April - June 2018 Transformation

Transformation American Meditation Institute

americanmeditation.org

APRIL - JUNE 2018

Yoga Science for Modern Life

AVERILL PARK, NEW YORK

#MeToo Opioid Crisis Gun Control To make the best choices in every issue in life, you must first answer these 5 questions: Who am I? Where have I come from? Why am I here?

What’s to be done? Where shall I go?

See page 6

Upcoming Classes and Events Inside this Issue:

If you want to start and maintain a meditation practice, this course is perfect for you. / P. 4

Intro to AMI MEDITATION

Leonard Perlmutter’s acclaimed six week, self-care foundation course on Yoga Science. / P. 2-3

AMI MEDITATION

Join Leonard July 19-22 as he offers you the practical keys to a happy, healthy, joyful life. / P. 13

18th Annual Summer Retreat

A MI MEDITATION AMI Classes for April - June 2018

Heart and Science of Yoga Empowering Self-Care Program

The Foundation Course of Yoga Science ®

Yoga Science • AMI Meditation • Breathing • Yoga Psychology • Ayurveda • Easy-Gentle Yoga

with Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev), AMI Founder A modern link in the world’s oldest health and wisdom tradition

Introduction to A MI MEDITATION

Now, in your present situation, you need to successfully balance all your many personal, professional and family responsibilities. The AMI MEDITATION course, which contains the time-tested Heart and Science of Yoga ® Complete Self-Care Program, will help you transform your stresses into strength, sharpen your decision-making skills, and meet all your challenges creatively.

What is A MI Self-Care?

AMI Self-care is an essential survival skill.

It refers to easy-to-learn daily Yoga Science practices that can reduce stress and maintain and enhance your short and long term health and well-being. By employing the tools learned in the AMI MEDITATION course, you’ll be able to fulfill all your personal and professional commitments effectively and rewardingly.

Purposes of A MI Self-Care

AMI Self-Care is not simply about limiting or eliminating stressors. It is also about enhancing your overall health and wellbeing. The purposes of Self-Care include: • Strengthening physical and psychological health • Managing, reducing and transforming stress • Honoring emotional and spiritual needs • Fostering and sustaining relationships

Leonard Perlmutter

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“A problem cannot be solved on the level at which it appears.

It must be solved on a higher level.”

ALBERT EINSTEIN

AMI MEDITATION teaches you how to reliably access your own inner, intuitive wisdom from the superconscious portion of the mind. By accessing this “higher level” of knowledge, you will know (and know that you know) how to make positive, stress reducing and health affirming lifestyle choices.

Self-Care is essential to your OPTIMAL HEALTH

Herbert Benson, MD of the Harvard Medical School, says the successful maintenance of optimal health requires an informed and comprehensive program of SELF-CARE.

The curriculum for

AMI MEDITATION is based on the award-winning book, The Heart and Science of Yoga ®

by Leonard Perlmutter

Leonard is a noted educator and founder of The American Meditation Institute.

He is the author of The Heart and Science of Yoga® and the mind/body medicine journal, Transformation. He has presented self-care courses at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Albany Medical College, The New York Times Yoga Forum with Dean Ornish MD and the U. S. Military Academy at West Point.

americanmeditation.org • Tel. (518) 674-8714

What A MI MEDITATION Can Do for YOU

In 2007, AMI conducted a retrospective case study of participants who completed Leonard Perlmutter’s AMI MEDITATION Heart and Science of Yoga ® Self-Care Program.

The findings included these positive, reproducible, long-term health-promoting changes: • Reduced cholesterol levels • Significant reductions in stress and fear • Improved energy levels • diminished or extinguished • Increased creative capacity • decreased anxiety and depression acute and chronic pain • diminishment of migraine headaches • Lowered blood pressure • Weight loss • Heals irritable bowel syndrome • Lowered heart rate • Increased breathing capacity • Enhanced happiness and optimism • Improved restorative sleep

OVERVIEW: The Heart and Science of Yoga ® Self-Care Program AMI MEdITATIoN • Mantra Science • diaphragmatic Breathing • Yoga Psychology Mind Function optimization • Easy-Gentle Yoga • Lymph System detox • Nutrition • Ayurveda

YOGA SCIENCE How to use the mind for the best choices How to create new, healthier habits Understanding pain as an agent for healing Increasing energy, will power & creativity Antidotes for worry, stress and depression AMI MEDITATION Systematic procedure for AMI Meditation diminishing distractions with mantra science Learning the one-minute meditation Building focus, fearlessness, and strength BREATHING TECHNIQUES Breath as Medicine How breathing irregularities foster dis-ease Complete (three-part) yogic breath

YOGA PSYCHOLOGY & AYURVEDA How the mind supports optimal health The power of the present moment Building and healing relationships Introduction to Ayurveda EASY-GENTLE YOGA EXERCISES Yoga stretches to benefit: muscles, joints, glands and internal organs Physiological benefits of yoga postures MIND /BODY CARE PLAN The healing power of prayer The practical benefit of contemplation Creating a therapeutic care plan for yourself Learning to budget your time Integrating spiritual beliefs into daily life

HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE

Call us to discuss how your Health Insurance plan might cover this program.

