[Suzanne 3FC]

We recently reviewed the Mayo Clinic Wellness Series DVD on Weight Loss, produced with Gaiam. They highly recommended meditation, and included a segment led by Rodney Yee. Apparently it's very calming and helps reduce stress eating, but also improves energy levels.

I enjoyed the DVD instruction on this because it helped me learn how to meditate, including proper breathing techniques.

Drs. Oz and Roizen recommend meditation in YOU: Staying Young as a crucial step in extending our lives.

Dr. Ornish has always been a proponent for meditation as part of prevention and reversal of heart disease.

So this definitely falls under the "feeling great" part of this forum

Do you meditate?

[CountingDown]

Yes. I use various forms of meditation, some include breathing techniques and accompany my yoga practice. I also use prayer meditations which don't really focus on breathing but are still incredibly calming and healthy for me.

[Zen Pharmacy]

Meditation keeps me sane.

With stress of classes, meditation when I get home from lectures puts me in the headspace to let go of all that intense thinking and puts me in the mood to cook, or tidy the house or just get into a more focused on my out of school life.

Pharmacy school becomes overwhelming and swallows up a lot of out of school life.

[jay41]

Yep... I also use various forms of meditation. The more I meditate, the less appetite I have (who knew). I do insight meditation -- if you google "Mindfulness in Plain English" you will find a good book for beginners that teaches how to do it and what to expect.

About 15 years ago I used to go on meditation retreats and dropped huge amounts of weight but was never able to keep it up.

[junebug41]

I LOVE Rodney Yee. I haven't done his guided meditation, but his yoga.

I do meditate. One of my rommates over the summer was really into it- she did guided meditation with a very hardcore group and was/is very serious about her "practice". She would go on retreats and I often heard her using her vocal chords with it- very interesting stuff.

I'm not that religious about it, but I have some guided meditation podcasts that I use when I need help focusing. I used to be prone to mild panic attacks and it helped tremendously. Also, my mind races a lot at night and it calms me down.

[shelby897]

Thanks for the thread Suzanne -- I've been thinking about this a lot lately -- I just can't seem to clear my head and "settle down". Any suggestions where to start/how to learn??

[Jen415]

I have recently begun this practice as well. I have noticed many changes in myself since doing this....much more peace and calm in my life, much less stress, just a general feeling of well-being.

One resource I like is an online radio network called Hayhouse Radio (www.hayhouseradio.com). It has lots of archived shows about meditation and even some guided meditations as well.....

I am finding more and more that feeding my soul is much more important than feeding my body.

[SoulBliss]

Originally Posted by Jen415

I am finding more and more that feeding my soul is much more important than feeding my body.

[Horo]

I'm a horrible insomniac, rarely ever get enough sleep and my sleeping pattern has been completely messed up for years now. I've tried all kinds of things, even numerous kinds of sleeping pills(that never failed to make me feel awful the next day) but with no success. The lack of proper sleep really takes a toll on me, making me stressed out and 'on edge' all of the time... Recently I've taken up meditation and found that it really helps me calm me down and feel well rested. I know that it's not a substitute for proper sleep but it really has helped me cope with my crazy sleeping problem...

[NotTheCheat]

I take an hour and a half yoga class on Saturday mornings and the last 15 minutes is always a meditation. It is really amazing - especially having just really worked my body. It has been really helpful in taking the time to connect and show love to the physical part of me. I really do need to incorporate it more into my everyday life.