelfth meditation is a judge. No magistrate, he says, can crucify a man to the sentence he is serving. True justice is only possible through mercy, he adds. Mercy helps you find the goodness that is never completely extinguished, despite all the wrongs committed. To do this, one must learn how to recognize the person hidden behind the crime committed, he says.

In this process, it sometimes becomes possible to glimpse a horizon that can instill hope in that person and once his sentence has been served, to return to society and hope that people will welcome him back after having rejected him. For all of us, even those convicted of a crime, are children of the same human family.

Prisoners have always been my teachers, writes the religious Brother, author of the thirteenth meditation. He has volunteered in prisons for sixty years. We Christians often delude ourselves that we are better than others, he says. In His life, Christ willingly chose to stand on the side of the least. Passing by one cell after another, I see the death that lives within, he says. But Christ tells him to keep going, to take them in His arms again. So he stops, and listens.

This is the only way I know to accept that person, and avert my gaze from the mistake he made. Only in this way will he be able to trust and regain the strength to surrender to Gods goodness, and see himself differently.

A corrections officer has written the concluding meditation for this years Way of the Cross. Every day he witnesses first-hand the suffering of those who live in prison. A good person can become cruel, and a bad person can become better, he says. It depends on that person. But prison changes you, he adds. Personally, he is committed to giving another chance to those who have chosen what is wrong.

I work hard to keep hope alive in people left to themselves, frightened at the thought of one day leaving and possibly being rejected yet again by society. In prison, I remind them that, with God, no sin will ever have the last word.

See more here:

Way of the Cross: Meditations from a corrections facility - Vatican News

On five Saturdays - March 28, April 4, 11, 18, and 25 (newly added!), 2020 at 5pm EDT - Music on the Rebound and the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) present The World Wide Tuning Meditation. IONE, Claire Chase, and Raquel Acevedo Klein lead a global performance of the late Pauline Oliveros' The World Wide Tuning Meditation, a sonic gathering with a legacy of bringing communities together through meditative singing.

Anyone from anywhere in the world is invited to join in via Zoom to sing together from their personal phone or computer. No music experience is necessary. The last performance on Saturday, April 25 will also be included in Basilica Hudson's 24-HOUR DRONE Sound and Music Festival, moved completely online with web-based programming in place of its previously scheduled weekend.

Oliveros' The Tuning Meditation consists of four steps:

1. Begin by taking a deep breath and letting it all the way out with air sound. Listen with your mind's ear for a tone.

2. On the next breath using any vowel sound, sing the tone that you have silently perceived on one comfortable breath. Listen to the whole field of sound the group is making.

3. Select a voice distant from you and tune as exactly as possible to the tone you are hearing from that voice. Listen again to the whole field of sound the group is making.

4. Contribute by singing a new tone that no one else is singing. Continue by listening then singing a tone of your own or tuning to the tone of another voice alternately.

The first three iterations of The World Wide Tuning Meditation on March 28, April 4, and April 11 welcomed participants from more than 30 countries, with 824 RSVPs for the first meditation and sold out virtual crowds of 950 attendees for the two April sessions.

Music on the Rebound founder Raquel Acevedo Klein explains her inspiration behind the project, "Music is an expression of our irrepressible voices and serves as a tangible means through which we can connect in times of isolation. In response to Hurricane Mara after it devastated my family and friends in Puerto Rico, music helped me tell the story of communities coming together to share scarce resources and to illustrate regrowth. The Tuning Meditation creates a space where people all across the world can come together and share our irrepressible voices, create a new story for our time, and heal together."

Music on the Rebound is an online, interactive music festival designed to bring people together and support performing artists affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Viewers are invited to participate in live events and stream digital curations. On Mondays starting April 20, at 7pm EDT, Music on the Rebound presents Connecting ACO Community, a weekly series of online world premieres commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra. Performances will feature esteemed artists such as Anthony Roth Costanzo, Jennifer Koh, Shara Nova, Jeffrey Zeigler, Miranda Cuckson, and more.

Program Information The World Wide Tuning Meditation Saturday, March 28, 2020 at 5pm EDT Saturday, April 4, 2020 at 5pm EDT Saturday, April 11, 2020 at 5pm EDT Saturday, April 18, 2020 at 5pm EDT Saturday, April 25, 2020 at 5pm EDT - Newly Added! Tickets: Free. RSVP Here to receive Zoom call-in information. Information Link: https://www.musicrebound.com/pauline-oliveros-tuning-meditation

Performers and Administration: Raquel Acevedo Klein - Founder & Producer, Music on the Rebound Ione - Co-Organizer, Tuning Meditation Bridgid Bergin - Co-Organizer, Tuning Meditation Larry Blumenfeld - Advisor, interviewer Claire Chase - Co-Organizer, Tuning Meditation Boo Froebel - Producing Advisor Ross Karre - Co-Organizer, Tuning Meditation Erica Zielinski - Producing Advisor International Contemporary Ensemble - Host, Tuning Meditation

Read the rest here:

Music On The Rebound And ICE Present The World Wide Tuning Meditation - Broadway World

Text Size: A- A+

New Delhi: The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has invited researchers to study the benefits of yoga and meditation in fighting Covid-19 and similar viruses.