TUESDAY NIGHTS: APR 10 – MAY 15; MAY 22 – JUN 26 6:30 - 9:00PM, $595. (6 WKS) Physicians $895; PAs, NPs: $795; RNs: $695

PHYSICIAN ACCREDITATION (15 CMEs) This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint providership of Albany Medical College and The American Meditation Institute. Albany Medical College is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Albany Medical College designates this Live activity for a maximum of 15 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Required Texts: The Heart and Science of Yoga ® The Art of Joyful Living.

Registration Includes: Lifelong support for your meditation practice, a 20 minute Guided Meditation CD, a copy of The Physiology of Easy-Gentle Yoga, and a complementary subscription to AMI’s quarterly publication, Transformation, the journal of meditation as mind/body medicine.

NURSING CONTINUING EDUCATION (15 contact hours) This continuing nursing education activity was approved by the American Nurses Association Massachusetts (ANA MASS), an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

The Heart and Science of Yoga ® Self-Care Program is Endorsed by Dr. Oz (Mehmet Oz MD), Dean Ornish MD, Bernie Siegel MD, Larry Dossey MD

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americanmeditation.org • Tel. (518) 674-8714

INTRO TO A MI MEDITATION

COMPASSIONATE BUDDHA

The Basics for Getting Started

Mary Holloway, Doreen Howe, André Tremblay, Beth Netter MD, Sandy Vo, Bob Iwaniec DC

LEVEL I: If you’re not quite ready to register for our 6 week AMI MEDITATION foundation course on Yoga Science, this two-session ‘Intro’ course will provide you step-by-step guidance on how to start—and stick with—a daily practice. It’s easier than you think to learn the basics, and it’s very enjoyable!

Now at Two Locations: Averill Park: AMI Home Center, 60 Garner Rd. 674-8714 Clifton Park: AMI North, 108 Old Coach Rd. 383-0994 SATURDAY MORNINGS, 9:30 - 11:00AM, $95. (2 WKS) APR 21 &28; JUN 9 & 16 AVERILL PARK

SATURDAY MORNINGS, 9:30 - 11:00AM, $95. (2 WKS) MAY 12 & 19 CLIFTON PARK

MORNING YOGA FOR FIFTY PLUS Melanie (Uma) Gloeckner RYT

Level I: Yoga for healthy aging focuses on developing increased flexibility and strength, improved balance, endurance and breath, reduced stress, relaxation and greater energy.

WED. MORNINGS, 9:45-11:00AM ($10/WK FOR 1 MONTH ) APRIL––JUNE No experience necessary. Drop-Ins $15.

SUMMER RETREAT - JULY 19-22

®

The Heart and Science of Yoga

Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev), AMI Founder

The 18th annual July retreat presents the same core curriculum as the AMI MEDITATION Complete Self-Care Program (see pages 2 & 3).

These time-tested practices are designed for both the general public and healthcare professionals. Attending physicians, PAs, RNs and NPs will receive 18 CME credits. Join Leonard and Jenness and the AMI staff in the comfort of the Home Center just East of Albany, NY in the foothills of the Berkshires.

Delicious gourmet vegetarian meals included.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: TEL. (518) 674-8714

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* II: (Offered once a year) LEVEL

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The Healing Power of Thoughts Leonard and Jenness Perlmutter

Available by CDL (Computer Distance Learning)

The Compassionate Buddha, one of our most practical yogic teachers, prescribes the practice of meditation as mind/body medicine.

From the very first line of the Dhammapada, “Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think,” the Buddha explains what leads to joy and health, and what leads to disease and sorrow. Then he explains how to take our lives into our own hands. Without esoterica or metaphysics, without appeal to anything magical or superhuman, the Buddha encourages us to experiment with our minds; to coordinate the four functions of the mind just as Patanjali (the codifier of Yoga Science) suggests, so that we can experience lasting health, happiness and security.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON, 2:30 - 4:30PM, $95.

MAY 19

Vyasa

Navigating the Hour There is no I In journey But there is An our Yes, you and me, Inseparably, Navigating The hour

Robert j Iwaniec

Directions to A MI • 60 Garner Road

I-90 Exit #8 (Rt. 43 E). Take Rt. 43 for 4 1/2 miles. In W. Sand Lake, take a right turn at the lighted intersection onto Rt. 150.

Go 1 mile on Rt. 150. Take a left turn on Cnty Rd #52/Sheer Rd (at stone wall). Go 1 mile on Sheer Rd and bear left at fork onto Garner Rd. AMI is the 3rd house on the right.

