Way back in 2015 Du contributed a post to our friends at Joyous Health on meditation (one of our favourite topics and a great idea for anyone!)
Continue reading How to Meditate plus Stress-Busting Benefits
Back in 2014 Du contributed a post on managing anxiety to our friends at Joyous Health.
Still relevant!
A little known, but gentle and effective technique for reducing pain and inflammation, and reducing anxiety: Jonah Lusis, ND introduces you to Bowen Therapy!
For more great videos on health and wellness, visit our YouTube Channel!
Posted: 2017 May 24
In a conversation with a patient yesterday, we discussed the ways in which a meditation practice may help him resolve his health concern.
In the course of this discussion, I found myself referring to different articles I had read on the various benefits of meditation.
It occurred to me, much like my post of last week on natural health product quality, that I should put this to “paper”, so it exists as a resource for persons interested in gaining information on the science behind this very valuable health practice.
Here are some interesting, easily digestible articles on the value to health, wellness and performance, of meditating.
For those inclined to more academic/scholarly reading, a quick search for “meditation” (as of the time of this posting) at PubMed yields 4389 results, and PLoS One yields 688 results, so, knock yourselves out!
Posted: 2017 May 17
Here’s the content of an article we wrote that was published in the fall 2016 “Education Issue” of EcoParent.
They haven’t posted it Online, but this is how the article looks.
Actually, it’s not that simple.
My father (who, it occurs to me, I have only heard raise his voice once in my life) meditates, and for that reason I’ve had an awareness of meditation my entire life. I began using meditation as a clinical tool around 15 years ago after completing a course offered by the Mind-Body Medical Institute (now called the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine), and used it on an “as needed” basis when I was feeling anxious, but only became aware of the potential of this practice when, for no particular reason, I decided to begin a daily meditation practice.
Within a month, I had noticed benefit. After almost a year, I am very aware of improved focus, greater patience, improved mood and emotional resilience and in general, a greater sense of calm, contentedness and optimism. Great for anyone, but specifically, the exact tools children can use to thrive in their studies (and “survive” the sometimes difficult emotional climate of the school environment).
Meditation is a term most people are aware of, but few can define.
Historically, meditation has been used as a means to spiritual growth and consciousness-raising: a path to one’s most-evolved self.
In the West, we are more prone to use meditation as a secular pursuit, for the purpose of stress management, and improvement of health and performance. There are many ways to “Western Meditate”, but at their core, all are mental exercises, the goal of which is to improve voluntary control over our thoughts and mental processes, the result of which is greater relaxation, calmness, concentration and the like.
Thousands of experiments have been published on the effects of meditation, including benefits in reducing discomfort from pain, reducing symptoms of depression, and relevant to school performance:
And meditation does not only result in changes in a subjective experience:
There are many ways to meditate, but for the purpose of improved academic performance and stress management, “mindfulness meditation” is the most useful in the context of practicality and convenience.
“Mindfulness” may be defined as “bringing one’s complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis”, and can be achieved through a wide range of activities.
In order to meditate, there are only three requirements:
In a seated position, rest your elbows on your knees. Do you feel your belly expanding as you inhale? Do you feel your shoulders “drop” as you exhale? You are now “diaphragmatic breathing”.
Diaphragmatic breathing, sometimes described as “belly breathing”, refers to deep breathing in which the diaphragm, the large muscle at the base of the lungs, and primary muscle in breathing, is used most efficiently.
To practice diaphragmatic breathing: sit comfortably, with a straight back, and place one hand on your abdomen and the other on your chest. As you breath, imagine you are filling a balloon in your belly with air, allowing your abdomen to stretch and expand as you inhale. Monitor chest movement with your second hand: it should be minimal: a feeling of your ribs “widening”.
Exhale fully through pursed lips, allowing your shoulders to drop, and “releasing” muscle tension.
Diaphragmatic breathing feels awkward at first, and does not come naturally: do not be frustrated by this.
Maintaining attention on a single object can take many forms, including practicing yoga or tai chi; repeating a mantra or engaging in prayer; or attending to the direction offered in a “guided meditation” (in which actions are directed by a recording).
My experience with yoga as a meditative pursuit was that it required almost a year of regular practice before I noticed I was attending only on my breathing during classes. Hundred’s of hours of yoga classes are not practical for most children and families.
Silent repetition of a prayer or mantra can be effective for more experienced meditators, but beginners often find it difficult to maintain attention on an internal object.
