Over the past 40 years of teaching meditation, many clients expressed concerns about taking their prescribed medication. They want to take less, or at best, none at all. Can you relate? Fortunately there is good news. People find relief when they begin the practice of Effortless Meditation to access nature’s pharmacy. So where’s the problem?
For some, their medications aren’t providing the relief they’d like. For others, it’s a slippery slope. One prescription medication leads to another and another. All too often people begin taking additional medication to deal with a side effect, such as anxiety or fatigue, of another drug they’re taking.
To add insult to injury, pharmaceuticals do not come cheap. According to the AARP Public Policy Institute the average annual cost of a brand-name drug has more than tripled in the last 10 years, from $1,808 in 2006 to $6,798 in 2017. What does this mean to you?
In the May 2019 AARP Bulletin, it states that older adults now take on average 4.5 medication each month. For the senior adult, this translates to an expense of over $30,000 a year for brand-name drugs. Even those who are fortunate to get all their medication in generic form, the fees are substantial. Is it any wonder that health insurance premiums have gone through the roof?
Heal your brain – try Effortless Meditation
My hope is that the above information is a motivator to take action. Don’t get me wrong, the use of modern pharmaceuticals can save lives, and ease pain and suffering. It behooves all of us to be informed healthcare consumers, and have relationships with doctors that we like and trust.
A highly respected physician once told me that doctors know there’s more to medicine than drugs and surgery. They want to see their patients take self-care seriously although they find it’s often not easy to get this point across. Many of their patients are looking for a quick fix and magic pill. Who has the time for self-care? Today, however there is growing support to convince patients of the wisdom in caring for themselves.
The science is in. There’s volumes of evidence that people who regularly meditate, eat well, and exercise are far healthier than those who don’t. For example, a five-year longitudinal study showed that a group of 2,000 individuals practicing Transcendental Meditation® (compare Effortless Meditation™) went to doctors and hospital 60% less than the control group that didn’t meditate.
Here’s another illustration: A 71 year-old client took our Effortless Meditation course at a large university teaching hospital. Before enrolling in the course, his resting blood pressure was off the charts high, 190/90. After just three days of meditating twice a day, for 15 – 20 minutes at a sitting, Bernie was amazed by how good he felt. Three months later, his doctor couldn’t believe the change in his patient. Bernie’s blood pressure had dropped to 138/78! He took BP meds most of his adult life, and couldn’t remember ever having such low numbers. Over the next two years, his physician took him off all his BP medication. How could this happen?
Nature’s medicine – rest!
Our body has the natural capacity to repair itself. If you have a broken arm, an orthopedic surgeon will set the bones together and then put your arm in a cast so that it rests, you can’t move it. If everything proceeds normally, when they remove the cast, your arm is healed. No drugs were needed. The body knows how to repair, however deep rest is a catalyst for that healing. Rest is as vital to our health as the air we breathe.
Rest is nature’s medicine, and the deepest rest is available when our mind settles down in the stillness of meditation. For many, meditation is daily personal hygiene, like bathing. If it seems too good to be true. Check it out, try it. It is an antidote for stress that’s recommended by health professionals around the world.
To quote Helene Leonetti, M.D., a retired gynecologist in the Lehigh Valley, “this meditation practice exponentially impacts on healing.” Dr. Leonetti said she had a “zillion patients” suffering with adrenal fatigue due to chronic stress, and referred all of them to learn and practice Effortless Meditation. Those that took her advice are grateful that they did.
This article and Effortless Meditation is not intended to be a substitute for medical diagnosis and treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or health care provider regarding any medical condition.
Greg Schweitzer
Director, Stress Reduction Resources
