April 24, 2017

David McInerney, co-founder of Fresh Direct, a leading online fresh food grocer delivering directly to the doors of consumers in greater New York, New Jersey and Connecticut metro areas, has been announced as the fourth keynote presenter for the Organic Produce Summit 2017 in Monterey, CA.

Fresh Direct is recognized as one of the pioneers in e-commerce/direct-to-consumer delivery, starting in 2002 by offering fresh food and comparatively lower prices directly to consumers in high-density metro areas in the Northeast. McInerney and his team spend more than half the year travelling around the globe to learn, investigate, explore and taste fresh food.David McInerney

Understanding what were eating and whos growing it are the most important yet often forgotten details when it comes to what we put in our bodies, McInerney said in a press release. To meet and talk with those individuals and companies growing organic fresh produce and marketing it to consumers across the globe is truly an honor.

Fresh Directs McInerney rounds out an engaging series of four keynote presentations at OPS 2017. In addition to McInerney, attendees will hear from noted dietician and author Ashley Koff; Dennis Hoover and Erica Helton, the co-founders of The Organic Coup, Americas first USDA-approved organic fast food; and a Retail Roundtable presentation exploring the insights, opportunities and challenges facing retailers in the multi-billion dollar organic fresh produce industry. The three Retail Roundtable panelists are Dave Corsi, vice president of produce and floral for Wegmans, Heather Shavey, assistant vice president of global produce for Costco, and Chad Miller, vice president of produce procurement for Sprouts.

In addition to an informative series of educational sessions, we are thrilled with our line-up of keynote presentations. Our attendees will have an opportunity to learn from influential thought-leaders in three major areas of organic produce sales- retail, the up-and-coming foodservice sector, and the dynamic direct-to-consumer model changing the way all shopping is done," Susan Canales, director of operations for OPS, said in the press release. Our attendees will gain insightful and useful information on how leading companies are marketing organic fresh produce to consumers and the opportunities to drive sales into the future."

Canales also said only a very limited number of general registrations to OPS 2017 remain, with the event expected to sell out by the end of the month. The overall response and enthusiasm for OPS is unbelievable. We wish we had greater capacity to handle a larger audience, but we are confident the intimacy and energy of OPS 2017 will be unlike any other industry trade event," she said.

Further information about Organic Produce Summit 2017 is available at http://www.organicproducesummit.com.

Original post:

Organic Produce Summit names Fresh Direct co-founder as keynote presenter - TheProduceNews.com

It starts with a seed.

No single person is going to fix the worlds food-supply and food-inequality issues, but Hamptons farmer Frank Trentacoste understands that its important to get your hands dirty and do what you can.

So Trentacostes Bhumi Farms in Amagansett has announced that its becoming a completely donor-based, not-for-profit enterprise. It will give away nearly all of its organic produce, thousands of pounds each year, to organizations that are dedicated to fighting hunger. Trentacoste will start by providing food to New York Common Pantry and The BronxsPOTS.

Like a public-radio statio, Bhumi Farms is looking for donors to support its efforts. Those who donate can receive farm-share boxes or other incentives, like a private dinner at the farm, but Trentacoste also hopes that some will pledge money simply to give those in need access to nourishing food free of GMOs, pesticides and fungicides.

I was feeling like food policy in the U.S. was terrible and about special interests, he says. A lot of issues are tied to poor food quality, including childrens health.

Trentacostes goal is to grow food for mass consumption, so hes focusing on crops like greens, carrots, beets, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers. He used to grow more esoteric produce like kohlrabi, but hes got a different mission now.

I feel like farms, especially organic farms, are more of a public service, Trentacoste says. A farm is a community and a conduit for an exchange of wealth: People who can afford to pay more can be willing to pay more. Food is the core of a lot of health issues. So food can be the core of a lot of healing.

Trentacoste clearly realizes that higher-quality food is more expensive and out of reach for a large part of the population, so hes doing what he can to equalize things.

Bhumi Farms is, of course, not alone in this movement of providing better food to a wider audience. San Franciscos Free Farm Stand has given away more than 28 tons of produce. Sprout City Farms has pay-what-you-can farmstands in Colorado.