PERSONAL COUNSELING

AMI Classes for April - June 2018

Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev), AMI Founder Int’l. Association of Yoga Therapists

AMI Meditational Therapy is a powerful tool of Yoga Psychology. With over 40 years of personal practice, Leonard will teach you how to thrive while dealing with all of life’s challenges. Each counseling session provides practical tools and a new, refreshing perspective to benefit both personal and business relationships. Especially in today’s stressful and fast-paced world, Leonard’s sage insights and advice can help you enhance your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well being.

AMI HOME CENTER, By appointment. $150/hr.

FREE SUNDAY MEDITATION

Leonard (Ram Lev) and Jenness Perlmutter

LEVEL I: Join AMI’s FREE 20-minute guided meditation and satsang teaching. Participants may sit on comfortable chairs or on the floor.

SUNDAYS, 9:30 - 11:00AM, FREE

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YOGA PSYCHOLOGY BHAGAVAD GITA STUDY

Leonard (Ram Lev) and Jenness Perlmutter

Available by CDL (Computer Distance Learning) Attend this in-depth course from your own home or anywhere in the world. Call 518.674.8714 for details.

LEVEL II: In continuous six week installments this course presents the profound teachings of the Bhagavad Gita as a handbook on the science of life and the art of living. If you are seeking a manual or guide for the supreme task of living in the world today, this ongoing study will provide you practical wisdom, meaning and purpose for your life. Each week Leonard and Jenness will teach you how to reduce stress and confidently enhance your health and creative abilities, while providing you a fresh, positive perspective on all your family and business relationships.

MONDAY NIGHTS, 6:30 - 8:30 PM, $150. (6 WKS) APR 2 - MAY 7; MAY 14 - JUNE 25 (EXCEPT MAY 28)

“We are deluded when we think of ourselves as separate individuals. Our faith in the limited powers of the senses, and our adherence to old neural pathways in the brain have led us to this delusion––even though we are equipped for change. When we begin to realize the unicity within the diversity of apparent separations, and employ our intuitive wisdom, the play of life becomes a great and rewarding adventure.”

Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev)

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#MeToo Opioid Crisis Gun Control To make the best choices in every issue in life, you must first answer these 5 questions:

Who am I? Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev)

Harrowing, infuriating stories emerging from the #MeToo movement, the opiate addiction crisis, and the St. Valentine’s Day massacre at Stoneman Douglas High School continue to tear at our hearts. But as we struggle to make the best choices concerning these horrifying revelations and to direct our creative energies toward positive change in our nation’s character, conduct and consciousness, we must first pause––and acknowledge one potent, undeniable truth: As we decide what’s to be done, our unexamined and unconscious preconceptions are going to exert enormous power to distort our perceptions.

In everyday life none of us really sees circumstances as they truly are. Instead, we experience a projection of our own mental concepts. As first century Greek philosopher Epictetus said, “We are not disturbed by things, but rather by the views we hold of them.” In fact, Shakespeare went so far as to claim that, “There is nothing either good or bad, only thinking makes it so.”

Because so many of our unconsciously held concepts are neither true nor valid, the perceptions our minds form, and the associated actions our bodies take, often lead to more pain––not the desired overcoming of pain.

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Where have I come from?

Why am I here?

What’s to be done?

Where shall I go?

If we seek change while relying on worn-out, untruthful, faulty concepts, we will doom ourselves to even more painful, tormenting anger and fears. Unintentionally, we will create yet another level of distress.

As the Compassionate Buddha warned, “Don’t swallow a hot iron ball and then cry out, ‘I am in great pain.’”

If we are sincerely seeking a kinder and more rewarding way to treat ourselves and others, we must first examine the one concept that most perverts our human perceptions. That concept is the personal pronoun “I.” Sadly, in the midst of all our human relationships, most of us do not really know who we are. And if our friends and foes seek to know us merely by evaluating our current physical, mental, emotional, political and spiritual attributes, they also can never really know us for certain. That’s because everything with a name and a form in the material world is continually changing––including “me,” and including “you.”

If, however, we can admit to ourselves that we need to set aside relative truths in order to find meaningful solutions to the perplexing issues of our times, we can employ the sage advice of Albert Einstein, who

advised humanity that, “A problem cannot be solved on the level at which it appears. It must be solved on a higher level.”

The first step to discovering the higher truth that Einstein believed would lead to genuine and workable solutions, is to contemplate and answer these five essential questions: Who am I? Where have I come from? Why am I here? What’s to be done?

Where shall I go?

Who am I? We define ourselves physically, mentally and emotionally every day. We might define ourselves as tall or short, heavy or thin, flexible or inflexible, happy or sad, focused or unfocused, calm or stressed, angry or forgiving, bored or interested, fearful or fearless. The list could go on and on.

When we examine how we define ourselves, one thing becomes clear. Each definition of “I” implies the existence of its polar opposite. Why? Because our world of relativity is defined by pairs of opposites. We can’t know up without knowing down, in without knowing out, anger without knowing forgiveness, and fearlessness without knowing fear.

