Have you noticed how stress can have an impact on pain levels experienced throughout your daily life? It is often overlooked how our daily patterns of thinking can impact upon our general wellbeing and comfort levels. Very often we can get caught in a vicious cycle of pain in different parts of our bodies. This is what brings us to the benefits of meditation. Meditation can assist us in approaching hectic timetables in our lives with more ease. It can help to reduce the cognitive influences that our endocrine system has on our musculoskeletal system. It has an influence in deceasing our risk of future chronic health diseases, including heart disease, Diabetes, obesity and depression. Once upon a time, tigers jumping out in front of us in the jungle led to a fight/flight response, setting our endocrine system for the emergency facing us. But now there are no tigers jumping out in front of us, they are just jumping around in our head instead! Trying to balance busy lives with our partners, children, parents, friends, work or education and trying to stay fit and pain free can often get on top of us. This can lead to fears that present pain levels are either going to be with us for a long time, or just get worse. Even simple short periods of frequent meditation can be helpful for reducing pain. Research demonstrates that we are carrying out some genetic engineering on our body by meditating, as almost immediately you begin to turn off the genes responsible for the fight/flight responses and replace them with a relaxation response.
I would like to recommend a site to you to begin your journey. Smiling mind was developed by educators and Psychologists and is a non-profit organization that developed an App based delivery of meditation education. Try mindfulness in the workplace, sports meditation, meditation to assist sleeping, food appreciation, mindfulness in the classroom, and various other short to medium mediations. Around 10 minutes per day is a good place to start. Visit www.smilingmind.com.au , and download the App from the App store on your smart phones or tablets. For more pain management strategies please visit our surgery at Suite 2, 600 Bruce Hwy, Woree, Cairns. QLD, or book online at www.hip2toe.com.au. We assess and treat pain throughout your body and design management and treatment programs from first time walking infants/children to adults. If you have a friend who may benefit from these strategies, please let them know.
Enjoy the journey and have a great day from Dr. Jeremy Hawke (Podiatrist) and the Hip2Toe team.