In a notification issued 8 April, the DST has asked scientists, clinicians and yoga/meditation practitioners with a proven track record in the field of yoga and meditation research to submit proposals for projects that can benefit a larger section of society. The last date for submissions is 30 April and selected researchers will get up to Rs 15 lakh to pursue their proposals.

The DST, which falls under the Union Ministry of Science & Technology, is not looking for a cure to coronavirus through yoga and meditation. The projects, it says, should instead focus on boosting immunity, improving the respiratory system (since Covid-19 causes respiratory illness) and alleviating stress, depression and anxiety.

The invitation is a special call under the DSTs Science and Technology of Yoga and Meditation (SATYAM) programme, which funds three-year-long projects that aim to scientifically validate the benefits of yoga and meditation in dealing with different diseases.

The aim of this special call is to provide assistance to our society in todays critical condition arises (sic) due to pandemic Covid-19, the DST notification states.

Also Read: Govt prescribes Yoga with Modi for foreign envoys battling stress of Covid-19 lockdown

While yoga and meditation are known to be beneficial for holistic health, there is no proof so far that they help gear up the human body to fight coronavirus, which has infected over 7,000 people in India so far.

Speaking to ThePrint about the special call, DST secretary Ashutosh Sharma said projects in the SATYAM programme, as the name implies, investigate the effects of yoga and meditation holistically through teams of clinicians, scientists and practitioners by using the modern tools of science such as MRI etc.

In the context of Covid-19, shoring of immune system, respiratory function and also addressing stress, anxiety, etc are of relevance and importance, he added. The projects are to investigate these aspects through scientifically designed protocols and experiments to determine the outcomes and efficacy of yoga and meditation practices under different conditions.

According to the notification, the proposed work should be completed within six to 12 months.

Researchers have been invited to submit proposals under three categories. The first is to compile existing knowledge, protocols and best practices in boosting immunity, respiratory system and mental health and make a critical assessment of the same.

The second category is for proposals to develop specific protocols and modules of yoga and meditation based strictly on scientific approach with proper documentation. Under this section, existing protocols can also be refined or reframed in view of Covid-19.

The last category is for short-duration pilot studies based on experience in the abovementioned areas by a team of scientists, clinicians and yoga/meditation practitioners. The studies will need to be scientifically designed, documented, open to scrutiny and employ scientific tools for validation or falsification, the notification states.

This report has been revised to correct an error in the number of Covid-19 cases in India

Also Read: Yogi Adityanath goes viral on Chinese social media for yoga cures coronavirus speech

ThePrint is now on Telegram. For the best reports & opinion on politics, governance and more, subscribe to ThePrint on Telegram.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel.

More here:

Think you can prove yoga, meditation ward off Covid-19? Modi govt has an offer for you - ThePrint

Ad sales staples, such as lunch-and-learn meetings and product giveaways, have had to adapt to the quarantine. In lieu of catered meals inside company meetings rooms, streaming services like Xumo and ad tech firms such as Innovid are demoing their products over Zoom with meals delivered via Uber Eats. And instead of SoulCycle classes, TV networks are offering agency executives subscriptions to meditation apps.

Considering how many advertisers have canceled or paused campaigns as they deal with pandemic, these not-so-subtle sales pitches may seem particularly superfluous at the moment. However, in an industry that likes to describe itself as a relationship business, agency executives on the receiving end of these offerings said they have become valuable for managing relationships at a time when there isnt much business to be done so long as they are handled properly.

Everyone wants to do a webinar, and it feels very opportunistic and salesy, said one agency executive. The tone matters more than anything else.

As an example of how companies approaches can differ, this agency executive said they have received food delivery gift cards from two different ad tech companies. In one case, the company sent it seemingly at random with no communication from the sales representative at the company. In the other case, the companys sales rep sent an email asking for ideas of shows to stream during quarantine. Its the difference between Hey, heres a coupon and Hey, how can I engage with you from a relationship perspective? this executive said.

To their credit, those on the sales side largely are skewing more toward the interpersonal versus the nakedly transactional, according to agency executives.

[TV] networks are coming back to advertisers and agencies and saying, How can we help you in any way? said a second agency executive. This executive, who has been in the industry for more than three decades and worked through multiple economic downturns, said the extent of these current relationship management efforts are something novel. I havent seen this before.

What would normally be considered gifts are being received as care packages by agency executives. In some cases, the items, such as gift cards to food delivery apps, are being offered in exchange for agency executives participating in virtual lunch-and-learn meetings. But in others, they are being provided with no strings attached, such as the $7 gift cards for Amazon Prime Video movie rentals that Innovid has sent streaming video ad buyers.

The gestures have gone beyond such gifts to be more open-ended offers of aid, be that creative services assistance or Sudoku strategy advice, according to agency executives. Its not really a sales conversation anymore, said Clair Bergman, associate media director at The Media Kitchen.

While ad sellers are asking if theres any data they can provide to help agencies and advertisers navigate the present uncertainties and implicitly steer any available ad dollars in the media companies direction they are more often checking in to see how people are coping and sharing puzzle ideas and other ways they are passing the time in quarantine. Its been a breath of fresh air, said Bergman.

Seamless gift cards, care packages and meditation app subscriptions: How ad sellers are adapting their sales tactics

See the rest here:

Seamless gift cards, care packages and meditation app subscriptions: How ad sellers are adapting their sales tactics - Digiday