By now you know there’s a strong connection between what happens in the body and what goes on in the mind. Exercise, yoga and even healthy eating can all give you a mood uplift, improve your brain health or relieve stress. And now there’s new research that shows you can train your mind in a way that may lead to lower blood pressure. This new study, out of Brown University, found that mindfulness training (a psychological tool that trains the mind to calmly be in the moment rather than allowing your mind to wander to the past or worry about the future) may help lower blood pressure by enhancing your attention and control of your emotions and your awareness of healthy and unhealthy lifestyle habits. Whether or not such mindfulness training can replace traditional medications is not yet answerable, though there are a lot of sources touting the benefits of mindfulness training for older adults.

For example. The American Society on Aging has promoted the value of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction as a way to teach older adults the coping skills valuable for dealing with some of life’s challenges, such as loss, pain or chronic illness. Their post even provides some basic breathing exercises to get you into the moment. For more instruction on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, take a look at this free, online course. And The Greater Good Magazine also touts mindfulness as a method to protect you from life’s vicissitudes as you get older. Finally, new research published in BMC Geriatrics used a qualitative, focus group-based study to investigate what older adults thought after going through mindfulness training. Findings from the study showed the older adults found the training led to increased self-reflection and a more self-accepting attitude among those who went through the training. So whether it’s yoga, meditation or mindfulness, recognize the power of your mind to help the aging of your body.