For those of you who like to meditate or want to learn, I received an email from Deepak Chopra. He is offering a free 21 Day meditation challenge. You can sign up for it at meditationdhallenge@chopra.com. It starts July 16. I am going to do it--I figure why not learn meditation from the best? If any of you are interested, sign up for it on the website--it is free. I just received a reminder from him and some basic instructions on how to meditate. I do relaxation exercises now, but would like to add true meditation. According to him, it has a lot of benefits. Maybe if some of you are interested and do it also, we can talk about our experience on this thread. I think it sounds like it would be a good addition to what we are practicing in our StressCenter.com program.
Anyone interested?
Share your most successful coping strategies
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tina martin
- Posts: 792
- Joined: Sun Nov 14, 2010 9:24 pm
Re: Share your most successful coping strategies
Thank you for sharing this, samcat. I am torn about what to do. Think I must pass, though I'm sure I could learn much. Some time ago I purchased a unit designed to even breathing and blood pressure (also a concern). Twice a day I sit with it 15 minutes each session. I call this meditation. Have also visited Buddhist meditation. Am an ardent believer in the positive power of meditation. Also do standing meditation with Qigong and sitting or resting meditation with yoga. So I'll pass for now, but we can surely talk about it and encourage each other.
Egriff, how shall we approach this effort re exercise? I am a gym rat and my place is a mini gym with many a gym toy. I also go to the gym and take yoga twice a week. The spiders are very happy here: I never disturb them as nothing gets cleaned. We can start with anything. Today I am off to yoga.
Egriff, how shall we approach this effort re exercise? I am a gym rat and my place is a mini gym with many a gym toy. I also go to the gym and take yoga twice a week. The spiders are very happy here: I never disturb them as nothing gets cleaned. We can start with anything. Today I am off to yoga.
Re: Share your most successful coping strategies
Tina
Sounds like you already know how to meditate the Eastern way, since you do it with your Qigong and yoga. I really haven't done true meditation yet. Have done some tapes called "meditation" done by western psychologists, but they are more breathing techniques for relaxation. From what I read, meditation is hard to learn because it is hard for you to sit still for a period of time, but that it can teach you to learn to see your thoughts from a different perspective, to develop your "inner observer", stay in the present moment, observe your feelings/thoughts without attaching negativity to them. Do you find that to be true? Any tips as I get started? I think Deepak Chopra is going to guide us through the proper way to do it for a 21 day period. He says if you do something for 21 days, it tends to become a habit.
As to exercise, I need to step up mine. I feel better when I do it. Since I have seasonal allergies and live in Memphis, where it is hot as Hades all summer, I use a treadmill for walking. .Would MUCH prefer to do it outside, but that doesn't work out too well . I also have a quigong tape that I do that has warmups and 8 brocades. That part is about 30 minutes long. I need to start back doing exercises with my resistance bands (got a knee problem several years doing squats incorrectly), so my orthopedist sent me to her PT and she taught me several exercises to do with weights and exercise bands. I have osteopenia and these resistance exercises are good for that, but i have slacked off, so maybe you can keep me more motivated. I have never tried yoga. How helpful is that and what style do you start with ?
Sounds like you already know how to meditate the Eastern way, since you do it with your Qigong and yoga. I really haven't done true meditation yet. Have done some tapes called "meditation" done by western psychologists, but they are more breathing techniques for relaxation. From what I read, meditation is hard to learn because it is hard for you to sit still for a period of time, but that it can teach you to learn to see your thoughts from a different perspective, to develop your "inner observer", stay in the present moment, observe your feelings/thoughts without attaching negativity to them. Do you find that to be true? Any tips as I get started? I think Deepak Chopra is going to guide us through the proper way to do it for a 21 day period. He says if you do something for 21 days, it tends to become a habit.
As to exercise, I need to step up mine. I feel better when I do it. Since I have seasonal allergies and live in Memphis, where it is hot as Hades all summer, I use a treadmill for walking. .Would MUCH prefer to do it outside, but that doesn't work out too well . I also have a quigong tape that I do that has warmups and 8 brocades. That part is about 30 minutes long. I need to start back doing exercises with my resistance bands (got a knee problem several years doing squats incorrectly), so my orthopedist sent me to her PT and she taught me several exercises to do with weights and exercise bands. I have osteopenia and these resistance exercises are good for that, but i have slacked off, so maybe you can keep me more motivated. I have never tried yoga. How helpful is that and what style do you start with ?
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tina martin
- Posts: 792
- Joined: Sun Nov 14, 2010 9:24 pm
Re: Share your most successful coping strategies
This is an interim post, samcat. Am now walking in the heat and then tend to get busy at home. Will try and think about how I can say some things in an orderly fashion.