If you gaze at the ceiling above you it will appear high to you, and yet if you were on the roof, that same ceiling would seem low. While that observation would also be true, both would be only relatively true. On this plane of existence, the human being is subject to the laws of relativity. The height of the ceiling, for example, is subject to the laws of time, space and causation. The ceiling height is only relatively true, and relative truths are always subject to change.

The very same can be said about any definition we attribute to the personal pronoun “I.” Information derived through the senses is always only relatively true. Right now I’m tall, but when I was five years old I was short. Yesterday I was angry, but today I’m forgiving. Last week I was calm, yet this week I’m anxious. When I fly in an airplane twenty thousand feet in the air I am fearful.

When the plane lands I become fearless.

Based on our memory, the only unchanging truth about ourselves that we can declare with certainty is “I AM.” Other than

I AM, when we try to define ourselves we invariably settle on a meaning that reflects a relative truth that is ever-changeable.

Everyday definitions of the “I” are never absolutely true.

Contemplate this point for a moment.

Based on your personal memory, was there ever a time in your life when the statement “I am” was not absolutely true?

Certainly the size and shape of your body have changed over a lifetime, as has your mental and emotional landscape. You might have been heavy as a child, but now you are thin. Yesterday you might have been fearful, but today you’re fearless. In your youth you were politically liberal, but in the afternoon of life you’re more conservative.

The I-amness that has continued as the only constant in your life is the most persuasive indication that consciousness exists beyond the mind-body-sense complex that “I” refers to as “me.” This inherent capacity to be present every moment––to witness––is what allows “you” to perceive and comprehend the words on this page, and it enables “me” to order thoughts and craft words into this essay.

Consciousness, referred to as awareness or attention, exists both within and beyond time, with and without an object to observe.

As a meditator begins to observe his or her thoughts, consciousness can observe consciousness in the silence between two thoughts. Consciousness is the background of all reality––a cosmic soup of awareness from which and into which all gross and subtle objects appear for limited periods of time.

What are these gross and subtle objects that continually appear in your awareness?

The clothes you wear and the bed you sleep in are gross objects. Anything that’s perceived through the senses is a gross object–– including the human body. The truth, therefore, is that “we” have a body, and “we” are aware of the body, but “we” are not the body.

It is merely the instrument of consciousness.

Gross objects appear in your awareness for only a limited time, and then they depart.

This phenomenon is not very different from the weather. Yesterday it was sunny. Today it’s raining, and tomorrow it may snow.

Subtle objects, like thoughts, desires, 7

emotions and concepts also appear in your awareness. Like gross objects, subtle objects also have a form, but they vibrate at a frequency too high to be perceived through the rudimentary instrumentation of the five senses.

You can’t see, taste, or touch them. Yet, through the mind, your most powerful instrument, “you” are made aware of these subtle objects. Seemingly out of nowhere, a thought comes into your awareness. It could be a thought that provokes a desire, fear or anger.

It might not have been in your awareness a few seconds ago, yet you’re aware of it now, in the present moment. In an hour you may hardly remember the thought.

This understanding encourages you to dis-identify with anything that is transitory. It is clear “you” have a body, but “you” are not the body. “You” have a mind with thoughts, desires emotions and concepts, but “you” are not the mind, nor are “you” the thoughts, desires, emotions or concepts appearing in your awareness through the instrument of the mind. Essentially, the real You is awareness itself––pure consciousness without any object––consciousness that, by its very nature, can perceive all the gross and subtle objects that appear in time and space.

While “I” can never completely define who “I” am through the limitations of language, “I” can experience the truth. For this noble purpose, Yoga Science describes our Essential Nature as being a composition of three fundamental qualities.

Sat – Eternal Existence The first characteristic of your Essential Nature (the real “I”) is described by the Sanskrit word Sat, meaning eternal existence. That internal witnessing capacity that allows “you” to perceive all gross and subtle objects is eternal, changeless. The ultimate “I” was never born and will never die. It is self-existent. Unlike every gross and subtle object, awareness is not dependent on anything else for its existence.

No object can claim to be eternal. A book, for example, is neither eternal nor selfexistent. It is dependent on many different things for its existence: trees, a lumberjack, trucker, paper mill, printer, bindery, author, editor, publisher, salesperson, and bookstore 8

or website. Objects like a book, or even the desire for the knowledge to make an enlightened decision concerning a sexual predator or mass murderer, may be subject to change, but your own awareness––which empowers perception––is eternal.

Jesus the Christ taught us that, “Before Abraham was, I am.” What was He speaking of, if not the eternal capacity to witness?

When Moses was in the desert, he stood before a bush that was burning yet not consumed by the flame. Acknowledging the sacredness of the experience, Moses asked the bush, “Who are you?” Whereupon the bush replied to Moses, “I am that I am.”

Moses grasped the import of the Divine pronouncement, but still was doubtful that others would. He asked the bush, “What shall I tell the Hebrew people? Who shall I tell them has sent me?” To this the Lord responded by saying, “Tell the Hebrew people that ‘I am’ has sent you.”

