Who is Peter Amato?

Dr. Peter P. Amato received his doctorate degree in Mind-Body Medicine from Saybrook University in July 2016. With a Masters Degree in Transpersonal Psychology, Dr. Amato’s work goes beyond traditional health and wellness body therapies. He strives to help his private clients understand their mind-body connection, while encouraging them to embrace the spiritual dimension of their lives. Additionally, Dr. Amato received a Bachelor’s degree in nutrition which inspired him as a co-founder Real Medicine at Another Level Health. Special emphasis on the value of nutrition to achieve optimal health is integral to the Real Medicine model.

Dr. Amato’s work in the educational arena has been widespread. He has worked closely with the American Cancer Society and the Centers for Disease Control. He designed and instituted a holistic cancer care program using alternative modalities that was proven beneficial to cancer patients. Dr. Amato was the co-founder (with Andrew Weil, M.D.) and past chair of the National Integrative Medicine Council. Dr. Amato has worked with the Department of Education to deliver a stress reduction program for elementary school children in the Scranton PA School District. His work was featured at the 11^th Annual International Scientific Conference for Clinicians, Researchers, and Educators in Norwood, MA.

Dr. Amato is an international lecturer and presenter who travels extensively. He speaks on such topics as consciousness and culture, personal growth, engaged spirituality for businesses and the Inner Harmony Approach to Extraordinary Leadership. Additionally, Dr. Amato has published in numerous peer-reviewed journals.
  

For nearly two decades, Dr. Amato has worked as a transformational and business consultant with organizations and groups in four key areas: education, health care, recovery and addiction and corporate. His unique Inner Harmony Approach is packaged into workshops, wellness programs and retreats. In the past, Dr. Amato and the Inner Harmony Group have served as consultants on various business models worldwide.

As a Yoga Alliance certified 500-hour instructor, Peter has incorporated the Inner Harmony Yoga Institute, with graduating students in the U.S. and the Caribbean. Steeped in the tradition of Kundalini yoga, a combination of Hatha and Raja yoga, the 200-hour and 300-hour teacher-training courses are readily available and affordable to all serious yoga students. 

Dr. Amato has volunteered his time as a meditation instructor in the Pennsylvania State Correctional System and has received a Distinguished Service Award from the State. In the area of substance abuse rehabilitation centers, he has fostered the development of programs for adults and adolescents that successfully employ integrative medicine techniques.

6 Benefits of Meditation

There are more than 75 benefits of meditation and we will highlight our favorite 6 here. First off, what is meditation? Meditation can be described as having mental concentration on something or when our mind imagines something that is peaceful. The overall goal of meditation is to slow the mind from stress and worry, and to achieve a state of profound, deep peace that occurs when the mind is calm and silent. So here's our favorite 6 benefits of meditation.

1. Meditation has been known to reduce stress. Mindfulness meditation is a style that involves sitting comfortably, focusing on your breathing, and bringing your attention to the present without getting off track and thinking about the past or future. If you find yourself worrying about things that have not even happened or are out of your control, perhaps you should try meditation. Some people find that learning mindfulness techniques and practicing them with a group is even more helpful. There is something very powerful about group meditation. 

2. Meditating increases self-awareness, which we can all use more of in such a hectic jam-packed world we live in. Meditation is the key to super self-awareness because it is the best way to connect to your true self. 

3. It improves concentration. Meditation centers you and helps you to stay focused in everything you do. Great concentration is related to the increased energy, meditation provides. 

4. There are medical benefits to doing meditation consistently. It can help manage symptoms of anxiety, chronic pain, depression, heart disease, high blood pressure. 

5. Meditation increases happiness! It has been proven that meditation can increase your levels of feel-good chemicals, like serotonin and endorphins. This can be accomplished in just a few minutes a day and doesn't cost anything. The best way to see results of increased happiness is to make a commitment to meditate regularly. 

6. Lastly, meditation slows aging, and who wouldn't want that?! A study from Harvard showed that cognition seems to be preserved in meditators. In another study by Elizabeth Hope, meditators also showed to have longer telomeres, the caps on chromosomes indicative of biological age. It doesn't necessarily mean that mediators are going to live longer lives but it could lengthen due to reduced stress and effects it has on the body. 

I don't know about you, but those 6 benefits of meditation are enough to motivate me to meditate on a regular basis. 

The Benefits of Yoga

When people hear ‘yoga’ they often think of a certain type of exercise, but it is much more than that. Yoga is not just about working out, it encompasses a healthy lifestyle. Practicing yoga can help someone find stillness in their busy life. For someone with a stressful job or a full schedule, a 30 minute to 1 hour yoga session could reset their mind, body, and soul.

Yoga uses a method of deep breathing and meditation practices, which can help declutter the mind and relieve stress. At the beginning of a yoga class it is often asked for you to set an intention for yourself. This can be quietly done in the mind, as you decide if you want the class to help you focus on something more, to quiet the mind, or to simply relax the mind. 

These days you can find many different variations of yoga to fit your needs. Popular examples would be hot yoga, power yoga, and prenatal yoga. There are even more unique ones like yoga raves, which is a healthy option to the normal club scene, and aerial yoga which combines aerial arts and traditional yoga by using anti-gravity silks as a way of suspending you in the air. 

People also use yoga as a way of strength training and flexibility. Both of these are incredible benefits to bettering your health and body.  The postures used in yoga are meant to strengthen your body from the inside out, leaving you feeling and looking good. This starts with strengthening your core; your spine, which when used properly will alleviate back, shoulder, and neck pain. As with anything that is good for you, the more consistently you practice this, the better off you will be.

Yoga has also been found to lower heart rate and blood pressure. Since stress contributes to blood pressure and heart rate, the more you can de-stress, the better these two will be. Poses such as simple twists and side plank can help open the chest which can contribute to lowering your heart rate. Breath work is a big part of yoga, and this can be very helpful since deep breathing lowers your heart rate and helps your relax. 

The great news is that yoga is generally safe for anyone to try. Of course, for pregnant women it would be best to go to a prenatal yoga class with modified poses and those with high blood pressure or sciatica may need to modify some poses to reduce the risk of injury. If you have never taken a yoga class, it is best to start with a beginner class and go at your own pace. Yoga is not a competition between others, it is about bettering yourself and doing what is best for your mind and body. Forget the saying ‘No pain, no gain’. There should be no pain in yoga.

Lastly, more and more doctors are realizing the importance and benefits of yoga and the mind-body connection. At the Inner Harmony Wellness Center, we are strong believers in the benefits of yoga and encourage people to try this method before going to medications and other means of relief. Namaste.