Lifestyle Wellness Blog » Lifestyle Wellness Podcast

Does Meditation Relieve Pain Or Menopausal Symptoms?

Johnetta — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 03:12:42 +0000

Does meditation really work? Can meditation help relieve your pain or menopausal symptoms? Can it help your brain function? Is it beneficial for cancer patients?

These are some of the questions that individuals ask and you may have asked, regarding the benefits of meditation and mindfulness. The questions are not unusual since the mind processes thousands of thoughts in a minute. We have about 60000 to 80000 thoughts a day. Additionally, approximately 20 million adults meditate for health reasons.

The thoughts don’t stop during meditation. The meditator just lets them pass without judgment or value, and continue following the breath or ease back to the mantra. Meditation calms the flight or fight mechanism in the brain. Therefore, you as the meditator become more mindful of the breath. The awareness is on the breath, breathing into the pain, anxiety, feelings of depression or hot flashes. When sensations in the body surface, related to the pain, etc., the individual goes back to the breath.

Research studies, in additional to anecdotal stories, have shown beneficial effects are gained from the practice of mediation. The brain is retrained and areas of the brain develop. You’ll hear terms such as psychoneuroimmunolgy, neuroplasticity, anatomical changes and electrical firing of the brain. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) has collected information from scientific literature on the positive outcomes of this practice. Buddhist monks who have participated in studies have provided scientific evidence of the positive changes that occur in the brain as a result of years of meditating. Meditation works on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels.

How has meditation benefited you? How has it impacted your life?

Tips To Ease The Pain

Johnetta — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:03:17 +0000

Pain

Everyone experiences pain, sooner or later, during their lifetime. Pain is a signal that the body is not functioning at 100%. It can last for a short period of time, come and go, or it can be chronic and always present. Did you sprain your ankle last year and it hurts when the weather is cold or it rains? Did you or a relative have knee surgery or cancer treatment and continue to have pain years after the surgical site has healed or the chemotherapy is completed? Additionally, many cases of chronic pain have no explanation for its presence.

Tips To *Ease* The Pain

1.     Retrain the brain to control the activation of pain pathways.

2.      Acupuncture to possibly activate the endorphin system

3.      Stretch and exercise has been very effective for arthritis pain

4.      Adequate sleep and rest tends to reduce pain sensation

5.      Follow an anti-inflammatory nutrition plan.

6.      Add dietary supplements to your nutrition plan

What can you do to ease the pain?

Do You Have Time To Be Healthy?

Johnetta — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 17:56:34 +0000

Do you have time to prepare nutritious meals? Do you have time to exercise? If your answer is no, then, do you have time to change your mind to be healthy?

A change in mindset can change behavior and a change in behavior can change the outcome.

The best thing you can do is schedule time to grocery shop and then prepare meals for several days. For example, if you eat chicken, a roasted chicken can be used for several dishes. Chopped chicken can be used in a green salad. Chop some more chicken for Thai rice noodles with mixed veggies. Then slice the chicken breast and top it with a tomato sauce and cheese. The chicken wings can be coated with a spicy BBQ sauce and the remainder of the chicken put in a chicken stock with veggies and or noodles for a hearty chicken soup. The soup can be served with fiber filled bread and a salad.

Just as time is scheduled to see your health care provider or to meet with me for coaching to achieve optimal wellness, time also need to be scheduled for exercise. Be specific as to how you the time is scheduled. Specifically, what are you going to do in a given time period and how often and for what length of time.

How much time do you have, really? Do you have time to be healthy? I’d like to hear your thoughts! Leave your comments below.