This entry is based on an article in Health.Harvard.edu
Psychological stress is bad for your health, increasing the risk of heart disease and cancer. Stress can bring memory problems and bodily aches and pains. Reducing stress helps sleep and may bring down blood pressure. Focusing attention on breathing can help to make you relaxed, and is a gateway to ‘mindfulness’ – which means that you accept what comes in life, and its challenges. Dr. Ronald Siegel, an assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, has written a book on meditation and mindfulness – The Mindfulness Solution: Everyday practices for everyday problems.
Find a comfortable place with minimal distractions – sit, stand or walk. Many people find sitting the most helpful. Repeat a sound, phrase or movement – allowing thoughts to come and go as you focus on repetition. You can silently count inhalations and exhalations, going from one to four for example, or silently say ‘in and out’ to yourself, or say peace/love, or here/now as you breathe.
Do your meditation at the same time every day, starting with 10 minutes in the morning and evening and working up to 20 minutes or more as it becomes easier. Mindfulness came from Buddhism originally but is shared by many spiritual traditions and religions. It means focusing on the present moment and accepting it without judgment. Embrace life as it is. Much stress comes from fighting reality.
In summary: sit with your spine erect in a comfortable position.
Focus on your breath - it doesn’t matter if it’s long or short.
Allow your thoughts to come and go, returning your attention to your breath.
Get the book by Dr. Siegel mentioned above, or find a meditation site such as Insight Timer.
Stay tuned for exciting new treatments for the Ebola Virus in Africa and drug resistant tuberculosis in the U.S. and throughout the world.
Mindfulness does not mean that you abdicate working against injustice and the many problems in the world. It means that you accept your personal stressful situation for a short time every day to achieve a sense of well-being.
Sadja Greenwood, MD, MPH
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