Prominent chefs all over the country are doing their part, too. In Philadelphia, Michael Solomonovs Rooster Soup Co., which was just named one of GQs 10 Best New Restaurants of 2017, serves broth made with spare chicken parts from Federal Donuts and uses 100 percent of its profits to provide food and other support to the needy. Roy Choi and Daniel Patterson opened Locol in L.A.s Watts to give an underserved community access to better fast food. Italys Massimo Bottura, widely considered one of the worlds best chefs, has plans to open Food for Soul community kitchens in the United States and has scouted locations including The Bronx. Daniel HummsNomad Truckhas been selling chicken burgers created by different L.A. star chefs and donating the proceeds from those burgers to charities.

Trentacoste, though, made his decision independently. He spends a lot of time alone, he says, so he was mainly influenced by what was going on in his own head.

I was just looking at the historical context of food, he says. People would come to your door, and you would feed them. This is a modern take on the old act of feeding people. Even though youre not feeding somebody at your table, you can still feed them.

Trentacoste left his job as a New York City financial analyst in 2012 because he wanted to feel more connected to the world.

A lot of New Yorkers try to be spiritual and try to connect and reconnect, but they dont talk to the person next to them in the subway, he says. You go to a bar because you dont want to be alone, but you only talk to the person you went to the bar with.

Plus, Trentacoste was sitting at a desk all day, trying to maximize returns for faceless shareholders. Like so many New Yorkers, he would eat breakfast and lunch at his desk in a hurry.

So he decided to put his hands in the soil, to slow things down a bit. He started with 2 acres, quickly expanded and now has settled into a comfort zone of growing crops on about 10 acres. Instead of looking at a million things at once blinking up on your Bloomberg screen Trentacoste now finds peace starting at plants.

You can look at a plant, and it doesnt look like its changing, Trentacoste says.

Nature is about patience. Give nature enough time and something wonderful will bloom.

Even though hes often by himself on the farm, Trentacoste knows hes growing something that will better somebody elses existence. So he doesnt struggle with loneliness or feel lost the way he did in Manhattan.

There is a connection, Im producing something tangible, he says. I know Im feeding someone, and feeding someone is a pretty sacred thing.

His finance background, his understanding of how to analyze situations, helps him at Bhumi Farms.

Im big on efficiency: I want everyone to get access to the food, but I want them to get access to it efficiently, says Trentacoste, who adds, somewhat jokingly, that hes half capitalist, half socialist.

He found nonprofit groups that have a proven track record of distributing food in large quantities. Both NY Common Pantry and POTS were vetted by the Robin Hood Foundation, which works with more than 200 New York City nonprofits.

Feeding people, Trentacoste stresses, is just part of this.

These nonprofits are also focused on ending the cycle: programs to help people get stabilized, to get them out of poverty, he says.

In many ways, running a farm thats also a social enterprise suits Trentacoste better than being in finance.

I never had that killer instinct because I didnt want to squash anyone or get rich, he says.

He doesnt have to spend much time fixating on numbers anymore. Hes not sure if its more appropriateto track the pounds or the calories of food he donates each year. And how do you compare the value of a crate of kale to the value of a much heavier crate of zucchini? These are things he thinks about, no doubt, but he doesnt stress out about them.

When I ask Trentacoste his age, he has to think for a moment about what the correct answer is. Actually, I have to help him figure out the answer. Hetells me what year he was born. I ask when his birthday is. He turned 44 last August. He hesitated giving me an answer because he doesnt ever think about how old he is.

Age is one of those things that boxes us in, he says. I never say my age. Its one of those things: Socially, when youre a certain age, people expect something from you.

But when youre alone on a farm with your tractor, you dont sweat social conventions. Instead, you think about things like how your farm and what it represents extends far beyond your acreage. Youre fortified by a belief that wealthy people who can afford organic food would want to give other people access to the same high-quality food.

My base case is that people are good and people are empathetic, Trentacoste says. If Im right on these two things, I think this model should work. And its something I want to expand to other cities.