We are on a good path. Hope I don't decide to sit under a tree, pass out, not to return (bad joke). Taking notes with me re your post but probably won't get back until tomorrow. Remember, whatever you do is good.
We are on a good path. Hope I don't decide to sit under a tree, pass out, not to return (bad joke). Taking notes with me re your post but probably won't get back until tomorrow. Remember, whatever you do is good.
Re: Share your most successful coping strategies
Tina,
Please take your time and answer whenever is convenient for you. Anything I asked you doesn't need an emergency response:) I know I asked you a lot of stuff, but definitely don't expect you to sit right down and give me an instant answer. None of my friends meditate and you have very good sense and a good handle on things, so just wondered how someone from a Western background (am making an assumption, but Tina Martin doesn't sound Indian lol) finds the experience of meditation? Does it really make the difference people say it does?
Please take your time and answer whenever is convenient for you. Anything I asked you doesn't need an emergency response:) I know I asked you a lot of stuff, but definitely don't expect you to sit right down and give me an instant answer. None of my friends meditate and you have very good sense and a good handle on things, so just wondered how someone from a Western background (am making an assumption, but Tina Martin doesn't sound Indian lol) finds the experience of meditation? Does it really make the difference people say it does?
Re: Share your most successful coping strategies
Thank you for sharing this with us. I have read very little about meditation.samcat wrote:For those of you who like to meditate or want to learn, I received an email from Deepak Chopra. He is offering a free 21 Day meditation challenge. You can sign up for it at meditationdhallenge@chopra.com. It starts July 16. I am going to do it--I figure why not learn meditation from the best? If any of you are interested, sign up for it on the website--it is free. I just received a reminder from him and some basic instructions on how to meditate. I do relaxation exercises now, but would like to add true meditation. According to him, it has a lot of benefits. Maybe if some of you are interested and do it also, we can talk about our experience on this thread. I think it sounds like it would be a good addition to what we are practicing in our StressCenter.com program.
Anyone interested?
I am most interested at this time in finding an inspirational book to read
and I may just have to read some Deepak Chopra if I can combat my
agoraphobia and actually get out of of my apartment. I need to head out
to my local used bookstore and / or Barnes and Noble this week.
Lynda
Re: Share your most successful coping strategies
Lynda,
I don't know anything about his books and cannot recommend them one way or the other. It is the meditation I want to learn. Some people say his books are very deep, other people say they are full of baloney--don't know the truth about that, and maybe they help some and not others. However, I figure he holds all these meditation retreats, so he should be able to teach the techniques and this is a free program. His retreats are super expensive!
Maybe, when Tina responds, she has read some of his stuff and can give an informed opinion.
I don't know anything about his books and cannot recommend them one way or the other. It is the meditation I want to learn. Some people say his books are very deep, other people say they are full of baloney--don't know the truth about that, and maybe they help some and not others. However, I figure he holds all these meditation retreats, so he should be able to teach the techniques and this is a free program. His retreats are super expensive!
Maybe, when Tina responds, she has read some of his stuff and can give an informed opinion.
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tina martin
- Posts: 792
- Joined: Sun Nov 14, 2010 9:24 pm
Re: Share your most successful coping strategies
Glad I held off. No fan of Deepak C. though, no doubt, he says some good things.
The reality is I want to sit right down and blurt it all out, years of trying to learn, to absorb, to assimilate. What I had to do with meditation is forget the books and advisors, simply sit in a quiet, comfortable place, close my eyes, focus on slow breathing and accepting that my mind will wander (no Indian talents here, ha ha). Yet one influence is Indian.
What is my goal? To be calm and at peace with myself. So I devise little mantras generally praising myself, placing myself in different settings (nature, water, space) to emerge in the present, in harmony, in affirmation, in gratitude. Is it easy? No, not really. Is it a habit after 21 days? I'd say no to that. It's OK to start very slowly. I do 15 minutes twice a day. There are no instant changes necessarily that I know of. It takes time and patience to recondition ourselves. I have been doing my sessions for well over l year.
Next installment: yoga, if interested.
The reality is I want to sit right down and blurt it all out, years of trying to learn, to absorb, to assimilate. What I had to do with meditation is forget the books and advisors, simply sit in a quiet, comfortable place, close my eyes, focus on slow breathing and accepting that my mind will wander (no Indian talents here, ha ha). Yet one influence is Indian.
What is my goal? To be calm and at peace with myself. So I devise little mantras generally praising myself, placing myself in different settings (nature, water, space) to emerge in the present, in harmony, in affirmation, in gratitude. Is it easy? No, not really. Is it a habit after 21 days? I'd say no to that. It's OK to start very slowly. I do 15 minutes twice a day. There are no instant changes necessarily that I know of. It takes time and patience to recondition ourselves. I have been doing my sessions for well over l year.
