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Healthy Minds, Healthy Lives
March 2012
Greetings!

Hope you and your family are doing great.  


Meditation, once believed to be a practice relegated to mystics, has increasingly become mainstreamed over the last couple of decades. In this edition of the Healthy Minds, Healthy Lives Newsletter, I will highlight the healing power of meditation and offer you resources to practice it.

 

Wishing you wellness,

Gayathri Signature
Gayathri Ramprasad
, MBA, CPS
Founder & President, ASHA International
 
The Healing Power of Meditation

 

During one of my hospitalizations for severe depression in 1989, a caring physician recommended I try Transcendental Meditation (TM) to manage my moods and help me heal. Fortunately, I found a teacher in my community to teach me the Transcendental Meditation technique which is based on the ancient Vedic tradition of enlightenment in India.

 

TM

I still remember the first day when my teacher, Pat, taught me the technique. We were sitting cross-legged with our eyes closed on the Persian carpet in the living room of her apartment in Beaverton. But, while Pat sat still, Buddha-like, her breath steady, body relaxed and face serene with peace, my breath was erratic and my mind wandered to the many things I need to do and hadn't done that day - the laundry, the groceries, the dishes, the bills, my daughter's dentist appointment, her play date, the itch in my back......

 

"Don't worry Gayathri" Pat had said sensing me squirm, "Just allow your mind to effortlessly transcend your thoughts." "With practice you will experience a deep state of restful consciousness." Although I hadn't believed Pat that first session or in the several sessions that followed, eventually, after weeks of practicing, I was able to tap into the hitherto unexplored tranquility of my mind.

 

Over the last twenty-three years, the regular practice of Transcendental Meditation has transformed my life. Despite the ups and downs of life, and recurrent bouts of depression, meditation centers and calms me, and fills me with creativity. And, it has greatly enhanced my overall health and well-being.

 

I sincerely hope you give Transcendental Meditation a try. Among many other benefits, consistent practice of Transcendental Meditation relieves stress, promotes deep relaxation, and produces a wide range of positive effects on a person's mind, body, and behavior.

 

To learn more about Transcendental Meditation and its benefits, and to find a teacher near you, please visit www.tm.org    

 

Meditation can be effective in treating mental illness:
 
Once dismissed as pretentious but now brain scans prove Eastern philosophies can be effective in treating mental illness.
Read more... 

   

Meditate For a Swifter Brain:  

       

The benefits of regular meditation are well known - the relaxation response it engenders can result in lower blood pressure, decreased heart and respiratory rates and can even level out mood swings. Read more...

 


PLEASE NOTE:

Gayathri Ramprasad, MBA, CPS, is not a doctor, therapist or health care professional. She is a mental health advocate and Certified Peer Specialist (CPS). The information shared in this E-mail is for general information purposes only and therefore not intended to replace the medical advice afforded by physicians or other healthcare professionals. 

 

In This Issue
The Healing Power of Music
Real People, Real Recovery
Real People, Real Recovery
Stories of Courage, Hope & Resilience

Jeff Bell

Jeff's Story:

From Adversity to Advocacy 

 

It all began with a simple bargain--one that A2A founder Jeff Bell made in the summer of 1997.  At his wits' end after years of battling OCD so severe he could barely function, Jeff was exhausted, dejected, and ready to quit.  Out of desperation one night, he found himself in his backyard hammock, staring up at a vast blanket of stars overhead, and making a commitment he thought he'd never have to keep.  "Show me how to turn around this crazy life," he muttered to the universe, "and I'll share my story with anyone who will listen." Read more... 

 
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A Film by Delaney Ruston, M.D.

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