Other common techniques for centering attention include attending to:
Because of the time investment required to “master” yoga, and the challenge associated with maintaining attention for beginners, guided meditations are the easiest and most practical place for beginners to proceed.
Guided meditations are readily available on the Internet, but two resources I have used and like are:
Find a guided meditation that resonates with you (e.g., focuses on muscle relaxation if you have muscle tension; is not too “New Age” if you are annoyed by this), and maintain attention on, and follow the directions offered, actively, but gently (i.e., not laser-like focus).
As you meditate, maintain a “non-judgmental” attitude: if the instruction is to bring your attention to your shoulders, and you feel tension there, simply acknowledge the tension you feel. Do not “beat yourself up” over it (“I’m so tense. I need to begin taking care of myself. Why can’t I focus? …”).
When you (inevitably) notice your attention has strayed and you are thinking of other things, acknowledge: “I’m off track”, and return to the meditation.
After your meditation is complete, take a few minutes to gently “bring yourself back” to your environment and return to your day, rather than jumping directly into a board meeting or other stressful situation.
Not really.
Although short meditations provide immediate benefits, to gain cumulative benefits (e.g., be a calmer, more focused person), meditation must be practiced at least 10 minutes daily.
As with any new habit, to successfully integrate meditation into a lifestyle, plan a regular time for it (rather than realizing at day’s end that meditation was missed again).
Many have a “best” time of day to meditate. In my experience, this is often on waking, or for those with children, after children have been dropped to school (usually the most frantic portion of a parent’s day). Meditation at this time allows the remainder of the day to be calm and optimally productive. Others having stressful jobs will find that immediately after work is the best time, in order that stresses can be left at the workplace, and family time can be enjoyed. In my opinion, if school performance is the goal, these are the best times for children as well. For younger children, before bedtime may be ideal, so they can be calm and relax into sleep.
As with any worthwhile pursuit, meditation requires commitment. Do not be frustrated when while meditating you find your mind wandering: this is a normal part of the process, and in fact a sign of success (unawares to you, your “monkey mind” is constantly jumping from concern-to-concern: when meditating you are becoming aware of the jumps). With practice, these will occur less often. Eventually you reach a point at which “time disappears”: you will immerse yourself in meditation, and 10 or 20 minutes will seemingly pass in only a few minutes.
Children in particular will find mediation challenging. I meditate with my six-year-old, for fewer than 10-minutes, and with the knowledge that mediation for her is primarily quiet time, and fostering of an interest in mindfulness (Meditation with my three-year-old is presently limited to my meditating to prevent her driving me insane – serenity now, hopefully not insanity later.)
In my humble opinion, meditation is the single most beneficial life skill we can teach our children. Although challenging, it is simple; the benefits are incredibly far-reaching; and it is truly egalitarian, one of the few completely barrier-free resources in the world, the only requirements being:
Give it a try.
Good luck to you and your children in school and all your pursuits.
Walsh R, Shapiro SL. The meeting of meditative disciplines and Western psychology: a mutually enriching dialogue. Am Psychol. 2006 Apr; 61(3):227-39.
MacLean KA, Ferrer E, Aichele SR, et al. Intensive meditation training improves perceptual discrimination and sustained attention. Psychol Sci. 2010; 21(6):829-39.
Schoenberg, Poppy L.A. et al. Effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on neurophysiological correlates of performance monitoring in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Clinical Neurophysiology. 125(7):1407-16.
Yoo YG, Lee DJ, Lee IS, Shin N, Park JY, Yoon MR, Yu B. The effects of mind subtraction meditation on depression, social anxiety, aggression, and salivary cortisol levels of elementary school children in South Korea. J Pediatr Nurs. 2016 Jan 11. pii: S0882-5963(15)00372-3. doi: 10.1016/j.pedn.2015.12.001. [Epub ahead of print]
Lazar SW, Kerr CE, Wasserman RH, et al. Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness. Neuroreport. 2005;16(17):1893-97.
Marlatt GA, Kristeller JL. Mindfulness and meditation. In: Miller WR, editor. Integrating spirituality into treatment: resources for practitioners. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 1999. p. 67-84.
Posted: 2016 July 28
Bowen Therapy is a gentle, hands-on treatment used primarily to decrease pain and increase mobility, and reduce stress and anxiety.
A much more gentle intervention than many conventional pain treatments (e.g., some forms of chiropractic manipulation or physiotherapy), Bowen Therapy may be an effective alternative for patients having much pain (e.g., severe injury), increased sensitivity to pain (e.g., having fibromyalgia); or simply requiring gentle treatment (e.g., elderly, children).
