I tell every one of my patients that, in order to get and stay well they MUST adopt a daily stress response management program. I provide a list of things that qualify as "stress response management" tools, most of which my patients have never done and perhaps have never even heard of. Feedback I often receive is, "I exercise to manage my stress". Not only does exercise not help the stress response, it can in some circumstances, become the stressor.

Lets examine what "stress response" actually means. Stress comes in many shapes and sizes and each of us has our own unique reactions to these stresses. What we all have in common is that we all have stress all of the time. Pollution, the economy, the decisions of others, bad drivers, crazy weather, health issues, etc. We are bombarded constantly with physical, mental and emotional stressors and the majority of these we have no control over. What we do have control over, however, is our RESPONSE to the stressor. Your response is what I'm going to focus on.

Imagine for a moment that you are in a jungle and a lion is chasing you. Your natural response is fear for your life. Your brain gets the message of danger and millions of instant signals travel throughout your body to prepare you to fight or run. When your life is on the line all you need is strength and speed. You are not going to stop for a meal, have a bowel movement, take a deep breath, sleep, etc. You are simply going to do everything you can to save your life.

Now lets examine your daily jungle and the lions that are chasing you. Work deadlines, difficult relationships, financial struggles, poor health, world issues. Both lions will kill you but the latter will kill you slowly by degrading your body systems so they can't function properly because the brain keeps shutting them down by sending signals of danger. You see, your response to the real lion is the same as your response to a work deadline. Over time your nervous system has become hardwired to see all your stressors as life threatening, pumping out stress chemicals that exhaust your body over time and leave you open to illness and premature aging.

What if I told you there is a simple antidote to your stress response? One that, if practiced daily, will guarantee you a more healthy and vibrant life? Would you do it? Well there is such a thing, its called meditation. There are many forms and they all work to some degree. My personal favorite is transcendental meditation or TM as its often called. There are several reasons I prefer it, not the least of which, is the extensive research into the benefits by reputable institutions such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and respected universities such as Harvard.

However, there is an even more compelling reason I chose TM, my first hand experience which led me to pursue this form of meditation and ultimately changed my life in profound ways.

It happened a few years ago, a patient was referred to me by her doctor. She had severe depression and her doctor had given her two prescriptions: 1) Get regular acupuncture 2) Learn TM. In my initial consultation with her I have to admit I was intimidated by how profoundly depressed she was. I proceeded with acupuncture on that first visit and she informed me that she also had a meeting with a TM instructor that very afternoon.

Over the weeks I treated her I saw a transformation that, to this day leaves me astounded. In a few short months she went from being barely able to function in her daily life to exuding so much vibrant life energy that she even looked like a completely different person. I couldn't wait to try this for myself. I have been practicing now for more than 3 years and I can attest to the amazing life changing benefits of TM. I have referred many of my patients, all of whom have had their own profound experiences. TM is a simple form of meditation that allows you to naturally unwind your stress response. It has no religious, political or other affiliations. Anyone can do it and everyone should if they truly want to get and stay well.

For more information about meditation in general you can find many many resources on the internet. For information specifically about TM you can visit TM.org or TM-Women.org.