Chit – Consciousness and Wisdom The second characteristic of your Essential Nature (“I”) is Chit, meaning consciousness––your capacity for awareness, attention and wisdom. Within Chit resides an intuitive library of wisdom.

Everyday, “you” have relationships with thousands of gross objects: people, animals, plants and minerals. You also witness thousands of subtle objects: thoughts, desires, emotions and judgments that come into your awareness for a limited length of time. The nature of the real “you” is Eternal Awareness (Sat and Chit)––capable of providing all the higher knowledge necessary for your mind-body-sense complex to skillfully fulfill your life’s purpose.

Ananda – Bliss or Fullness The final characteristic of your Essential Nature (“I”) is Ananda. It means bliss or complete fullness. There is no gross or subtle object you can know, experience or obtain that can make you any fuller or more content than “you” (pure consciousness) already are.

On the highest level of consciousness, “you” are the Eternal Witness––the attentive background––eternally content in the bliss and fullness of your own transcendent perfection.

You have already glimpsed the unspeakable joy, bliss, fullness and contentment that the sages refer to as Ananda, and yet, may not have recognized it. You might have experienced this Ananda when you fell in love, or at the sight of your own newborn child. Or, the rapture of Ananda might have briefly come to you as you jogged, gardened or read; as you lost yourself in a beautiful painting or musical composition; or as you stood in awe before the majesty of a glorious sunset on a secluded lake. When your attention is completely captured by one object, there is no room for thinking. You neither entertain memories of the past nor imaginations of the future. Instead, at that singular point in space and time, when all your attention becomes fixed on a particular object, the perceiver and the object of perception both disappear, and what reflects into the awareness of the Inner Witness is Ananda––an indescribable contentment.

After some time, of course, new, compelling thoughts stream into your awareness.

New, subtle objects appear, diverting “you” from the bliss of one-pointed attention, and you once again begin to think and question.

You may have been momentarily absorbed in the absolute beauty of a rose, but the mind eventually intervenes by entertaining a thought. “Is this rose as magnificent as the one I grew last summer?” The intellect diffuses your focus and the bliss of Ananda fades from conscious awareness. Once more you are swept away into the unending procession of memories of the past and hypotheticals for the future that effectively dissipate your mental energy and enslave your perceptions to your mental pre-conceptions.

Those fleeting, bliss-filled moments might be termed “peek” experiences.

Through them, you have been granted a tiny glimpse of the bliss that is your very own Divine Nature. When your attention is thoroughly one-pointed, the individual self, the little ego, that limited sense of “I” disappears, leaving only Sat-Chit-Ananda, the eternal, bliss-filled consciousness and wisdom of the Eternal Witness.

When the mind experiences a moment of one-pointedness, the habitual procession of mental distractions temporarily abates.

In that stillness you feel wonderful. This contentment, the sages remind us, is nothing other than the bliss of Ananda reflecting into your own consciousness (Chit). It is your eternal Self. It is fullness. It is perfection. No object or relationship could make you feel any more content than you already are in that stillness.

These experiences of fullness are a taste of what is your birthright. There is nothing “you” have to get from outside yourself to be free of anger, judgment, fear, anxiety, stress, burnout, phobias, sorrow, spiritual longing, or any kind of physical, mental or emotional suffering. You merely have to recognize That which you are. When a sculptor stands before a raw block of marble, she might have a vision of an elephant. As she takes hammer and chisel in hand, she proceeds to remove everything from the block that is not elephant––until all that remains is the elephant.

There is really no magic in your making discriminating and rewarding choices–– regardless of whether you’re deciding what to eat for dinner, or how our society should deal with mass murderers or sexual predators. In the past, “we” didn’t know our real Self, and our own unconscious concepts habitually motivated “us” to make choices that gave rise to pain, misery and bondage.

As 20th century mystic Ramana Maharshi observed, “The mind is consciousness which has put on limitations. The real You is originally unlimited and perfect. Later, You put on limitations and then identify with the mind’s restraints.”

But, as your meditation practice deepens and the personality acknowledges your real Self as Sat-Chit-Ananda––eternal, consciousness, wisdom and bliss, the real You will begin to see things as they are, not as they once appeared. Then, through an ongoing dynamic process of purification and transformation, the old personality’s unconscious limitations will slowly fall away. In their place, the old “you” will truly become the real You––ever-supported by a clarity of vision that enables “you” to serve as the compassionate instrument of change you have longed for in the world.

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Rediscover your Love of Medicine and Life!