It addresses an area that most pain therapies ignore, “centralized pain”, “re-training” your brain to “let go” of it’s pattern of experiencing pain, particularly chronic pain, pain that has not responded well to other treatments (e.g., “frozen shoulder”), and pain in persons seeming to be extraordinarily sensitive to pain (e.g., fibromyalgia).
Bowen Therapy may be used as either a primary treatment, or supportive treatment. As a primary treatment, it typically used for chronic conditions affecting the musculoskeletal system (e.g., fibromyalgia, recovery from injury, “frozen shoulder”).
It is used as a supportive treatment in cases where the autonomic (“unconscious”) nervous system appears to be in need of being “re-set” (e.g., constipation, heart palpitation) or for stress management (e.g., management of anxiety).
The goal of treatment using Bowen Therapy is usually complete resolution of pain, or complete return to previous function.
Bowen Therapy may be of benefit, in some capacity, the treatment almost any health condition.
A study titled “The Bowen Technique: a study of it’s prevalence and effectiveness”, presented at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill found that Bowen Therapy treatment was:
Other research has demonstrated that Bowen Therapy:
A single Bowen Therapy treatment has been demonstrated to:
Learn more about the experience of, and results from Bowen Therapy treatment for a range of health conditions at these sites:
Bowen Therapy involves application of gentle pressure to the muscles, tendons and other soft tissues at specific points, and in specific sequence.
Treatments are approximately 30 to 45 minutes long, and performed weekly or bi-weekly for the first four sessions.
Treatment frequency is then individualized to your response to treatment (e.g., if your pain is resolved, but returns after three weeks, treatments will be scheduled at three week intervals).
Improvements in pain levels or function may be experienced after as few as one treatment.
Bowen Therapy treatments at Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine are performed by Du La, ND and Jonah Lusis, ND, both of who have been certified in Bowen Therapy by the Bowen Therapy Academy of Australia since 2002.
Bowen Therapy treatments provided at Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine are covered by most extended healthcare plans.
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We continue this month’s focus on anxiety with another powerful way to reduce stress: by initiating the body’s own, natural relaxation response. You’ve heard of the “fight or flight” response, where adrenalin rushes through your body and encourages you to either fight back against a threat or run away as fast as you can. The “relaxation response” is the opposite of the fight or flight response, relying on deep breathing and repetition of a calming word or phrase to activate the systems in the body that counter stress and create deep relaxation.
If you’ve tried meditation or breathing exercises before, TCNM’s approach to the relaxation response is a simpler but equally powerful way to counter the toxic effects of stress and invite greater peace, confidence, calm, and wellness into your life.
Chronic stressful situations and thoughts are the most common causes of anxiety that we come across in our practice, and there are plenty of ways to address this type of stress: yoga, tai chi, meditation, energy work and dozens of others.
One of the problems that many people face as they struggle to lessen their anxiety, though, is the dizzying array of options that promise to bring them inner peace and stress relief. With so many types of meditation and inner work available, trying to choose one to pursue can seem like just another source of stress.
The relaxation response is simple, takes no more than ten to twenty minutes a day, and anyone at any age or fitness level can learn it.
If you need another reason to try it, consider the science. According to Herbert Benson, MD (a cardiologist and the man credited with bringing meditation into the mainstream in the West), research has shown that although breathing rate goes down during meditation or deep relaxation, the oxygen level in the bloodstream stays constant or even increases. After relaxation, the blood oxygen content rises sharply, providing body and mind with greater energy and clarity.
Meanwhile, blood lactate levels – a stress marker – decrease during relaxation and stay lower afterward. In the long run, studies have shown that hypertension, chronic pain, insomnia and premenstrual syndrome (PMS) all respond favourably to relaxation and meditation.
The average person is triggered into fight or flight responses several times a day – enraged by a difficult customer at work, stuck in traffic or upset by financial worries. Most of these issues are frustrating but not life-threatening, yet they trigger that primitive response all the same.
In contrast, the relaxation response only happens with deliberate intention, but it doesn’t have to take hours of meditation or weeks of spiritual retreat to get there. All that’s required is conscious, regular breathing, and focusing on a single uplifting word, phrase, or thought for a few minutes at a time.
In our practice, we guide clients to try the relaxation response for ten to twenty minutes at a time, once daily. It usually takes one to two months to see the effects of relaxation on your blood pressure, muscle tension, pain, digestion, and more but once it starts to work, the changes can be dramatic.