Read the rest here:

Donor-Based Bhumi Farms Is Giving Organic Produce Away to New Yorkers - Observer

Dive Brief:

The National Organic Standards Board voted unanimously on Friday to recommend that regulations designed to hold organic meat and poultry producers to higher animal welfare standards be enacted immediately, the Organic Trade Association reported on Twitter.

In order to receive organic certification, the rule requires animals to be able to exhibit natural behavior, such as the ability to sit, walk, stretch and stand without touching other animals or the sides of their pen, as well as having free and clear access to the outside. The NOSB, which provides recommendations to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has proposed that the rule should become effective on May 19.

The recommendation has been a long time coming, with some NOSB proposals for the rule dating back to 1994. Following the unanimous recommendation from the NOSB in 2011, the USDA first proposed the changes in April last year, when Barack Obama was president.It prompted 6,711 comments on the issue.

A new Consumer Reports survey suggests the rule has overwhelming consumer support, with 86% of those who buy organic food saying they strongly support holding organic producers to higher animal welfare standards. Eighty-three percent of consumers said it was important that organic eggs come from hens that are able to go outdoors. The USDA under Obama has said boosting these standards was likely to increase trust in the organic seal.

Even though the rule has faced backlash from some producers, food manufacturers are taking note of consumer demand for humane treatment of animals. The latest annual report from the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare found nearly three-quarters (73%) of brands assessed had a formal animal welfare policy in place, up from 46% in 2012. However, nearly 66% of companies had not implemented a strong system for monitoring animal welfare.

Its an increasingly important issue, as consumers tend to support brands known to have humane animal welfare standards, and are quick to boycott those that dont.

Whether the Trump administration's USDA will green light the rule remains to be seen. The department still doesn't have a permanent leader, with a confirmation vote on nominee Sonny Perdue scheduled for Monday evening. Without a secretary in place, big policy decisions have been put on hold.

While USDA generally follows the recommendations of the NOSB, it is not bound to them. Trump's administration, which favors less regulation overall, may choose to cancel this one through another executive order. At the time the regulation was published, in a written statement National Pork Producers Council President John Weber called these rules"precisely the type of executive branch overreach that Congress will reign in through regulatory reform."

Continued here:

NOSB supports higher welfare standards for organic meat and ... - Food Dive

With the tourist season rapidly approaching, it is a good time for a friendly reminder to raise awareness regarding the proper way to tip fairly and thoughtfully. So a review of the why, when, where and what you are tipping for may prove enlightening.

Why? The history of tipping in America goes back to the 1850s and 1860s, when wealthy Americans traveling in Europe brought back the custom of tipping to demonstrate how cultured they were. Since the custom of tipping became a fixture in the food service industry, a legal system has developed allowing restaurant employers to keep their labor costs and food and drink prices lower by paying their employees less than the minimum wage, thereby outsourcing a portion of their employee's wage to the customer.

How much? It is important to recognize that the customary tip has changed over the last 175 or so years. There was a time in the 1950s where the customary tip was approximately 10 percent. That percentage has increased over the last 50 years as people have adjusted the recommended tip to reflect that more of a tip is needed to allow servers to meet their day-to-day expenses. The standard tip is 18 percent for satisfactory service and 20 percent or more for exceptional service.

Where? It is also important to recognize the location where one is tipping. The cost of living varies across the nation, regionally and even within a few miles. A tip that may be sufficient for a waitress in Yoder, may not be sufficient for the waiter in Manitou Springs as the cost of living for the server differs according to where they live.

What? One of the most common mistakes in tipping is a lack of awareness of what the customer is actually tipping. The customer is tipping for the services of the server and for those things he or she is responsible. In its most basic form, the waiter is responsible for greeting the customer, taking their order and serving their food. However, they should not be held responsible for any waiting a customer must endure because of the volume of business.

These are but a few of the considerations customers should consider when dining or drinking out.

