I think we all do. Our attitudes to life affect our emotions, and many of us don’t see the connection between our emotions and general health.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), emotions and our vital energy (Qi) are the bridge between our physical and spiritual well-being. We know that many physical diseases actually have an emotional imbalances at the root.

In Yoga, we investigate the emotions in deeper meditative practices to create inner harmony.  In turn, we create physical ease. This gives space for the mind to open up to profound spiritual experiences, connecting us to others, and to the beauty of life in general.

Insight from these Eastern practices is desperately needed here in the West where:

• psychotherapy is still considered “quackery” to some
• we complain endlessly about our health, circumstances, & politics, yet don’t take action to improve situations or try new approaches
• we like to place blame for our misfortune
• many have poverty consciousness and an unhealthy relationship with money
• sarcasm and cynicism are considered funny and cool personality traits
• stress and busyness are valued and intimately linked to our self-worth

How Our Attitudes Create Stress, Disease, and Disconnection

Much of our attention on health is with diet and physical health.  You may have the cleanest diet, and yet, if you’re caught up in the rat race, your body’s stress response can keep you in the sympathetic “fight or flight” mode.  This emotional imbalance increases adrenaline, cortisol, and other stress hormones.  They flood your system, lowering beneficial gut bacteria populations, and proper immune response.

This can lead to:

• chronic pain
• recurrent illnesses
• poor sleep
• gastric distress
• allergies
• high blood pressure
• heart disease
• unintentional weight gain
• unintentional weight loss
• depression/anxiety
• memory problems
• low libido
• fertility issues

Stress is relative and is a personal habitual reaction to stimuli. We can all be in the same traffic jam, yet have a different response because of our different inner attitudes and awareness of how we’re reacting.

“An emotion in excess, an inappropriate reaction, a self-destructive passion, an emotional response out of proportion to a situation, or a single automatic habitual response to many different life events all can be signs that the human being has lost his or her capacity for harmonious reactivity.”

– Ted J. Kaptchuk, O.M.D. from The Web That Has No Weaver

Manic elation, worry, sadness, anger, and fear are all normal in the human landscape. But if we hold them in, allow them to fester, or even let them become a major part of our personality, they can create disease from the TCM perspective.

Sun Si-miao (590-682 C.E.), a great physician of the Tang dynasty wrote that people suffer illness “because they do not have love in their life and are not cherished.” I think this notion is still relevant today, but that it’s self-love that’s lacking in many people and we have a hard time cherishing our own body, mind, and spirit which causes suffering.

How Do You Change Your Attitude and Achieve Health?

Yoga, Meditation, and TCM are wonderful ways to work with the energy of emotions to help one heal on all levels, but the person receiving still needs to participate.

If you’re laying on the table receiving acupuncture, you’re yielding to the treatment, trusting that energy is flowing where it needs to.  Following the treatment plan provided by your practitioner is also a way you’re participating in your health by adapting to a positive lifestyle change.

In a yoga class, you’re working with a personal intention, paying attention to emotional cues that are linked with your breathing, and not just going through the physical motions.

Participating in your emotional well-being means that we adjust our inner attitude to breed:

• Positivity
• Hope
• Trust
• Curiosity
• Equanimity
• Joy
• Insight

These are the “higher vibrations” we were referring to in Chakra Meditation: Radiate Out What You Want To Attract.

Adopting a Positive Attitude is a Conscious Choice

If we’re constantly evaluating how we’re feeling and pause often before reacting, we can see how we have some control over the outcome. We can then take responsibility for that outcome.

I just want to share a personal example here to drive my point home…

Yesterday I had the most amazing morning.

After sleeping in, I meditated and expressed gratitude for one more day of life. I took my son to a playgroup at the beach while I worked at a café a little down the road. It was a productive, yet relaxed day. On the way home, my son and I had some lovely conversations. I vowed to myself that I was going to keep this content feeling going throughout the day.

So later on when I discovered that a bird had crapped all over the side of my car, or when I had to deal with disorganized parking at gymnastics, and then with slow traffic on the way home from that, I did not take any of it personally. I did not take on any physical tension.

Today was a different story.

I had to wake early to get ready to teach a yoga class. People were expecting me to be on time and to be creative. I snapped at my son a few times as I was trying to get him out the door. Tension started to build in my body because I wasn’t feeling prepared for class. Luckily, there was some residue from my brief meditation that made me pause. I remembered the day before and knew that it was possible to stay calm again, even though I had more obligations. As long as I stayed calm, I knew creativity would spring from that.

Sure enough, I taught a pretty good class and the rest of the day went well too!

So believe me, you can experience more health and joy in your life if you make the conscious choice. Meditation, Yoga, TCM, psychotherapy, hypnotism, and aromatherapy can all give us a greater perspective on our emotions, inner attitudes, energy, and holistic health. They help us see more clearly how we need to change to release limited beliefs that keep us sick and disconnected.

