CFS Squared: Tales of CFS

The Mind-Body Connection

by laura on August 7th, 2006

This year, I started exploring meditation. In the last couple of weeks I have lapsed in my meditation regime, but I jump started it again this morning, when I went for a walk in the wooded trails behind my house. Meditation is a really important part of my recovery. It helps me focus on what is important, and helps me clear the junk in my head (we can all clear out the junk….it really helps when you have to deal with brain-fog on top of everything else).

There is an article on msnbc.com put out by Psychology Today, written by Herbert Bensen, it discusses the mind body connection, and how important it is, for reducing stress. Many chronic illnesses are caused by stress. Here are some of the interesting things that this article has to say on the subject of regular meditation

Through the simple act of changing their thought patterns, the subjects experienced decreases in their metabolism, breathing rate and brain wave frequency. These changes appeared to be the opposite of the commonly known “flight-or-fight” response, and I called it the “relaxation response.”

The relaxation response can be elicited by a number of meditative techniques, such as diaphragmatic breathing, repetitive prayer, qi gong, yoga, progressive muscle relaxation, jogging — even knitting. There are two basic and necessary steps which I found to be present in practices in almost every culture: the repetition of a sound, word, phrase or prayer; and the passive setting aside of intruding thoughts and returning to the repetition. From the earliest studies to the present, our work shows that by using your mind in a certain way — to elicit the relaxation response — measurable, predictable and reproducible physiological changes occur that can be useful in countering the unhealthy flight-or-fight response.

Practicing meditation can boost immune systems, and reduce stress factors.

I will sign off by giving one more interesting fact about meditation that I learned from this article,

Through the deeply meditative practice of Tum-mo yoga, Tibetan monks are able to dry wet sheets placed on their bodies in near-freezing temperatures by raising their skin temperatures 17 degrees

Amazing, isnt it? I encourage all of you to try it out. It isnt complicated. Start with a quiet walk in the woods….you will feel so much better, for it.

Share This

Related Stories

So Your Friends Don’t Believe You- What Are You Going To Do About It?
My Favorite Posts From 2006 -A Belated b5 media Theme Day
Mind and Body Are Connected - Don’t Try to Seperate Them
My Concerns About the New CFS Research
Reminder - It was Definitely Needed For Me

POSTED IN: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Fibromyalgia, Management of CFS