Mind-Body Ways To Support Health
By Alice R. Laule, MD
Last week one of my patients looked me square in the eye, said nothing for
awhile, then told me I looked really good and asked if I had been on vacation
again. She had seen me when I came back from Colorado last March. Apparently I
have very perceptive patients. In fact, I had not just gotten back from an
actual vacation, but since I am grappling with an sticky, emotionally charged
issue in my own life, I had spent more time than usual in meditation and
prayer. I am sure that is the reason for what she saw mirrored in my face.
The meditation does not even have to be a sitting-still meditation. While I was
in Colorado, I spent a lot of time just
doing one thing at a time. I
multi-task too often. If I have a spare moment, I try to figure out which
additional task I can add to my life, what educational literature I can read
for 5 minutes, or how I can get something started in the garden or in my house
(sadly, the house is actually always the last choice, and it looks it). Out in
Colorado, I called it “God-time” because I actually did keep my living space
clean, cook my meals, nap, sit and read, or ski with great gusto, consciously, one
task at a time.
Yesterday, I had a long list of things to do, but chose to give my attention to
a friend, and simply sit and talk. Last night as I read inspirational poetry
before going to sleep, I found that I came to the task relaxed, already
inspired, and easily able to be moved to sweet tears by the material I was
reading. I felt so much more clear than usual! I also rested better than usual
when I went to sleep.
Then, this morning I picked up this magazine and the health columnist talks
about stopping the multi-tasking. If you are making tea, just make tea. If you
are driving, just drive. If you are listening to music, just
sink into the depths of the music and really become one with it. If you are
talking to a friend, stop squirming around thinking of all the other things
that “need” to be done, and be present in the moment.
That leads straight into the next idea in the article I am reading. The author
suggests unplugging from the outside world, all the hypnotic attractions of our
multi-media, and the extremely upsetting
news broadcasts, and plug into your family and friends. For the last 5-6
months, I’ve been walking with a friend on Mondays after work. More and more,
instead of rushing home to “get busy” with life again after the walk, we’ve
been sipping tea on her deck, and talking. It reminds me of the old times and a
less busy life when I was a child, how I recall folks sitting on their porch
swings and easily chatting with each other. Families need that kind of time
together, at least as much as friends do. Our social connections keep us
healthy.
Another healthy stance in life is frequent expression of joy at our own little
victories. I see this as a matter of becoming more child-like — not more childish,
mind you, but more child-like. A very wise Tai-Chi Master from China, Al Huang was
in his 60’s when I met him, still experiencing extraordinary health, and
radiating joy. He said one of his main goals in life was to become more
child-like with every passing year. Last week, I had been around two people who
were experiencing deep depression. Feeling a bit dragged down by contact with
these folks, I was in the kitchen, and had small thing go exactly right for me.
I don’t even remember what it was, but spontaneously I bent my left knee,
raised my right fist in the air and said aloud, “Yes!” It felt so good! I
felt better immediately. I was glad that I didn’t feel too grown up to do
something spontaneous and a little silly .Now, reading this magazine article,
the health expert is suggesting finding what he calls a “personal victory
pose,” and doing it frequently to celebrate yourself. I love the idea. I’m
going to do it more often.
Journaling is another healthy tool. A study was done 10-15 years ago with folks
who had emotional health issues, serious trauma, post-traumatic stress
syndrome, that sort of thing. Some of the people got to talk it out with a
psychotherapist, and others simply sat down and journaled daily. After a 6-12
months, the journalers had gotten approximately the same amount of emotional
healing as those who used a therapist. A non-judgmental, self-reporting of your
day can be very helpful. When I feel stagnated, I can go back and read my
previous journals and realize how far I have come, or at times, pick up a bit
of my own wisdom or a realization that I had forgotten, and help myself be
uplifted.
No discussion of mind-body health is complete without a discussion of
meditation. There are abundant studies now, since the 1970’s, that show how
helpful meditation can be. A vast number of these studies come out of the
Maharishi Institute, and involve transcendental meditation (T.M.) Now, I
know TM is not everybody’s cup of tea, but meditation does not have to be connected
to any particular spiritual tradition. Herbert Benson, M.D., currently the
president of The Mind/Body Health Institute in Boston, MA, has done elegant
research work for years with a secular form of meditation he calls the relaxation response. He has shown that quiet time, with the body entirely relaxed, and the
mind on “pause” helps lower blood pressure, reduces pain, lowers elevated
levels of stress hormones, and much more. Mindfulness meditation does not
require stopping the mind, but one merely becomes quiet and nonjudgmentally
observes the thoughts as they go by, letting each thought go, and waiting for
the next one. It has also been studied formally, in a mainstream medicine
setting. This particular format for meditation has been shown to help chronic
pain patients enormously. Follow-up studies have also shown that pain patients,
once taught mindfulness meditation, tend to continue using this tool long after
the formal scientific study is over.
Meditation for me is akin to prayer. Actually, I call it prayer when I’m
talking and meditation when I’m listening. I know that I would not have gotten
through medical school with as much of my sanity intact as I did, had it not
been for meditation. It sustained me. Evidently it still makes my face look as
relaxed as if I had jut gotten home from vacation, if I am to believe my
patient’s observations.
I would venture a guess that many of you are already using a lot of these
mind/body, health promoting techniques, but in this busy, busy world a reminder
never hurts. All and all, they make a good way for us to . . .
Stay
healthy,
Alice R. Laule, M.D.