Visualization Meditation Therapy—now proven to reduce pain & inflammation—is now offered at hospitals (& I'm teaching it at one in Los Angeles)

Immerse in a memory of a time and place where/when you felt free, inspired, invigorated, healthy, abundant, hopeful, excited, alive & connected & you will feel relief from pain, anxiety & stress.

Did you know that when you visualize feeling good, or remember a time when you felt relaxed, loved, abundant, fun, frisky, & vital—your cells listen and act as if that is your current state of reality? With a consistent practice of guided imagery, or visualization meditation, your body will begin to relax and feel better. I know, it may sound woo woo to some of you, however, multiple clinical trial studies show that patients with cancer, COVID-19, and arthritis—who enrolled in visualization meditation therapy (at hospitals that offered it)—experienced less pain, better tolerance with medications and treatments, reduced stress and anxiety, enhanced sleep, more energy, and improved recovery times from surgery. Over time, many experienced less inflammation and better range of movement and mobility. In fact, some studies showed that visualization lessened nausea, reduced vomiting (in cancer patients), and increased participants' overall sense of hope and well-being. What these studies reported by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Arthritis Foundation reveal, is that our mind (what we think & believe, and a belief is just a thought we keep thinking...) and our emotions (feelings triggered from thoughts) evoke powerful physical reactions within our bodies. There is a direct link between stress and anxiety and heightened inflammation (a precursor to all disease, especially autoimmune), amped up heart rates and blood pressure, increased insulin levels, tightened muscles, stagnant lymph flow (which is how your body releases cellular debris), constricted connective tissues, headaches, joint pain, digestive issues, scattered thinking, reactivity, depression, and fitful sleep. ... Just reading all of that probably stressed you out! And if you're thinking that there is no way you can reduce your stress levels in this modern world, keep reading. There is hope. Just spending 5-to-10 minutes a day in visualized meditation can make a world of difference. (I'm providing a guided visualized meditation at the end, so hang in there!)

Why is Chronic Stress Linked to Disease? And How does Visualization Help?

Visualization meditation, or guided imagery, helps the body lower its circulating levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol, adrenaline, and glucagon. When you’re under stress, your body's fight-or-flight mechanism kicks in, and your body releases a rush of these stress hormones that were created to help us run away from disasters or prepare for an imminent threat. It is useful during war, or when racing away from a fire. It is not useful for the body to be flooded with these stress hormones day after day. A cocktail of stress hormones that circulate nonstop daily can have disastrous effects on the body. Many Americans live with chronic stress from watching trauma on the news, or living in fear about predators or terrorists or stock market fluctuations, or just from the daily grind of commuting and trying to get dinner on the table. When we chronically expect the worse, these hormones take over and rev up our inflammation levels and sap our sympathetic nervous system. To add insult to injury, chronic stress makes us stupid, agitated, reactive, less focused, and even accident prone. How? It shuts down the pre-frontal cortex and switches to the Amygdala area of the brain—which is used only for fight-or-flight situations. We literally have no access to the area of the brain associated with long-term memory, mindfulness, concentration, awareness, focus, and the ability to tap into our intuition. It makes daily life feel incredibly challenging. And, really, it is when we no longer utilize our brilliant areas of the mind, but instead, move on auto pilot with our primitive area at the wheel. This is what is behind mindless behaviors related to outbursts, road rage, reactive thinking, depression, and addictions as we impulsively reach for anything to give us relief.

Guided imagery is like an immediate salve that shuts down this primate area of our brain and allows the vagus nerve to stop sending alert blasts into every cell. It's remarkable how good a person can feel just after one deep breath and a relaxing guided meditation. It's like a divine sigh relief. It allows you to let go of all that fear and tension and your mind and body relaxes into its natural state of ease, flow, and well-being. Afterwards, clarity, insights, creative ideas, and loving thoughts of gratitude and hope percolate as you connect to the vibration of your spirit. This is the key to well-being. This is the path to manifesting a life worth living. It is everything. Yogis have known this for centuries. And now, more physicians do, too. I'm excited to guide meditation within Integrated Oncology at Torrance Memorial Medical Center, an affiliate of Cedars Sinai Hospital, as well as to be a keynote speaker at a Miracle of Living Event titled: Stress Less, Live Vibrantly. Why reducing stress is critical to disease prevention. It is a free event, May 21st, at 6:30 p.m. at Torrance Memorial Medical Center.

Here's an Example of a Visualized Meditation:

During guided imagery, you imagine a peaceful scene that covers all your senses — from what you see, hear, taste, touch and smell—to what you’re thinking and feeling. It's also helpful to visualize your body as you wish it would be again. For example, you might imagine yourself running on the beach with a lover. The two of you laugh as you race past children who are playing in the surf. As you jog, you feel the rush of the wind in your hair, the sweat on your brow, and the pump of your arms pushing you forward. You smell the salt air, see dolphins jumping up in the waves as several pelicans soar just above the water's edge. You don't just imagine feeling happy and carefree, you feel it deep down. You allow in the feelings of happiness, freedom, love, gratitude for the beauty of this planet and the well-being in your body. You accept the loving glances from your lover and notice all the happy families with children or couples sunning on the beach as you run past. You realize that there is so much more happiness, harmony, and love right here, right now, on earth.   

Immersing yourself in a scene such as this, puts you in a deep state of relaxation, gratitude, love, and hope. It drives down your anxiety and cortisol levels. As a result, your perception of pain, anxiety, and depression goes down.