10th Annual Conference for Physicians • Psychologists • PAs • NPs • RNs

Holistic Mind/Body Medicine Comprehensive Training in Yoga Science as

A Unique Curriculum of Practical AMI MEDITATION Tools to Help: Relieve Physician Burnout and Stress • Support the Treatment of Chronic Pain and Addiction Promote Optimal Health and Resilience

32 CMEs

The Heart and Science of Yoga AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM

®

AMI MEdITATIoN • Mantra Science • diaphragmatic Breathing • Yoga Psychology Mind Function optimization • Easy-Gentle Yoga • Lymph System detox Chakra System • Yoga Nidra • Ayurveda • Food as Medicine • Positional Therapy Epigenomics • Trauma • PTSd • Resilience • Neuroplasticity • Mind/Body Research

AMI MEDITATION PRACTICES TO RELIEVE PHYSICIAN BURNOUT Albany Medical College

Yoga Science for Modern Life

OCTOBER 23-27, 2018

5 1/2

Hour Online Video Course & Book

Space is LIMITED

Lenox, Massachusetts

The only 4-Diamond Resort in the Berkshires

Please Register EARLY!

FREE !

Susan Lord Md

Leonard Perlmutter AMI Founder

Anita Burock Md

REGISTER ONLINE:

Mark Pettus Md

Jesse Ritvo Md

Beth Netter Md

Joshua Zamer Md

Renee Goodemote Md

Tony Santilli Md

PrashantKaushikMd G. Grodnitzky Phd Jenness Perlmutter Sat Bir S. Khalsa Phd

Lee Albert NMT

americanmeditation.org/cme • Tel. (518) 674-8714

Curriculum Endorsed by: Mehmet Oz MD, Dean Ornish MD, Larry Dossey MD and Bernie Siegel MD

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Change your Perspective –– Change your Experience At AMI’s 10th Annual Physicians’ Conference

AMI’s Heart and Science of Yoga ® 10th Annual Physicians’ Conference is uniquely designed to offer you a refreshingly new, clearer and kinder perspective on yourself and every personal and professional responsibility you face. Through engaging lectures by an accomplished faculty, instructive practicums and Q&A, you’ll gain experiential knowledge that will integrate Yoga Science

into a dynamic self-care program. As a result of attending this year’s conference, you’ll return home with a set of practical tools that can empower you to make conscious, discriminating and reliable choices to enhance your creativity, well-being, happiness and success. Regardless of how challenging your circumstances might feel today, the science of Yoga can help.

100% of last year’s attendees ranked this conference as "Superior" to other CME courses.

1. “This course was life changing. The knowledge, expertise and compassion of the faculty introduced to me a practice and philosophy fundamentally different from the way allopathic medicine views the mind and body.”

Steven Lee MD, Psychiatrist, NYC

2. “Life changing! Everyone in every facet of life should experience this. I’m so grateful for you and your institution and all involved for bringing truth to doctors with love and compassion. This is a light the world needs to see.”

Pamela Shervanick MD, Psychiatrist, RI

3. “This was the best CME course I ever attended. It gave me a strong foundation to help patients mindfully improve their lives. I learned powerful and practical skills to use for my greater good.”

Vi Quach MD, Internal Medicine, NYC

4. “This has been an excellent conference. I appreciate being able to obtain CME credits for self-care that empowers patient care.”

Michael Stephens MD, Family Med, NC

8. “This has given me a new perspective on life, and connections with like-minded professionals. Everybody should attend, and the food was great and plentiful.”

5. “This is the only CME course I’ve ever attended that reminds me that to be a better doctor, I need to take care of myself.”

9. “This course gave me a new outlook on life, and the tools to make it stick.”

Stacey Pristelski NP, Family Medicine, WI

Karenga Lemmons MD, Internal Med, DC

Farhana Riaz MD, Pediatric Radiologist, MA

6. “This conference was very helpful for burnt-out physicians who need healing. It was an excellent program.”

10. “Amazing conference! Life altering. The flow of the lectures built on each other and everything was pulled together beautifully.”

Melinda Darling MD, Pediatrician, MD

Colleen Opremcak MD, Psychiatrist, OH

7. “Wonderful conference! Anyone who has an open mind will benefit from this new, refreshing way to look at life. If we shift our perspective, we can transform draining experiences at work and home into teaching points for our own spirituality and growth.”

11. “A masterfully designed course with actionable knowledge and practice to begin my own journey into meditation and yoga.”

Negean Afifi DO, Emergency Medicine, Calif.

Faith Holmes MD, Palliative Medicine, TX

12. “This course rates five stars due to the uniqueness of the material, comprehensive curriculum and quality of the speakers.”

Celeste Chace NP, Pediatrics, MA

Rejuvenate • Learn • Network • Share • Grow 11

Yoga as Mind/Body Medicine

By Sat Bir Singh Khalsa

Clinical research on the mind/body practices of traditional Yoga has found many substantial, positive outcomes. For example, brain structure and biochemistry have changed, body mass index and stress hormone levels have been reduced, and high blood glucose levels have dropped. And it’s definitely not just a placebo effect. It’s a biological effect.

When individuals do yogic practices, the body and the mind change in positive ways.

