Meditation: There's no place like OM

Mary MacVean (latimes.com, 2-16-15); Crystal Quintero, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

"Om"? Busy participants serenely relax and meditate during a class at Unplug, a new meditation studio in Los Angeles, on April 24, 2014 (Katie Falkenberg/latimes.com)

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Meditation booms as people seek a way to slow down

"Buddha Doodles" (Molly Coles)

One hundred fifty people sat in the big meeting room, hands on laps, eyes closed, feet flat on the floor. "Bring your attention to this moment," Janice Marturano instructed.
 

"Be open to sensations of warmth or coolness, sensations of fullness from breakfast, or perhaps hunger." Minutes later, the meditation ended with the traditional strikes of little hand cymbals. Buddhists? Old hippies? New Agers?
 

Nope. The room was full of hospital executives and managers in lab coats and scrubs, jeans and sports coats at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. And the teacher was Marturano, once a top executive at General Mills.

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How can mindful leadership enhance focus, clarity, creativity, resilience, compassion (IML)

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Peace comes from within.

The founder of the Institute for Mindful Leadership, Marturano is about as far from woo-woo as the spectrum allows -- and a sign that meditation has snaked its way into every sector of our lives.

The hospital employees were learning a practice shared by millions these days: college students, parents, prisoners, soldiers, the overweight, the lovelorn, the Seattle Seahawks, public school kids, members of Congress, Oprah, Chopra, and Arianna. And perhaps you. What? You're not meditating?

Meditation, primarily a 2,[6]00-year-old form called [Buddhist] mindfulness meditation that emphasizes paying attention to the present moment, has gone viral. More

Chinese New Year 2015, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Feb. 19-21 (laphil.com)

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Vegan January was full of good food and wise lessons

A man in The Times cafeteria the other day bought sliced turkey, white rice, a slice of white bread with butter and a Diet Coke. I realize it wasn't a vegan lunch, but it provides a lesson in how to create a healthful meal: color.

Vromage makes an art out of vegan cheeses made with nut milks

(Daily Dish) Customers who don't eat food made with the milk of animals for ethical reasons or because of allergies tell him they thought they were done with artisan cheeses. At his little shop, in a cramped strip mall at 7988 Sunset Blvd. 

Juicing trend still going strong in 2015
A year ago, trendistas were snuggling up to juice bars all over L.A. to cleanse, reset, detox and glow a little. Today, things are only busier in the world of juice ? and I don't mean Minute Maid. Juicing just won't go away.

 

Health experts throw cold water on juice cleanse

"Mom, this is a horrible idea." So my college student son declared when he learned I had started a three-day juice cleanse, 72 hours of a juice diet. Six bottles each day, plus water and herbal tea. No solid food. Go ahead. Make fun of me. Call me a cliché. A cleanse in January? Really? More

• To stay Alive you need WATER (Eagle Research)

VIDEO: To be or not to be gluten-free (LA Times)