Sarim Thomas

Manitou Springs

Don't punish policemen

I am responding to your headline "ACLU, Colorado Springs agree to settlement on racial profiling lawsuit" April 20:

Racial profiling is not racist. Police departments don't profile people because of the color of their skin. Profiling is simply an acknowledgment of the economic fact that a shameful practice of slavery, reinforced by 200 years of abuse and prejudice, put a significant percentage of our black-skinned fellow citizens in such a collective "hole" that, for those still climbing out, crime sometimes seems the only way to survive.

If profiling were truly racist, we'd be reading stories of far more Hispanics, Asians and American Indians being pulled over for no good reason. Bottom line: cops should not be punished for making reasonable inferences based on the very essence of human intelligence i.e., "The ability to cross-reference." Don't punish policemen for the unrelated sins of past slave owners. They're simply doing their job. And stop giving away precious tax dollars for "PC" purposes.

Gregory Olinyk

Colorado Springs

A place of respect and dignity

Why is it not surprising at all that in Donald Trump's White House there are people of the caliber of Sarah Palin, Kid Rock, and Ted Nugent, who pose in front of Hillary Clinton's portrait mockingly?

No matter who has been president in the past, the White House has been a place of respect and dignity, but when this man was elected it was obvious that those days were over. Ted Nugent is a vile, disgusting person, Sarah Palin is laughable. Leave it to Trump to associate with these people.

Sally Alberts

Monument

Organic food has many benefits

For the past three or four decades, the percentage of obese and people with health issues has been increasing in the nation. Because of this, concern for the well-being of neighbors and friends has increased. Organic food should be consumed more than nonorganic food.

Organic food is a concern due to its expense. Although it is hard on the wallet, it has many benefits and advantages for human health. Organic foods help maintain better health, give nutrition for the brain, have fewer artificial stimuli, reduce doctor bills - all leading to a more success in every aspect of life.

The solution for the high cost of organic food is to lower the price and gain support from the government and the public providing the same quality.

Research has shown that organic food has 17 percent more antioxidants than nonorganic food, which helps to lower the risk of stroke and cancer. Another problem is schools don't explain the benefits of organic food, so the people are not aware of what to buy to be healthy. There has been some progress towards instituting programs like SNAP, an alternative to food stamps, to encourage healthier food. Overall, organic food has many benefits for general health.

Benafsha Shakari

Colorado Springs

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LETTERS: The ins and outs of tipping; benefits of organic foods ... - Colorado Springs Gazette

#Ivanka Trump is a major supporter of #Organic Food. Being a mother of three beautiful kids, Ivanka prefers organic food over other food supplies. Being a hotel executive, she has also helped in shaping the Trump Institute of Wellness, which currently has only organic food for children.

According to Ivanka, a healthy menu for kids in hotels is really important. Being an entrepreneur herself she, along with a health coach, advises parents to take the organic route for their children. According to Maria Marlowe, it is the best option as it helps people remove toxic chemicals from their diet. Maria also stated that normally available apples are sprayed with many toxic chemicals such as carcinogens, and neurotoxins, which can cause severe damage to our brain cells..

Ivanka is the Presidential advisor for the White House. However, when the ban of the chlorpyrifos received a reprieve from the Trump administration, Ivanka remained 'mum' on the matter. This pesticide is seen as a threat to children and their brain development by scientists. Many early scientific studies found the pesticide to be a neurotoxin.

Though the pesticide was banned by scientists some 17 years ago, it is still being used as an important component in agriculture. However, many researchers including Virginia Rauh, who found the content of neurotoxin in the pesticide, clearly stated its potentially harmful effects. Chlorpyrifos, when consumed even in low quantities may cause problems during pregnancy which can harm the brain development of the child. According to the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), the use of chlorpyrifos must be completely banned in the U.S..

Despite knowing the possible side effects of pesticides and its harmful effect on children, the question which would be on most peoples mind is whether organic food is safe. Essentially, vegetable and fruits which are grown sans the use of herbicides or pesticides are organic.

