Create Open Mind for New Health Habits
When someone mentions meditation to you what image do you conger up in your mind? Is it some bearded man in a robe staring off into space or a “middle aged” female sitting with her legs crossed and her thumb and index finger touching as her hands rest on her knees? So often, when I talk to patients about meditation they assume that it does not relate to them or is only for someone really into alternative practices or may even have religious connotations that do not align with their specific religious beliefs. However, if we are going to change health and even more importantly change our health culture, we must first allow ourselves to be open to new health habits and be willing to break down stereotypes that may not reflect reality.Case in point, did anyone think of prisoners doing meditation? When I heard about this from a colleague I thought this is another perfect “Why Not?” What is really interesting is not just that they are having prisoners learn how to meditate, but that it is producing amazing results that in some instances are superior to the pre-existing programs used for their rehabilitation. When we have trouble with our impulse control or making decisions it may mean that we eat that donut our co- worker brought in, or we skip exercising, or double size the fries. However, for many of these prisoners it means that their loss of control led to a punishable crime and often significant substance abuse. If they are not able to learn control over their impulses, decision making, and thus substance abuse, how are they going to adapt a productive life outside of our criminal justice system? Indeed, about 70% of people released from jail end up back in the system within a few years.
Research on Meditation
So I think it is worthwhile to look at a few of the results from these studies. Of the different forms of meditation that have been studied in this population, Transcendental Meditation (TM), is the most common one. The goal of TM is to gain better control over one’s conscious attention often by the use of mantras that are repeated when the mind starts to stray. One study done in 1978 in the Folsom State prison in California showed that inmates who were taught TM had a 70% reduction in anxiety states when measured on a anxiety questionnaire. Feeling less anxious is important to all of us, but it is especially important to prisoners who often react to their intense emotional states with substance abuse as it has been the only way they know how to feel better. Not only were the prisoners emotionally better but they were also less likely to return to jail after release. After one year, those in the study were 40% less likely to be re-incarcerated than those prisoners who were in the control group.A Healthy Habit for Everyone
So how does this relate to those of us not in jail? Well, first, these studies should give us confidence that mediation can be learned by anyone regardless of education, spiritual background or previous experience with mind body techniques. Often my patients think that meditation is too hard or too difficult to learn so they won’t even allow themselves to consider it as an option. Second, the skills learned in meditation can help all of us live a healthier more enjoyable life. What keeps us from obtaining our health goals? We often go through the day feeling over whelmed, flustered, behind and on edge. This triggers our fight or flight stress response that keeps us from living in the moment and pushes us towards processed salty or sweet foods and being too tired to exercise. On top of our work and family schedules, our culture of video games, headline news, and fast paced TV shows have kept us from us learning or even improving on the skills needed to create calmness and focus in our lives. Meditation can be the tool and catalyst that breaks us out of our unhealthy habits that have in a sense kept our health limited by the emotional jail we have sentenced ourselves to.
Recommendations on How to Get Started
Don’t worry if you are not sure where to start. One of the great things about meditation is the rule that there are no rules and no judgment and everyone’s experience is unique.Below are some resources I have used to aid in my meditation that could be of use to those of you wanting to start learning about this practice. I have no financial or other affiliation with any of these products.1. Andrew Weil and Jon Kabat-Zinn tapes on breathing exercises and meditation
(http://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Weil-Audio-Collection-Healing/dp/1564559491)
2. Health Journey web site for meditation and visualization
https://www.healthjourneys.com/
Be well,
Dr. Lane MD
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