Can you imagine what the world would be like if we all had this awareness? The change in that direction starts with you…

My teacher, Sarah Powers, is fond of saying that people turn to meditation when they are utterly sick of themselves.  They commit to the practice when they realize that their habitual ways of being are getting them nowhere in life. Meditation, especially Vipassana or Insight Meditation, shows us where disharmony exists in our lives.  It gives us tools to pull us up and out of our personal mess.

How I Was Introduced To Meditation

If you really want to know more about my personal mess, you can read my original post on my introduction to meditation. Basically, I had a really difficult time obtaining my college education and racked up considerable credit card debt.  I adopted really bad lifestyle habits and endured several shallow, heartbreaking relationships. Despite all that, I was doing really well in my full-time job. I placed all my energy there, and it’s where I received the most help.

My supervisor suggested that I attend an “Intro to Meditation” workshop my co-workers were having after hours. I remember feeling self-conscious.  I noticed that everyone was at least 10 years older than I, and wondering why in the world she thought to include me. But I respected her immensely and opened my mind fully to the experience.

Mindfulness ~ A Sensual Experience

What happened next, was not what I expected. I thought we would just sit as still as possible and try to empty our minds.

Instead, the instructor invited us to pick up a single raisin from many that she had on the tray. First, we described the raisin to each other. We noted it’s size, it’s texture, it’s color, and it’s smell. Then we let our mouths salivate.  We chewed the raisin, tasted it, felt the change in it’s structure as it turned to liquid, and swallowed the syrupy goodness. Our senses were alive and these simple details became important as we put them in the foreground of our awareness.

I experienced a raisin as I never had before! And I appreciated my body for the pleasure of it’s sweet taste. Then it occurred to me: if I had overlooked the simple details of eating, what else was I missing in life?

As I was mindfully eating the raisin, I was calm, focused, and felt less shy when we shared in the group afterwards. Somehow I had tapped into a well of confidence and felt a greater connection to the people in the group. It didn’t matter anymore that these people were older than me, different from me.

How Meditation Changed My Life

This seed of experience was planted in my consciousness long ago. It took many more years of hardship before I really understood how meditation could help me. It was around the time I started practicing yoga too, when meditation became a larger part of my life.

I immersed myself in the practice and found my teachers. At that point, compassion, patience, and understanding replaced the desperation, self-loathing, and worry that I clung to as a young adult.

Eventually I discovered my life purpose as an alternative health practitioner & educator. I now have a healthy relationship with money.  It flows into my life easily.  I give it freely to people and causes that I value without feeling any loss. I have a loving, respectful relationship with my husband and we have the most beautiful, inquisitive child. I’m aware when stress builds in my body and have natural, healthy ways to relieve it.

The Place of Meditation In My Life Now

Of course that’s not the end of my story! Life is not always rainbows and roses. I will never be “done” with this inner journey as long as I’m alive.

It’s still hard to prioritize a formal sitting practice when I have so many other obligations. But even just mindfully sitting a few minutes here and there helps. When I’m overly reactive to things happening around me, when relationships with friends feel strained, or I’m feeling unsatisfied in my business, I can usually trace it back to a disconnection in my inner life. This then helps me reprioritize meditation. And I do this over, and over, and over.

I am so grateful for this practice.  Meditation changed my life by connecting me to consciousness in a deep and meaningful way. 

If you’re feeling inspired to begin a meditation practice but don’t know where to start, check out my website’s Yoga & Meditation page. There are several guided meditations, all approximately 15 minutes, that can help get you started.  

If you like this article and the meditations, please share this resource with your friends!  I’d love to hear how you’re doing with them in the comments too!  Well wishes to you…

This oil, derived from the rind of the fruit, has both calming and uplifting properties. It’s perfect for when one is feeling anxious or depressed. Like most citrus oils, you must stay out of sunlight, avoiding UV rays for up to 12 hours after topical application.

Lavender

Lavender is one of the oldest oils, used by Romans & Egyptians when bathing, cooking, relaxing, and as a perfume. It’s a must-have for modern people who experience restless sleep. In addition to diffusing and spreading across the bottom of the feet, you can place a few drops on a cotton ball and place under your pillow when you’re ready to snooze.

Marjoram

It’s not just a tasty culinary herb! The essential oil of marjoram supports the nervous system, having a sedative effect and also eases sore muscles. Apply it to the back of the neck or wherever tension is showing up in your body.

Blue Tansy

The chemical chamazulene creates the brilliant blue shade of Blue Tansy, also known as Moroccan Chamomile.  Blue tansy can be diffused to uplift your mood or be massaged into the skin to relax muscular tension.

Cedarwood

Cedarwood is a very grounding oil that can help move tense energy down and out from the neck, shoulders, and upper back when applied to the feet.

In order to receive the greatest benefit, it’s important to use “Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade” essential oils. Unfortunately, due to loose regulation, there are many oils on the market that have been adulterated even though the labels say they are 100% pure. Visit my Natural Health Products page for my suggestions and support.