According to the official health advisor of Ivankas official website IvankaTrump.com, people should purchase organic food after studying the Dirty Dozen plus list. This list details products that have a high pesticide content and advises what should be avoided. Ivanka has come under fire for not expressing her thoughts on chlorpyrifos. Critics have asserted that she should have voiced her thoughts on the use of the pesticide because of its known dangers. Ivanka, however, continues to champion the organic food cause and has stayed quiet on the controversy. #Ivanka Trump Advocates Organic Food

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Ivanka Trump favors organic food for her kids - Blasting News

A customer picks up a product from a shelf featuring organic cosmetic products at a supermarket in Frankfurt. Photograph: DPA/Alamy

The makers of many organic beauty products have been accused of confusing and meaningless labelling, according to a new survey in which 76% of consumers admitted they felt misled.

According to the Soil Associations recent market report, sales of organic health and beauty products swelled by more than 20% in 2016, with the market now worth about 61.2m in the UK.

But the industry has put money into marketing products it claims are green rather than spending money on formulating environmentally friendly, toxin-free products that are not harmful to the skin, the Soil Association warns.

Unlike organic food, which must adhere to strict EU regulations, there are no legal standards for the use of the terms organic or natural on beauty products. In practice, any brand or beauty product can be labelled as natural or organic even if it contains virtually no organic or natural ingredients.

Faced with this lack of legislation, expert organisations have created a series of robust, independent, voluntary standards to encourage responsible use of the term organic. Cosmos and NaTrue are two well-known examples, with the NSF-ANSI standard from the US also appearing on some products on the UK high street.

This is the tip of the iceberg, said Soil Association policy director Peter Melchett. The labels on products we encountered were littered with confusing terms. Our consumer research shows that it is very difficult for consumers to know they are making the right choice when doing their shopping.

New research to support the Soil Associations Campaign for Clarity which aims to clean up greenwashing in the beauty industry reveals that 72% of people say they would lose trust in a brand that made misleading claims about being organic.

The Soil Association published a league table on Monday revealing a cross-section of brands and beauty products on the market which make potentially misleading organic claims on the label. The brands include the word organic on some labels, even though the products are not certified as organic.

Emeritus professor Vyvyan Howard of the Centre for Molecular Bioscience at Ulster University, who assessed the ingredients, said: I was shocked to find ingredients which could contain human carcinogens in products with labels which could misleadingly suggest that they might be organic. Genuine organic products are independently certified and I would encourage consumers to choose those.

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Consumers being misled by labelling on 'organic' beauty products, report shows - The Guardian

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The Calm app - known for helping people relax on a daily basis - has a new feature to help you fall asleep.

We all know how important it is to wind down at the end of a busy day. If you have kids, you know that bedtime stories are a vital part of the process. Now an app which is known for helping you relax is helping you fall asleep, too.

Follow KTLA Tech Reporter Rich DeMuro on Facebook or Twitter for cool apps, tech tricks & tips!

Recently, I met up with Michael Acton Smith. He's the co-founder and co-CEO of Calm, a meditation app on Android and iOS already used by 8 million people to relax.

"Theres so much baggage around the word meditation, I think people assume its spiritual and woo-woo.We'remore interested in the neuroscience than the incense of meditation," explained Acton Smith in a room at the vintage chic restored Hotel Normandie in Los Angeles.

Now, in addition to the calming landscapes and soothing sound effects the app normally offers, there is a new feature called Sleep Stories.

"Theyre anything from 10 minutes to an hour long - theres a little bit of music, a few breathing exercises and people rarely get to the end of them," said Acton Smith.

Some are read by familiar voices like Ben Stein. There are even a handful for kids!

Calm worked with a clinical psychologist to engineer the stories to help you drift off.

"Our stories start interesting - then they get gently more sleep inducing until you fall asleep," said Action Smith.

The app features a selection of stories you can access for free but to unlock everything - including a daily meditation - subscriptions run as low as $5 dollars a month.

"The science shows so many positive impacts on ones life from helping us sleep better to improving our attention, focus, creativity, lowering blood pressure," explained Acton Smith.

