{"383231":{"#nid":"383231","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Relax and Restore: Achieving Balance through Meditation","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAlthough she had been meditating regularly, Selda Yildiz did not fully appreciate the benefits of meditation until she was preparing for her Ph.D. qualifying exam at the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI was a student, always on the go, without much time for reflection,\u201d Yildiz said. \u201cI was an active person in terms of exercising \u2014 running, climbing, playing volleyball \u2014 but, after a while, I noticed I needed to pause and calm my mind and do things that were more restorative and relaxing physically.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe decided to try yoga while also meditating more frequently with her yoga teachers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI realized there were a lot of benefits to meditation, not just physically but emotionally and mentally,\u201d said Yildiz, who has a Ph.D. in underwater acoustics from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, and is now a Georgia Tech postdoctoral fellow studying biomedical imaging.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs a scientist, Yildiz is interested in how and why mind-body practices affect health and well-being. She is expanding her research into understanding the underlying mechanisms related to the benefits of such practices, and she has been learning about the tools, such as the MRI and fMRI, that will allow her to conduct the scientific research for imaging of the brain and spine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA Yoga-Alliance registered yoga and meditation teacher, Yildiz has been teaching since 2012 and recently started a weekly meditation class at Tech\u2019s Campus Recreation Center. The class, which is suitable for all levels of experience, is designed to teach participants how to relieve stress, achieve deep relaxation, gain breath and body awareness, be fully present and alive in the moment, and achieve greater mental clarity and a peaceful state of being.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMeditation calms the mind,\u201d said Yildiz. \u201cStudies have shown that we have approximately 60,000 thoughts a day; 90 percent are the same thoughts we had the day before. Meditation helps us gain awareness and cultivate mindfulness. It also teaches us how to inspect the quality of our thoughts, so we can learn to promote those thoughts that are positive and helpful to our growth.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYildiz draws an analogy between meditation practice and the ocean: \u201cThe surface may be agitated and embroiled in emotions, but there is great calm deep down below. And that is where we want to dive in. Once you find that calmness within you, you can\u2019t give it back,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMindfulness Tips\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor those who cannot attend her mediation class, Yildiz\u2019s tips include:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E- Start with a few 2-minute practices each day\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E: Sit still, lower your eyes, and observe your breath for two minutes before starting your day, prior to breakfast\/lunch\/dinner, before turning on your car, and during your commute if you take public transportation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E- Focus on your feet when angry\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E: Shifting your focus to your feet helps to \u201cground\u201d you.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYildiz is planning to teach yoga and meditation classes in fall 2015. Stay tuned.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA weekly meditation class, which is suitable for all levels of experience, is designed to teach participants how to relieve stress, achieve deep relaxation, gain breath and body awareness, and achieve greater mental clarity.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A weekly meditation class, which is suitable for all levels of experience, is designed to teach participants how to relieve stress, achieve deep relaxation, gain breath and body awareness, and achieve greater mental clarity."}],"uid":"27713","created_gmt":"2015-03-02 12:36:53","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:01:54","author":"Victor Rogers","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-03-02T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2015-03-02T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"383241":{"id":"383241","type":"image","title":"meditation class","body":null,"created":"1449246246","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:24:06","changed":"1475894395","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:39:55","alt":"meditation class","file":{"fid":"75331","name":"meditation_class.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/meditation_class.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/meditation_class.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4821932,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/meditation_class.jpg?itok=FTqzOR2t"}}},"media_ids":["383241"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.crc.gatech.edu\/","title":"Campus Recreation Center"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"719","name":"CRC"},{"id":"1808","name":"graduate students"},{"id":"85121","name":"meditation"},{"id":"120001","name":"postdoc"},{"id":"170797","name":"Selda Yildiz"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:victor.rogers@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EVictor Rogers\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-894-6398\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["victor.rogers@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}