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This blog is another opportunity to feel grateful and thank you dear Universe: I am much healthier now than before.
Aristotle (the great Greek Philosopher) once said ‘Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man’. The work of raising a child begins from the time they are born and from the age of 0-7 years the theta and delta brainwaves get developed. This includes the state of observation and absorption of their surroundings, attitudes, behaviours, and beliefs which are finally stored in their unconscious. Typically, the Theta and Delta brainwaves are similar waves associated with a deeply meditative and hypnotic state. The beliefs that remain deeply ingrained show up through attitude, and various practices and may also be responsible to manifest in forms of serious diseases.
Even I came across these concepts and therapies post my diagnosis with a rare medical condition, Isaacs’ Syndrome (a neuromuscular condition stemming from muscle hyperactivity), my life underwent a drastic change, following that diagnosis, and I also discovered I was suffering from Lyme disease (a bacterial illness transmitted by ticks), Glaucoma (which damages the optic nerve), and Membranous Glomerulonephritis (a progressive kidney disease). I was asked by various doctors to try a Holistic approach towards healing that could penetrate deeper as a cleansing tool and unify my body, mind, and spirit.
During my college days, visiting the gym a couple of times was enough to take care of all health aspects. It was much later in life I realized, being physically strong doesn’t necessarily mean having mental well-being as well. I was introduced to various techniques used while demonstrating the benefits of Mind-Body therapies including yogic practices, meditation, hypnosis, Tai-chi, relaxation techniques, and exploring the power of prayers. Through this blog, I wish to share a mind-changing and relaxing technique called Talking to Mind Body Meditation.
The following understandings helped me practice this technique better: –
- The key purpose of practicing this meditation is to ‘Accept my Body as it is’.
- It is an important tool that helps in overcoming emotions that we gather here and there.
- We can meditate on our body parts for their well-being and give them instructions.
- The practice is more individualistic, and one can keep enhancing as their focus on visualization, and relaxing experience gets better.
- It is important to keep Patience, it is the art of hoping that tomorrow will even be better.
- There would be distractions however bringing back the focus is important.
- Keep experimenting to get new experiences.
The Preparation and Beginning of the Practice:
Lie down in a comfortable position, completely relaxed with no body tension or stiffness. Accept and let go of the noises around. Watch the breath and feel it flowing in the entire body and hands resting gently by the side, allowing the eyes to close and straighten the Spine. Take several long, deep breaths without any jerks. With every breath, feel the stomach expand while inhaling and relax while exhaling. Shift attention from outside to inside and continued the process till comfortable with the surroundings.
The Practice began:
The idea is to thank them for being generous and kind and give their support and simultaneously ask for forgiveness for any kind of ill-treatment:
FEET: – began to notice the sensations in my feet and imagined the breath flowing down and relaxing. I was apologetic for misusing them at any time also thanked them for ensuring stability and balance, maintaining my body temperature, keeping me active, and supporting my quality of life and mobility.
ANKLES: – moved my attention to the ankle, completely relaxing them, and repeated the same process as above of being apologetic and thanking them.
CALVES: – usually, this is one area that had maximum focus due to muscle knots, cramps, and weakness. I tried spending some extra time observing sensations and fasciculations and instructed them to relax. The idea was to overcome my constant fear of cramps and pain. I thanked them for supporting my fitness and their performance for all these years and simultaneously felt sorry for what they had to go through.
A similar process was followed for the rest of my body:
KNEE JOINTS
THIGS: – the health of this area had been quite challenging due to muscle loss, weakness, and constant pain and therefore I focused my breath and spend some quality time. For months together the sensation of fear haunted me considering my past experiences however the idea was not to stop thinking instead train the mind to have a positive conversation and observe the muscles rebuild.
PELVIS
LOWER BACK: – was another fragile region as the entire episode started with immense pain in the lower back and lumber. Initially, I remember the temperature of this region was always cold and quite different from the rest of the body however with constant practice it has slowly started to change.
MID and UPPER BACK: tried breathing out the tension, pain, and discomfort.
STOMACH
CHEST: tried focusing on the heartbeat.
ARMS: – there were several occasions when fasciculations were distinctively noticeable and I tried pacifying them.
NECK and SHOULDERS
FACE
HEAD
After the head, it was back to scanning the body following a breathing rhythm from head to toe. Slowly opened my eyes, turn right, and got up. Initially, the exercise took longer but with more practice, it was less time-consuming and more effective.
Hope, I would have tried these mind therapies much earlier in life as they proved health transformative. I adapted the practice to fulfill my need to reduce stress, feel better, and eventually regard all the parts with equanimity. To begin with, it tested my patience and I literally forced myself into it however with time it gave me superpowers to learn and relax, to be quiet and still, in the times I needed it most. It took constant practice for 45 days to develop the interest and feel some results.
DISCLAIMER
The views expressed above in this article are the author’s own and do not represent any kind of medical advice.
