Nice & need-to-know

• The goal of yoga and meditation is to find calm, focus and positive energy, says Wimbledon Winner 2014 Novak Djokovic in the book ‘Serve to win’ by William Davis.
• Broga (short for ‘brother yoga’) is described in blogs as one of the main sport trends for 2014. Volkskrant Magazine, May 24, 2014.
• Calming hormones such as melatonin en serotonin increase as a result of any form of meditation, while the stress hormone cortisol diminishes.
• David Lynch, director of Twin Peaks, among others, gets lots of his creative ideas and crazy epiphanies during meditation.
• Meditation can already lead to structural changes in the human brain structure in as little as eight weeks. “It is fascinating to see the brain's plasticity and that, by practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and improve our well-being and quality of life", says Britta Hölzel, PhD, first author of the paper and a research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and Giessen University in Germany. Scientific American, 01/2011.
• Sessions of meditation lead to less fatigue, less anxiety, more concentration and a better working memory. Psychologie Magazine 07/2010.
• Take control of your mind and meditate. Let your soul gravitate to the love, ya'll....'. Justin Timberlake in his “Where is the love” hit song.

Ilse: “Both yoga and meditation have been proven to help treat health issues such as high blood pressure, for example.”