It is easy to become stressed out. Finances, marital riffs, co-worker conflicts, demanding jobs, health issues, aging, our children’s problems and the polarized political situation we are all dealing with, can increase our stress levels. 

Stress is highly individualized. What causes stress in one person may not cause it in another. Some people thrive under stress while others have meltdowns or worse, become ill.  In general, when environmental demands exceed your ability to cope, it creates stress.  If your coping is insufficient or ineffective, regardless of the demands, you also have stress.  Stress can create illness or make existing medical conditions worse. 

The human body is an amazing machine. We are extremely resilient and can handle an extraordinary amount of stress. But, much like an electrical outlet – we work fine until the circuit is overloaded then we have a blowout. In each person’s body this shows up in very individual ways depending on the predisposition of that person. In one individual this energy over load or blockage becomes a migraine headache, in another eventually an ulcer, someone else might develop cancer, or the immune system becomes compromised in such a way that we pick up every cold and flu that we encounter. How often have you had a few days of being under extraordinary stress only to wake up the next day with a debilitating head cold?

There is no doubt in my mind that my two cancer scares happened as a direct result of the stress I allowed to permeate my life unchecked. When I needed them most, I stopped meditating and practicing other stress relieving techniques. I convinced myself that I didn’t have time…I had forgotten that meditation can create time.

Meditation Creates Time!

 When I was the director of a large holistic/spiritual center for seven years I discovered that when I took 20 minutes in the morning to meditate magical things happened during my day. A presenter I could have spent days or even weeks tracking down, suddenly would call me.  A meeting would be cancelled making time for me to take a walk at lunch time. Things just went much more smoothly in general when I took the time to meditate.

Meditation is a proven self-healing technique that can make an enormous difference in your stress level and your health. Scientific studies are showing that it works for stress-related conditions…for instance:

 “For 30 years meditation research has told us that it works beautifully as an antidote to stress”, reports, Dr. Donald Williams, a Mayo Clinic psychologist.

“What is even more exciting about the research is how meditation can train the mind and reshape the brain”; a comment by a neuroscientist in a conversation with the Dalai Lama during an interview for Time Magazine.

There are reports that tests using the most sophisticated imaging techniques suggest that it can reset the brain, changing the point at which a traffic jam sets the blood boiling. Plus, compared to medical costs, learning to meditate is inexpensive.

Twenty minutes of meditation a day can change your life. When people say, I don’t have time”, my response is, “you wouldn't leave your house in the morning without charging your cell phone. Why not spend twenty minutes a day re-charging your own battery”.  Since meditation has been scientifically proven to improve your immune system, reverse the effects of stress, and is being recommended by more physicians to prevent, slow or at least control the pain of chronic diseases like heart conditions, cancer, and auto-immune diseases – the question becomes - why not learn to meditate?

If you have never tried meditation and are interested in learning more, the easiest thing to do is go on You Tube…there are hundreds of meditation and visualization videos you can follow. My favorites right now are led by the Vietnamese Monk Thich Nhat Hahn.

You’ll also find some meditation guidelines on my website: judymilinowskialternativesolutions.com.  If you are local to Boothbay Harbor, you can try the mediation/visualization group I lead on Thursday afternoons at St. Columba’s Church from 4 – 5 PM…all are welcome…and don’t worry we sit on comfortable chairs not cushions on the floor…it is a wonderful space and you will leave feeling relaxed and ready to conquer any stress you encounter during the week. All are welcome – no commitment, just come when you can.

I am also offering a Qigong / Stretch class at St. Columba’s on Friday Mornings:  Qigong starts at 8 AM (45-minute class) and Stretch starts at 8:45 (45 Minutes).

No classes the week of April 8^th.

Contact Judy Milinowski at 203-253-1738 or milinowskij@gmail.com or visit my website: judymilinowskialternativesolultions.com for more information.