Has Your Doctor Prescribed Meditation Yet?

Has Your Doctor Prescribed Meditation Yet?

When this blog is published, I will be in the hospital awaiting the installation of my new left knee.  As is typical prior to surgery, I had to see my cardiologist and my primary care doctor to get clearance.  In the process, I found my blood pressure was higher than it should be.  My doctors were a bit alarmed, but it was my wife who to me “hit the panic button.”

It goes along with my age, I assumed.   But Jan was quick to point to my love of salt, and to my stress in trying to do all the things I do.  She said seriously, “You could have a stroke during surgery!‘  Jan reminded me that during a previous surgical procedure, my book pressure soared and the surgeon had a difficult time getting it under control.  About this same time, I saw an article which was titled,  “Doctor’s Orders:  20 minutes of Meditation Twice a Day.”

A doctor at one of Harvard Medical School’s hospitals actually prescribes meditation to her patients.  And more and more doctors across the country are following suit.  It’s based in part on a number of research studies, which have shown that meditation can lower a person’s blood pressure, help patients cope with chronic pain, and even sharply reduce the risk of heart attacks.  Of course, it is being used in conjunction with traditional medical treatments.

But why is it effective?  One of the things a person does when meditating is that they slow down their breathing, which activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which relaxes the body.  This also slows down your heart rate as well as slowing down the release of stress hormones.

But a lot of Christians are still a bit leery of meditation, thinking of it as simply the emptying of the mind.   The image of someone relaxed saying “ummm” over and over is not how a Christian would meditate.  If you read through the Psalms, you find numerous references to meditation.  But what the Psalms call meditation is called “Discursive Meditation” which has a focus.  It focuses on the scriptures.   Try it.  Take a short passage and slowly read it over several times.  Then focus on something in what you are reading that is especially meaningful to you.  Chew on that thought as you breath slowly, allowing the truth of that passage to sink deep into your being.

If you’re interested, you might check out my Meditation blog at http://drstoop.com/category/devotionals/, or look up my mediation tweets at BibleGateway.com @biblegateway  biblegateway.com/passage/?searc… ►bg4.me/1gxb6Vx