Contact us at info@tcnm.com or call our offices today if you’re interested in learning more about the relaxation response or how to alleviate everyday stress and develop better stress management in your life.
Posted: 2013 March 11
St. John’s Wort is well known for its effectiveness against depression, but what many of our clients don’t realize is that this herb is also a powerful tool in fighting stress-related anxiety. According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, St. John’s Wort is as effective as antidepressant drugs in treating mild to severe cases of depression. One study even found it more effective than Prozac.
Known by its scientific name, Hypericum perforatum, St. John’s Wort is widely prescribed for depression in Europe for a simple reason: it works. But depression isn’t its only use in herbal medicine.
Most of the research on St. John’s Wort in the past two decades has focused on depression, and as a result we’ve found that family doctors and psychiatrists tend to dismiss the other benefits of St. John’s Wort in favour of the tried and true – depression. Even natural health experts and knowledgeable health food store staff won’t necessarily know that St. John’s Wort can do a lot more than relieve depression, and that one of its greatest benefits is the ability to combat anxiety.
Although St. John’s Wort has little impact on acute anxiety caused by trauma, it does have an effect on slow-building stress that leads to chronic anxiety. The “Bible” of eclectic herbalism, King’s American Dispensary (Felter & Lloyd, 1898), recommends St. John’s Wort for “nervous affectations.” Anxiety connected with stress or depression is exactly the sort of case indicated.
Prolonged stress is an increasingly common concern among our clients at TCNM. Whether it’s due to work stress, family obligations, or financial worries, ongoing stress is exhausting and we know it can eventually lead to loss of interest in life, mild depression, withdrawal from key relationships and painful anxiety. St. John’s Wort has come to be one of the first treatments we consider in cases of stress-related anxiety and depression.
As with any other health condition, the bottom line, of course, is to speak with a health care professional before you attempt to treat or diagnose the problem yourself. Punch “anxiety” into any search engine and you’ll get millions of results, but very little practical information. Finding the right solution for your particular mind and body is a puzzle that takes training and medical experience to solve.
Even natural remedies like St. John’s Wort can have side effects and interactions with other supplements or medication you might be taking. That’s why it’s so important to consult a medical or naturopathic doctor before you start taking any treatment for anxiety. Our naturopaths might spot a crucial piece of information in your medical history or symptomology that’s easy to overlook if you’re too close to the problem, and save you months or years of trouble.
Interested in learning more about the benefits of St. John’s Wort? Looking for a natural solution for anxiety and depression in Toronto? Please contact us at info@tcnm.ca or give us a call.
Posted: 2013 March 1
In October, I had the privilege of meeting with a group of parents to discuss strategies for optimizing their children’s health. The discussion centered around four “pillars” of health that form the strong foundation for future health.
The first “pillar” of the foundation is “Whole Family Health”. By “whole family health”, what I refer to, is the state of harmony in the family unit as a whole, a concept absent from most discussions on “personal health”. Parental stress has an enormous impact on our children’s well-being. In this video Dr. Gabor Maté, a leading authority in the area, gives a great overview of this concept.
The majority of brain development and maturation occurs from birth to the age of three. Over this period our brain weight increases from 18% to 80% of our adult brain weight. One of the ways parental stress directly affects children is through the creation of anxiety, which in turn affects their brain development during this crucial time.
Uncontrollable, chronic adversity experienced early in life may cause detrimental effects in developing brain architecture, as well as the chemical and physiological systems that help an individual adapt to stress, setting the stage for a lifetime of anxiety.
Two common stressors for most of today’s parents are:
A better goal (for you, and your child) is striving to be a “happy, healthy parent”. Here are some guidelines to help with this concept, offered by renowned herbalist and women’s health expert, Aviva Romm, MD.
In our family, we address this by limiting our children’s involvement in extra-curricular activities, even if this means they will never be a multi-lingual, prima ballerina, concert pianist, with black belt in karate, who will attend Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship.
We tend to forget that even without extracurricular activities, our children have nearly the equivalent of a full-time job with their regular schooling.
We commit to a “family day” on week-ends, on which we schedule no activities, but rather spend time together allowing the day to unfold as it will, and lastly, are open to giving them a day away from school if we feel they need it.
These relatively simple steps have allowed us to be more relaxed, and therefore “present” as parents, and resulted in more relaxed and happy children.
In my next posting, I will elaborate on the second “pillar” of health we discussed, “Family Nutrition”.
Please join us in moving our families towards better health and improving the health of our children and future generations!
Until next time,
Posted: 2014 December 4