If you want to give it a try, use the link below to access a free 30-day trial of everything the app offers. There is no credit card necessary to sign up.

https://www.calm.com/richontech

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Meditation App Calm Can Now Read You To Sleep with Grown Up ... - KTLA

By Suzanne Otte

Tension headaches, lack of patience, and feelings of anxiety are all too familiar experiences for many in our community. Even positive changes like moving to a new home, leaving a job, or becoming empty nesters can create a sense of uneasiness or loss.

Research tells us that stress contributes to depression, high blood pressure, anxiety disorders, and sleep problems among other mental and physical health issues, says Mary Pillsbury, an expert in meditation practice.

As meditation becomes more widely embraced, people are learning how to use it to gain a sense of calm, clear mindedness, and feeling of optimism for themselves.

Momentum of Meditation

Meditation has its roots in thousands of years of practice, including Eastern spiritual traditions. It wasnt until the late twentieth century that it began to gain recognition in the U.S. Today, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health reports that, 8% of U.S. adults (18 million) have used some form of meditation including mantra, mindfulness and spiritual meditation, or meditation used in combination with other practices such as yoga or tai chi.

The medical community has also recognized benefits gained from meditation. According to Harvard Health Publications, a review conducted in 2014 by researchers at John Hopkins University assessed 47 research trials to determine the efficacy of meditation in promoting mental and physical health. Their findings, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, reported that meditation helps to ease symptoms of anxiety, depression, and pain.

Truth vs. Myth

If meditation offers so many benefits, why arent we all practicing it? Truth is that some people who have never tried meditation perceive it as mystical or too far out for them, when in reality its something that is accessible to everyone at any time whether in a group setting or practiced individually, says Pillsbury.

Meditation does not require incense or chanting. It does not have to originate from a place of spirituality or religion. Meditation does not take a long time to return benefits. And no, youre not required to have a transcendent experience while meditating.

Everyones experience can be different. Some people meditate deeply and report visual effects. Most feel a satisfying, peaceful sense of calmness, and still others doze off and fall asleep which is all perfectly okay. explains Pillsbury.

Meditation distracts our minds from worry and stress. Its gentle, compassionate, and nonjudgmental. My clients report that by practicing meditation, they make confident decisions, are less reactive, enjoy restful sleep, and feel like theyre better equipped to manage stress in their lives.

Lived Experience

What began more than a decade ago in her home has grown into a thriving practice. I started as a concerned parent, educating myself about tools to help kids including my own learn how to manage their anxiety, said Pillsbury, who discovered meditation and began to lead meditation sessions for the children of family friends. Parents were very supportive because they realized that meditation was helping their kids.

With the encouragement of friends, Pillsbury pursued coursework and training to expand her knowledge about meditation and began to teach adults through the Scituate Recreation Department. The community classes attracted a large group of all ages and there was a great level of camaraderie and enthusiasm, said Pillsbury.

Over time, her practice started to grow.

As I worked with more people, I realized that we spend much of our time outsideof our bodies. Stress surfaces in the form of short tempers, aches and pains, and shallow breathing, said Pillsbury. Meditation grounds us; it centers us and helps us to be present when we stop and breathe and notice where we are and how we feel.

Flexible Approach

Pillsbury works with a range of clients in groups and individually. I especially enjoy helping those who are experiencing a transition in their life, such as a divorce, career changers, kids leaving for college, or caring for aging parents.

Meditation practice can be especially helpful to provide stability, centeredness, and calming during times that may feel less secure. She notes that meditation is beneficial for anyone who seeks wellness and you dont have to fit a particular issue or situation to adopt the practice.

In addition to group and individual sessions, Pillsbury has worked with clients to create customized programs. Ive consulted with couples to schedule a date night meditation session and have explored meditation for organizational team building, self-pampering (think spa day), and to celebrate good stress (wedding party gathering or baby showers.) She applies her expertise and creativity to develop an approach that works best for her client.

Setting Expectations

Pillsbury emphasizes a nonjudgmental, safe, and comfortable environment where participants come as they are, relax, and leave better than they felt prior to meditation.

