mindfulness may favorably influence the immune system as well as inflammation, which can consequently impact physical health, especially considering that inflammation has been linked to the development of several chronic health conditions. Other studies support these findings. Additionally, mindfulness appears to bring about lowered activity of the default mode network of the brain, and thereby contribute towards a lowered risk of developing conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease. However, critics have questioned both the commercialization and the over-marketing of mindfulness for health benefits—as well as emphasizing the need for more randomized controlled studies, for more methodological details in reported studies and for the use of larger sample-sizes. While mindfulness-based interventions may be effective for youth, research still needs to determine the most appropriate methods in which mindfulness could be introduced and delivered in schools. Practice Mindfulness practice involves the process of developing the skill of bringing one's attention to whatever is happening in the present moment. Watching the breath, body-scan and other techniques There are several exercises designed to develop mindfulness meditation, which may be aided by guided meditations "to get the hang of it". As forms of self-observation and interoception, these methods increase awareness of the body, so they are usually beneficial to people with low self-awareness or low awareness of their bodies or emotional state, and can provoke anxiety, distress, flashbacks, pain, and even trigger substance abuse in people who are very focused on themselves, their bodies, and their emotions. One method is to sit in a straight-backed chair or sit cross-legged on the floor or a cushion, close one's eyes and bring attention to either the sensations of breathing in the proximity of one's nostrils or to the movements of the abdomen when breathing in and out. In this meditation practice, one does not try to control one's breathing, but attempts to simply be aware of one's natural breathing process/rhythm. When engaged in this practice, the mind will often run off to other thoughts and associations, and if this happens, one passively notices that the mind has wandered, and in an accepting, non-judgmental way, returns to focusing on breathing. In body-scan meditation the attention is directed at various areas of the body and noting body sensations that happen in the present moment. One could also focus on sounds, sensations, thoughts, feelings and actions that happen in the present. In this regard, a famous exercise, introduced by