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Ziva Meditation book and program:
Muse headband:
Belleruth Naparstek’s guided meditations:
Ann Shippy MD website:
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TRANSCRIPTION:
One of the areas of medical research that I’m super excited about is where the meditation research is going. I started getting really interested in meditation over 10 years ago with Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli studying meditation at Harvard. They started to show that meditating could really impact things like high blood pressure and diabetes. So now where the research is going is looking at how meditating actually influences our genes. It’s an area of study called epigenetics. It is so awesome how this research is showing that meditation actually influences how our genes express themselves in such a positive way. It’s kind of cool, like there’s so many things that happen from a genetic standpoint that we don’t feel like, that we can control or we’re just born with certain things. But for our genes to be able to express themselves in a much more positive way is so awesome because it’s something that you can do in just a few minutes every day. I have a lot of patients tell me, oh I can’t meditate. They think that because their thoughts get distracted by other things or they start feeling anxious or uncomfortable that they’re not doing it right. So there is now research showing that even if you think that you’re studying, or the meditating imperfectly, that your body’s still getting the huge benefits of it. Some of my favorite forms of meditation are very easy to implement. My friend Emily Fletcher has a program called Ziva Meditation and it really walks you through it in a very practical way and makes it so easy to do on a day-in and day-out basis with all the support that you need to not worry about things like, oh gosh, I’m not doing this well. The device called the Muse that integrates neurofeedback, so giving your brain some positive signals when you’re actually in a more positive state, along with the meditation, has been life-changing for me. So the Muse is a headband that you can actually take with you easily everywhere and get profound impacts on where your nervous system is at. And then another one of my favorites is Belleruth Naparstek. She has a series of meditations that you can just listen to, have on your iPhone or iPod and very quickly do a very simple meditation. And then something that doesn’t require anything. You can actually do this sitting in a meeting or in the grocery store line is focusing on your breathing. One of the ways that I like to do that is called a Box Breathing Technique. So you actually breathe in for a certain count, I like to count to five or six, and then you hold your breath for five or six counts and then exhale for five or six counts and then hold again. And again, you can just do this anywhere and anytime that you’re feeling anxious, even if you’re sitting in traffic or something like that. And then another really common way to meditate that helps to bring your mind back to just a very simple blank state is to have a mantra. So pick a favorite word, something that means something positive to you, and then when you notice your mind wandering, you can come back to that word and kind of reset yourself. Then you might think, oh my gosh! I don’t have enough time to do this, I’m already so busy and I’m so stressed, there’s too much going on! Well, it turns out that just even five minutes can make a huge difference. And by doing the meditation, you can actually be more effective with other things that you’re doing. The ideal period of time is up for grabs, but what I find most people feel like is the best benefit is to do 20 minutes once or twice a day. Some of these people can at least do the five or 10 minutes, but then have a goal of going to 20 minutes twice a day on the days that they have a little bit more time. I hope you start meditating at least five minutes today. If you found this information helpful, please share it with those that you love, your family and friends, coworkers, and help me with my mission to make Every Life Well. See you next time.
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