Forty-five minute sessions begin with techniques to deepen breathing and release tension followed by a guided (narrated) meditation sequence to help participants envision a journey toward relaxation. In-studio, group class members may bring a blanket and pillow and may meditate sitting up of laying flat. Priority one is the comfort of all participants and all levels of meditation experience are welcomed, emphasized Pillsbury.

One-to-one or workplace sessions may be customized according to the needs of the client. The benefits of meditation suit an office environment very well, where many people experience significant stress during their work day, said Pillsbury.

I plan to expand my practice to include more workplace clients and look forward to connecting with professionals who are interested in bringing a program to their office."

Read more:

Navigating change and reducing stress with meditation - Wicked Local Scituate

Thats the unexpected implication of a small-scale study from Brown University.

By Tom Jacobs

Theres been quite a bit of recent research pointing to the benefits of mindfulness meditation. The regular practice of watching ones thoughts and emotions without judgment has been found to reduce stress, enhance resilience, and maybe even help with weight loss.

Its perhaps inevitable, then, that further research has added an asterisk to all that success. A new study that measures a valuable potential benefitreducing the intensity of negative emotionssuggests the technique, at least as it is currently caught, may be far more effective for women than for men.

Men may require mindfulness interventions better matched to the particular coping styles that they tend to use, reports a research team led by Rahil Rojiani of the Yale School of Medicine and Willoughby Britton of Brown Universitys Contemplative Studies Initiative.

The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, featured 77 Brown University undergraduates who took a 12-week course in mindfulness training. It included weekly seminars and three hour-long lab sessions per week.

The labs included approximately 30 minutes of a specific contemplative practice from Buddhist or Taoist traditions, the researchers write. Participants reported meditating an average of 41-and-a-half hours over the 12 weeks, including practice sessions at home; on average, the men meditated over seven hours more than the women.

At the beginning and end of the course, the students filled out a series of surveys, including one that measured both positive emotions (the degree to which they were currently experiencing such feelings as interest, excitement, and enthusiasm) and negative ones (shame, distress, irritability). They also noted the extent to which they learned key mindfulness skills, reporting their level of agreement with such statements as I watch my feelings without getting lost in them.

Both women and men improved significantly on most measures (of mindfulness), the researchers report. But in terms of practical results, the results were far more mixed. Female students reported significant reductions in negative emotions, while the men recorded slight but non-significant increases in these unwanted feelings.

This was surprising, says Britton, who added that she has found the same pattern in two additional (yet-to-be-published) studies. I wouldnt be surprised if this is a widespread phenomenon, she told the Brown University press office.

Britton and her colleagues suspect the results reflect the different ways men and women typically process negative emotions. Women tend to internalize by ruminating or engaging in self-critical behavior, they write, while men tend to externalize by distracting themselves or acting out in some way.

Mindfulness has been shown to decrease rumination, which would explain why the female students felt fewer negative emotions. But that same technique apparently prompted men to stop distracting themselves and focus on their unpleasant feelingsa valuable step toward self-awareness, but hardly one that would improve a persons mood.

The researchers found preliminary evidence that one particular aspect of mindfulness training was useful to men: the ability to identify, describe, and differentiate ones emotions. Becoming more emotionally literate has many practical benefits; this finding, which needs to be replicated and expanded upon, suggests men could benefit from practices that emphasize this skill.

It is also possible that more active forms of mindfulness training, such as yoga or Tai Chi, may work better for men given that they may better accommodate the external coping strategy more typical of men, the researchers add.

This was a small study, and previous research finding mindfulness helps marines recover from battlefield stress suggests it can, in fact, produce positive results in men. But these nuanced findings are a reminder that mindfulness is much like any other psychological intervention in that one size does not necessarily fit all.

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Is Mindfulness Meditation Less Effective for Men? Pacific Standard - Pacific Standard

Stages of meditation - The Hindu The Hindu Sage Narada approaches Sanatkumara and tells him that he (Narada) needs instruction from Sanatkumara. Narada has studied the Vedas, Itihasas, Puranans, ... and more »

Originally posted here:

Stages of meditation - The Hindu - The Hindu