Yoga Wellbeing have just finished one of many mindfulness meditation sessions in Whitstable. The lovely bunch of people we were lucky enough to spend a weekend with have agreed there is no better way to feel centered and grounded after Christmas. At the beginning of the session we found there were so many questions that came up, one of them being does meditation help with pain relief?
If you suffer from rheumatoid arthritis then it’s possible to ease symptoms using a form of meditation, say researchers. The latest study suggested its calming effect could help those with stress-related chronic inflammatory conditions – such as asthma. Most new comeres to meditation are surprised that it can be flexible to your life. You don’t have to be seated in a pretzel style pose to practice. The YW team have always found the most important place to start is with you being comfortable and at ease.
This new study comes as family doctors in the UK are being told to slash prescriptions of painkillers and sleeping pills amid concerns that patients are becoming addicted. New guidelines now urge doctors to consider alternative treatments such as yoga,physiotherapy and counselling.
Study leader at Wisconsin University Melissa Rosenkranz, said some people don’t benefit from regular medicines with many suffering from negative side effects of drugs or failing to respond to standard treatment.
Ms Rosenkranz said: ‘Our study shows that there are specific ways mindfulness (meditation) can be beneficial and that there are specific people who may be more likely to benefit from this approach than other interventions.
‘The mindfulness-based approach to stress reduction may offer a lower-cost alternative or complement standard treatment and it can be practised easily by patients in their own homes, whenever they need.’
Our lovely bunch of people at the YW centre have definitely seen a huge positive effect with any aches and pains after the festive fun times. We’ll be continuing our January ‘Why Meditate?’ series next week with a couple of tips to help you zen out in no time.