It starts with executive function: the meditation, mind/body awareness, and mindfulness components all involve recruiting and controlling your attention. This process happens in the frontal cortex––which is your executive brain. It has control over other areas of the brain, particularly the emotional brain––the so-called limbic system. When you enhance that executive functioning, physical changes in the brain take place. The consequence is more body awareness, less emotional reactivity, less stress reactivity, more calmness, more positive emotion––a state of equanimity. It’s what we call “brain plasticity.” The more you use a function of the frontal cortex, the bigger that area of the brain devoted to it becomes. If you pump iron you get a big bicep. That’s muscle plasticity. It’s the same thing with the brain. The more you practice these meditative techniques, the emotional part of the brain starts to shrink. And you benefit from that. As you become less emotionally reactive, you choose to eat things that actually make you feel better. As a result, you’re no longer eating broccoli just because your doctor told you to eat broccoli; you’re eating broccoli because suddenly it feels good to you.

That’s the very big difference in behavior change. After that change, when people do have sugar, they say, “Oh, it doesn’t feel so good,” and suddenly, they avoid it––but not because they’re told to avoid it. It’s not a guilt thing; it’s a desire. “I don’t eat sugar because it makes me feel like hell, and I want to exercise because when I exercise I feel better.” There’s positive incentive. That’s behavioral change from the bottom up! The 12

Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, Ph.D.

Researcher in Yoga as Mind/Body Medicine

choice is not being imposed from outside.

Most people don’t have the skills to cope with stress and strong emotions. Our culture doesn’t teach these skills in schools or in our healthcare system. The purpose of Yoga practices is to improve the mind and body so that you can experience deeper contemplative states of mind––spirituality, if you will, but not necessarily religion.

Spirituality, and the sense of peace and equanimity, brings a lot of well-being into people’s lives. It sounds like utopia, but in fact, it takes effort. You have to actually do it. You have to take responsibility. You have to take the time and make the commitment to do easy-gentle yoga and meditate daily.

Fortunately, there’s a definite payback. The entire practice becomes self-rewarding.

When it feels good, you’ll want more of it.

When a person gets into that regimen of committed practice, it produces tremendous benefits.

This interview was conducted by Karen Collins, MS, RD, CDN. karencollinsnutrition.com. Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, Ph.D. is a researcher in mind/body medicine, specializing in yoga therapy. He is Director of Research, Kundalini Research Institute, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, editor of the Int’l Journal of Yoga Therapy, and ® Singh author of Your Brain on Yoga. Dr. Sat Bir Khalsa will join the the AMI faculty at the 10th annual Heart and Science of Yoga ® holistic conference October 23-27, 2018.

americanmeditation.org/summer-retreat

18 CMEs

A MI’s SUMMER RETREAT

AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM

Join Leonard and Jenness Perlmutter at

For the General Public, Physicians and other Healthcare Professionals

July 19-22 “ Please join me for our 18th annual summer retreat, as I share how you can experience life’s greatest gifts through the personal practice of AMI Meditation.”

Leonard (Ram Lev)

Spend a peaceful and instructive weekend learning the acclaimed Heart and Science of Yoga ® curriculum in a concentrated 4-day format. Regardless of the level of your experience, Leonard’s clear teaching style and sense of humor will provide you a complete AMI MEDITATION practice and all the tools you’ll need to ease stress, reduce pain, boost your immune system, heal relationships, enhance your problem solving ability and discover inner peace. You’ll also delight in delicious, gourmet vegetarian food during the retreat!

To Register: (518) 674-8714 • americanmeditation.org /summer-retreat

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CALENDAR

FREE: SUNDAY GUIDED MEDITATION & SATSANG

Sundays 9:30-11:00 AM with Leonard (Ram Lev) and Jenness

APRIL 2018

APR 2- MAY 7: GITA/YOGA PSYCHOLOGY see p.5 Mon. Nights, 6:30 - 8:30 PM (6 weeks)

Wed. Mornings, 9:45 - 11:00 AM (1 month)

APR 4- APR 25: MORNING YOGA FOR 50+

see p. 4

APR 10- MAY 15: AMI MEDITATION see p. 2-3 Tues. Nights, 6:30 - 9:00 PM (6 weeks) see p. 14

Fri. Night, 5:30 - 10:00 PM (“The Shape of Water”)

APRIL 20: DINNER & MOVIE

APR 21 & 28: INTRO TO AMI MEDITATION see p. 4

Sat. Mornings, 9:30 - 11:00 AM (2 weeks, Averill Park)

MAY 2018

Dinner • Movie • Satsang 2018 FILM DISCUSSION SERIES

Friday, April 20, 5:30-10:00 PM

THE

SHAPE OF WATER

Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Octavia Spencer At a secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a relationship with an amphibious creature being held in captivity.