Next installment: yoga, if interested.
Re: Share your most successful coping strategies
Thanks Tina. So meditation is helpful, but not everything Deepak says it is cracked up to be. Figured that might be the case. I had heard so many good things about him on TV, but when I listened to his video yesterday, he seems to make some outlandish claims such as after mediating for 5 years, you will be 12 years younger. That is the baloney part I am talking about. However, you can't throw the baby out with the bathwater. I have a book by Jon Kabat-Zinn called Wherever You go There You Are that teaches Mindfullness Meditation. Any opinions on him? I have read that book, but never did anything with it. He doesn't make any outlandish claims--just says that if we meditate , you learn "to watch your thoughts without being drawn into them and that helps you to be less a prisoner of these thought patterns which are narrow, inaccurate, self involved, habitual to the point of being imprisoning and also just plain wrong." Seems that would be helpful for anxiety/depression. Your thoughts on that?
Am definitely interested in your take on yoga and the best form to start out with. I know there are many forms and am confused by the variety. Or in your opinion, since I already do chi gong, is it as effective as yoga?
Appreciate your response and your honesty.
So Lynda, i think you got your answer on Dr. Chopra--you may want to steer clear of him since I heard his video yesterday and the claim of getting 12 years younger and with Tina's doubts, I think he either means well and believes his stuff or has found himself a money-making machine. His retreats are extremely expensive. Don't want to judge a person so quickly, but even master yogis don't regress in age 12 years. I read some stuff on his books on amazon and some people loved them and others were skeptics. I think the positive message he carries is that our spirit lives on and is timeless. Not too sure about some of the rest.
What I am searching for is evidence based ways to improve our brain and way of thinking that will help us break out of the anxiety/depression rut. My therapist is very evidence-based and I have learned from him that is very important, because as Tina says, there are only so many hours in a day and you don't want to be going down a blind alley when you could spend your precious time on something that really works.
Am definitely interested in your take on yoga and the best form to start out with. I know there are many forms and am confused by the variety. Or in your opinion, since I already do chi gong, is it as effective as yoga?
Appreciate your response and your honesty.
So Lynda, i think you got your answer on Dr. Chopra--you may want to steer clear of him since I heard his video yesterday and the claim of getting 12 years younger and with Tina's doubts, I think he either means well and believes his stuff or has found himself a money-making machine. His retreats are extremely expensive. Don't want to judge a person so quickly, but even master yogis don't regress in age 12 years. I read some stuff on his books on amazon and some people loved them and others were skeptics. I think the positive message he carries is that our spirit lives on and is timeless. Not too sure about some of the rest.
What I am searching for is evidence based ways to improve our brain and way of thinking that will help us break out of the anxiety/depression rut. My therapist is very evidence-based and I have learned from him that is very important, because as Tina says, there are only so many hours in a day and you don't want to be going down a blind alley when you could spend your precious time on something that really works.
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tina martin
- Posts: 792
- Joined: Sun Nov 14, 2010 9:24 pm
Re: Share your most successful coping strategies
This is pure pleasure for me, so thank you. We are in a youth obsessed culture. Do you think Deepak would miss out on that? Guess what? I have the Jon Kabat-Zinn book. But I have devised my own approach being fully committed to meditation, liking it, and valuing it.
Chi Gong is standing meditation that I thoroughly enjoy to music. Here too I improvise taking some gentle standing tai chi movements from a book. Yoga can be meditative I suppose, but for me it is more physical. I do Hatha Yoga or Vinyasa, movements flowing one to another. I do several Sun Salutations almost every day and other movements. So between sitting meditation, standing meditation, yoga, walking, some dumbbells, fit-ball, sometimes treadmill, what happens to the day? For me it is not so much anxiety as an urge to do myself in which I'd never do. If I start to sink, a physical activity will help, posting will help, shutting the past out and living in the present helps. I accept that much of life is a struggle and so I struggle but also find my pleasures. Is this too self centered? Perhaps. But my life was spent in the service of others.
Chi Gong is standing meditation that I thoroughly enjoy to music. Here too I improvise taking some gentle standing tai chi movements from a book. Yoga can be meditative I suppose, but for me it is more physical. I do Hatha Yoga or Vinyasa, movements flowing one to another. I do several Sun Salutations almost every day and other movements. So between sitting meditation, standing meditation, yoga, walking, some dumbbells, fit-ball, sometimes treadmill, what happens to the day? For me it is not so much anxiety as an urge to do myself in which I'd never do. If I start to sink, a physical activity will help, posting will help, shutting the past out and living in the present helps. I accept that much of life is a struggle and so I struggle but also find my pleasures. Is this too self centered? Perhaps. But my life was spent in the service of others.