Mind/Body Musings: Meditation, Stress and Eating

Slightly off the vegan topic but equally valuable…Every now and then I’ll be posting about the relationship between the mind and body and how it relates to our health and eating habits.

I’m a huge advocate of natural methods for change, be it psychological or physical.  Part of my passion for striving to stay on this path comes from working at a residential school for children labeled as emotionally disturbed.  Everyday I see kids used as “guinea pigs” by the therapeutic/pharmacutical mainstream to address psychological challenges (most commonly for a diagnosis such as ADHD).  While I know there are cases where medication can be very helpful in treating psychological and physical conditions, I also know that in way too many cases it’s unnecessary.  A common joke in my “therapeutic” environment when someone does a bone-headed or dingy thing is to ask, “Did you take your meds today?”  Recently I’ve adopted that statement with a twist: Did you take your MEDS (Meditation, Exercise, Diet, Supplements) today?

Many people reading this may feel the same way so it could be a case of preaching to the choir.  We struggle to eat naturally, organically, “veganly” in order to obtain optimal mental, emotional, and physical health.  Well, I came across this segment from the Dr. Oz show that boggled my mind.  It’s about the connection between meditation and weight loss.  As a meditator, I found it fascinating.  Here are the URLs to clips from his show featuring Deepak Chopra, MD:

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/meditate-lose-weight-pt-1

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/meditate-lose-weight-pt-2

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/meditate-lose-weight-pt-3

You’ll have to copy and paste the addresses since it’s not allowing me to create a link.  (Or maybe I’m doing something wrong!)

And for anyone with an interest in learning more about meditation I found a great website that offers an at home learning course that derives its method from one of the most scientifically validated forms of meditation, Transcendental Meditation.  TM is a popular, secretive, and EXPENSIVE (roughly $2,000) method that is very effective for many different psychological and physical ailments, from ADHD to smoking cessation to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  It’s mantra-based and VERY effective.  Click here for some info on the connection between stress, TM and obesity.  Or check out this video for a brief intro to some of the overall benefits of meditation:

For an equally effective and more affordable form of mantra-based meditation, check out  Natural Stress Relief.  NSR was founded by a scientist from Italy who was also a former TM instructor.  He decided to simplify the technique minus the high cost (roughly 30 bucks!) and mystery.  I’ve been practicing meditation (NSR) as a regular part of my daily routine since 2004 and I can say without doubt that it’s added immeasurably to my life.

So, “Have you had your MEDS today?”