Friday, May 18, 5:30-10:00 PM

see p. 4

Wed. Mornings, 9:45 - 11:00 AM (1 month)

MAY 2- 30: MORNING YOGA FOR 50+

MAY 12 & 19: INTRO TO AMI MEDITATION see p. 4

Sat. Mornings, 9:30 - 11:00 AM (2 weeks, Clifton Park)

MAY 14- JUN 25: GITA/YOGA PSYCHOLOGY see p.5 Mon. Nights, 6:30 - 8:30 PM (6 weeks) see p. 14

Fri. Night, 5:30 - 10:00 PM (“The Post”)

MAY 18: DINNER & MOVIE

MAY 22- JUN 26: AMI MEDITATION see p. 2-3 Tues. Nights, 6:30 - 9:00 PM (6 weeks)

JUNE 2018

see p. 4

Wed. Mornings, 9:45 - 11:00 AM (1 month)

JUN 6- 27: MORNING YOGA FOR 50+

JUN 9 & 16: INTRO TO AMI MEDITATION see p. 4

Sat. Mornings, 9:30 - 11:00 AM (2 weeks, Averill Park) Thurs. Night, 6:30 - 8:30 PM

JUN 21: WOMEN’S WELLNESS EVENING

see p. 16

see p. 14

Fri. Night, 5:30 - 10:00 PM (“Darkest Hour”)

JUN 22: DINNER & MOVIE

American Meditation Institute

Yoga Science for Modern Life April - June, 2018 • Vol. XXI No. 3 ©2018 60 Garner Road, Averill Park, NY 12018

americanmeditation.org \ Tel. (518) 674-8714 ami@americanmeditation.org AMI is a tax exempt, non-profit 501(c)3 educational organization. Donations are fully tax deductible.

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THE POST

Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks A timely re-examination by director/producer Steven Spielberg of what it takes to risk one’s own career and very freedom in order to help bring long-buried truths to light.

Friday, June 22, 5:30-10:00 PM

DARKEST HOUR Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily James Pitted against Nazi Germany, Winston Churchill must withstand his own self-doubt in order to rally a nation, and lead the forces of light against the forces of darkness.

Each film reflects practical Yoga Science.

A gourmet vegetarian dinner begins at 5:30 PM, followed by a movie and discussion (satsang). A group meditation concludes the evening.

RSVP required by Wednesday prior to the event.

$20 per person - (dinner & complementary movie)

YOGA SCIENCE NEWS Calculating Burnout

What is the cost of physician burnout? Now hospitals and practices can take a hard look at the financial impact by using an online physician burnout calculator created by the AMA (American Medical Association). Data indicates that to replace an existing physician costs between $500,000 and $1 million.

According to Christine Sinsky, MD FACP, vice president of professional satisfaction at the American Medical Association, and board certified in Internal Medicine, “This is a conservative figure.

It doesn’t include many, many additional sources of financial costs attributed to burnout.” In addition to quitting their jobs, physicians may respond to burnout by cutting back to part-time. Or they may respond by being less productive, or seeing fewer patients. Worse, they may respond by providing less safe care, and patients may begin to leave the practice. Sinsky suggests that hospitals and medical practices weigh the costs of burnout to their organization, and that the cost will surely be staggering to leadership.

Christine Sinsky MD

American Medical Association Vice President of Professional Satisfaction, board certified in Internal Medicine.

Reinventing Meditation

Parade magazine suggests that you think of meditation playing these unique roles:

Stemming the Burnout Tide by Helping Medical Students

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, an estimated 300 to 400 physicians commit suicide each year―about one physician per day. Training for medical students presently involves multiple risk factors for mental illness, including decreased sleep, relocation resulting in fewer available support systems, and feelings of isolation. An article in JAMA Psychiatry, calls for a national response to this issue, and offers

guidelines on appropriate education, screening, and treatment. The first steps would be to educate the academic community concerning these issues, and to foster help-seeking behaviors and access to care for all trainees.

Next, a national commitment is recommended to support residents and fellows during their training. This can help ensure the well-being of future generations of physicians and their patients, the article concludes.

1. DNA Repair Person influencing the way your genes express themselves as you age.

2. Anxiety Rx Discover where your inner unrest begins and what triggers your mind.

3. Inner Cheerleader Rely on meditation for personal support––it’s like a pep rally for one.

4. Medicine Man Lower cortisol, blood pressure, heart rate and inflammation.

5. Brain Trainer Grow more gray matter. See changes in memory, empathy, and stress levels.

6. Lifeguard Save yourself from your own bad choices.

7. Sand Man Sleep through the night and wake with good energy 8. On-Call Therapist Helping you work through challenges and be more present in your life both at work and at home.

9. Magician See the blessings in every situation, no matter what.

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American Meditation Institute Yoga Science for Modern Life

Tel. 518.674.8714 • 60 Garner Road, Averill Park, NY 12018

Women’s Wellness Evening It’s all about You!

Join us for a FREE evening designed especially for you –– to nourish and reconnect with your

Body, Mind, Heart and Spirit!

Thursday evening, June 21, 2018 • 6:30 – 8:30pm RSVP by June 19th

americanmeditation.org

American Meditation Institute

American Meditation Institute

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