How Meditation Can Help You Manage Disease
Patients usually understand when I recommend meditation to control stress in their lives, even when I prescribe it for anxiety or depression. But when I suggest that my patients learn...
Pain Management
Patients usually understand when I recommend meditation to control stress in their lives, even when I prescribe it for anxiety or depression. But when I suggest that my patients learn to meditate to help them lose weight, change bad habits, or deal with disease, they seem surprised. They always ask how meditation could possibly help them deal with things like...
It’s hard to believe that in 2005, I could barely walk, and now I can ski down black diamonds and trek in the Himalayas. It’s hard to believe that I once thought meditation was a bunch of Southern California woo-woo hippie talk, and now I research its effectiveness. It’s hard to believe that less than a decade ago, I thought...
For the Ask Dr. Sheila column, Dr. Sheila Patel, Chopra’s Chief Medical Officer, answers questions from our community. In this article, Dr. Sheila answers a question about how Ayurveda can offer support for health issues when the individual has tried a variety of modalities without success.
The most common reason people see doctors is pain—more than 100 million Americans are reported to suffer from chronic pain, a number larger than all the people suffering from diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia, and stroke. For pain, doctors increasingly prescribe painkillers. But this has led to prescription pain pills becoming a major cause of addiction and death by overdose.The...
Many individuals recovering from addiction feel they’ve lost touch with how their minds and bodies feel, because addiction serves as a way to numb and disconnect you from your mind and body.Many studies have observed the effect of yoga and meditation on the fight-or-flight response, which is the body’s natural reaction to stressful and life-threatening situations. While this response is...
Are you one of the approximately 126 million Americans experiencing pain? Medications are one of the most common strategies to help reduce pain; however, they come with many side effects. Many people are turning to alternative therapies for pain management, including therapies that tap into the power of the mind. The mind can have a strong effect on how we...
We all experience physical pain at some point in our lives. The pain could be acute from a broken bone, or it could be ongoing from a serious, chronic condition. Often, pain can produce a tremendous amount of suffering, but it can also be a catalyst for growth and wisdom. Here are five practices that can help reduce unnecessary suffering...
Millions of people deal with chronic pain and other distress on a daily basis. Acute pain is an important reaction. It alerts us to harm and drives us to move away from danger. But when the brain is chronically activated to experience pain, it can become difficult to calm down and can lead to additional emotional, mental, and physical suffering....
Do you wear long sleeves, sunscreen, and sunglasses to protect yourself from the sun? Despite the highly publicized hazards of sunlight exposure, using sunlight as a healing therapy dates back to ancient civilizations in Egypt, Greece, and Rome, when individuals would sunbathe to heal certain conditions.Today, the sun is not the only source for healing light. Targeted light therapies, such...
Located throughout your body, joints play a key role in your mobility and overall well-being. While a variety of factors can affect your joints, such as injuries, inflammation, muscle atrophy, and overuse, there are things that you can do to protect your joints and prevent degeneration. The following lifestyle, diet, and supplement recommendations could help keep your joints healthy for...
I wasn’t always an empowered participant in my health. But when I started connecting the dots between my diet and lifestyle, chronic inflammation, and disease, a light bulb turned on. Why? Because our daily choices are at the root of chronic inflammation. Over the past decade, I’ve renovated everything from my grocery cart to my makeup bag to my mind...
New Clinical Study Finds that Endorphinate® Provides Effective, Safe Relief for Chronic Anxiety, Depression, Cravings, and Pain HypersensitivityGroundbreaking research recently published in the Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science* (JBBS) shows that the nutraceutical Endorphinate® is a clinically effective and safe treatment for chronic emotional and physical distress, including anxiety, anger, depression, cravings, and pain hypersensitivity.Developed by a team of...
This month we had an opportunity to sit down with Medical Director of Mind-Body Medical Group, Dr. Sheila Patel, to discuss chronic pain – a complex health issue that affects hundreds of millions of people through the world. As Dr. Patel describes, there is a lot of misunderstanding in both the mainstream medical community as well as the general public...
Let the experts at Chopra help you understand the common cause of back pain, treatments for it, and how to prevent it going forward.
“When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. When diet is correct, medicine is of no need.”—Ayurvedic proverbIt’s hard not to notice the books, documentaries, and podcasts that present research on the association between diet and chronic disease or illness. Emotional well-being is also affected by diet, something that can be overlooked when seeking treatment for mental health issues....
Whether it’s heavy-duty decluttering or regular upkeep, spring cleaning can take its toll on your body. This time of year often stirs a desire to release the old (things, habits, patterns, people) that no longer serve your highest, best selves to make space for new inspiration.Remember: Outer order creates inner calm, and cleaning is a great stress buster! Dusting, scrubbing,...
Many people suffer from neck pain on a regular basis. Stress, poor posture, accidents, and long-stored physiological tension can contribute to a mild stiff neck or even a full-blown muscle spasm of the neck, shoulders, and upper back. When confronted with neck pain, we tend turn to medication or a heating pad for relief. However, there are several yoga poses...
