How might meditation help a person with a chronic illness, such as asthma or diabetes?

I agree, I think that when we practice meditation we learn to be more of an observer to our thoughts and with that comes the ability to witness our situation as if we are a spectator watching a drama or play. When we can step back like this it enables us to see our situation from an objective point of view rather than a personal one and we can begin to learn what we can do to help ourselves.
I believe that from negative situations such as chronic illnesses, we learn positives. I read a story recently which went something like this:

Two women were carrying clay pots on their heads from their homes to the river to collect water. Every day this was their routine. One of the women had a pot that had a slight crack in it and so everyday the woman would collect the water in the pot and fill it to the top but by the time she reached her home the pot would only be 3/4 full. This went on for 2 years.
One particular day the two women reached the river. When they were just about to fill their pots full of water, the pot with the crack in it said to the woman who carries it " I am feeling really bad. Every day you bring me to the river to collect water. You fill me up but by the time you reach your home I am only 3/4 full. I do not understand why you do not replace me. You have to walk a long way everyday to provide water for you family." The woman continued to fill the pot with water. As she placed the pot on her head to return home she said " have you not seen the flowers along the path I walk? I noticed the crack in you and decided to plant some seeds along my path. Everyday you watered those seeds and now they are beautiful flowers! Everyday I pick some and take them into my home and they give me pleasure."

I guess what I am saying is that whatever situation is thrown at us, be it a chronic illness or otherwise, it is easy to purely focus on that negative situation alone but to observe objectively, by the help of meditation, for instance, we can get a glimpse of the positive aspect of the situation and gain some strength.

Replies

Swami Saradananda September 23, 2010 at 9:04am

OM

Two interesting websites that discuss yoga and chronic disease:
http://www.holisticonline.com/remedies/Diabetes/diabetes_meditation...
http://yoga.org.nz/benefits/physiological_benefits/yoga_asthma.htm
Melanie Bhatt June 10, 2010 at 11:18pm

I agree, I think that when we practice meditation we learn to be more of an observer to our thoughts and with that comes the ability to witness our situation as if we are a spectator watching a drama or play. When we can step back like this it enables us to see our situation from an objective point of view rather than a personal one and we can begin to learn what we can do to help ourselves.
I believe that from negative situations such as chronic illnesses, we learn positives. I read a story recently which went something like this:

Two women were carrying clay pots on their heads from their homes to the river to collect water. Every day this was their routine. One of the women had a pot that had a slight crack in it and so everyday the woman would collect the water in the pot and fill it to the top but by the time she reached her home the pot would only be 3/4 full. This went on for 2 years.
One particular day the two women reached the river. When they were just about to fill their pots full of water, the pot with the crack in it said to the woman who carries it " I am feeling really bad. Every day you bring me to the river to collect water. You fill me up but by the time you reach your home I am only 3/4 full. I do not understand why you do not replace me. You have to walk a long way everyday to provide water for you family." The woman continued to fill the pot with water. As she placed the pot on her head to return home she said " have you not seen the flowers along the path I walk? I noticed the crack in you and decided to plant some seeds along my path. Everyday you watered those seeds and now they are beautiful flowers! Everyday I pick some and take them into my home and they give me pleasure."

I guess what I am saying is that whatever situation is thrown at us, be it a chronic illness or otherwise, it is easy to purely focus on that negative situation alone but to observe objectively, by the help of meditation, for instance, we can get a glimpse of the positive aspect of the situation and gain some strength.
Michael Linde June 10, 2010 at 10:06pm

I guess, you are right. But it is not easy...
Dealing with chronic illness is hard, especially if you practice Yoga. Often one expects that doing Yoga will remove all diseases. To see that diseases can come even if you practice yoga, might be quite difficult.

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