An estimated 84 percent of people may experience low back pain. If you’ve ever felt it yourself, you know that the most basic, daily movements can be challenging. Suddenly sitting, standing, and bending seem like advanced yoga postures. Back pain is actually one of the most common reasons that people visit the doctor. Fortunately, new studies are supporting yoga’s efficacy...
When we’re coping with emotional pain, a purely mental or intellectual approach usually isn’t enough. Although our mind may try to think its way out of pain, it can quickly become confused or trapped in repetitive thought-patterns that actually intensify our emotional turmoil. When we invite our body and spirit to be part of the healing process, however, transformation can...
About a year and a half ago I attended my first official meditation retreat. It was with Deepak Chopra and The Chopra Center. Prior to this, I was what would be described as a "crisis meditator" tapping into the practice at the most expected of times (i.e., New Year's resolution) or the most desperate times (i.e., overly stressed, overwhelmed, etc)....
Articles
The Miracle of Meditation
It’s hard to believe that in 2005, I could barely walk, and now I can ski down black diamonds and trek in the Himalayas. It’s hard to believe that I...
Ask Dr. Sheila: How Can Ayurveda Help When Nothing Else Has Worked?
For the Ask Dr. Sheila column, Dr. Sheila Patel, Chopra’s Chief Medical Officer, answers questions from our community. In this article, Dr. Sheila answers a question about how Ayurveda can...
Ayurveda’s Approach to Pain Management
The most common reason people see doctors is pain—more than 100 million Americans are reported to suffer from chronic pain, a number larger than all the people suffering from diabetes,...
Addiction Recovery: Meditation and Yoga for Healing
Many individuals recovering from addiction feel they’ve lost touch with how their minds and bodies feel, because addiction serves as a way to numb and disconnect you from your mind...
3 Mind-Body Therapies to Help Decrease Pain
Are you one of the approximately 126 million Americans experiencing pain? Medications are one of the most common strategies to help reduce pain; however, they come with many side effects....
Physical Pain as a Teacher: 5 Life Practices
We all experience physical pain at some point in our lives. The pain could be acute from a broken bone, or it could be ongoing from a serious, chronic condition....
Do We Need to Suffer? Mindful Shifts to Cope with Chronic Pain
Millions of people deal with chronic pain and other distress on a daily basis. Acute pain is an important reaction. It alerts us to harm and drives us to move...
Low-Level Laser Therapy: Healing Benefits and Risks
Do you wear long sleeves, sunscreen, and sunglasses to protect yourself from the sun? Despite the highly publicized hazards of sunlight exposure, using sunlight as a healing therapy dates back...
3 Considerations for Maintaining Happy, Healthy Joints
Located throughout your body, joints play a key role in your mobility and overall well-being. While a variety of factors can affect your joints, such as injuries, inflammation, muscle atrophy,...
5 Ways to Reduce Inflammation
I wasn’t always an empowered participant in my health. But when I started connecting the dots between my diet and lifestyle, chronic inflammation, and disease, a light bulb turned on....
New Clinical Study: Endorphinate
New Clinical Study Finds that Endorphinate® Provides Effective, Safe Relief for Chronic Anxiety, Depression, Cravings, and Pain HypersensitivityGroundbreaking research recently published in the Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science* (JBBS)...
An Integrative Healing Approach to Chronic Pain
This month we had an opportunity to sit down with Medical Director of Mind-Body Medical Group, Dr. Sheila Patel, to discuss chronic pain – a complex health issue that affects...
What Are the Causes of Back Pain?
Let the experts at Chopra help you understand the common cause of back pain, treatments for it, and how to prevent it going forward.
5 Ways to Use Food as Medicine
“When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. When diet is correct, medicine is of no need.”—Ayurvedic proverbIt’s hard not to notice the books, documentaries, and podcasts that present...
6 Yoga Poses to Support Your Body During Spring Cleaning
Whether it’s heavy-duty decluttering or regular upkeep, spring cleaning can take its toll on your body. This time of year often stirs a desire to release the old (things, habits,...
6 Yoga Poses to Help Relieve Neck Pain
Many people suffer from neck pain on a regular basis. Stress, poor posture, accidents, and long-stored physiological tension can contribute to a mild stiff neck or even a full-blown muscle...
5 Yoga Poses to Ease Lower Back Pain
An estimated 84 percent of people may experience low back pain. If you’ve ever felt it yourself, you know that the most basic, daily movements can be challenging. Suddenly sitting,...
Healing Emotional Pain with Yoga
When we’re coping with emotional pain, a purely mental or intellectual approach usually isn’t enough. Although our mind may try to think its way out of pain, it can quickly...
Do Be Do Be Do
About a year and a half ago I attended my first official meditation retreat. It was with Deepak Chopra and The Chopra Center. Prior to this, I was what would...