What a Bunch of Bunk

Portrait Daniel Genova  danielgenova.com

I have a memory of a conversation I had with one of my best high school friends and her father.  I believe it was about Deepak Chopra although it must have been very early in his career since the conversation could not have happened any later than 1986 or so and was probably even earlier in the 80s.  

The conversation was about the mind body connection and the heart as an emotional organ.  There was discussion about a doctor’s work (probably Chopra) researching the management of heart disease through meditation and bio-feedback.  I remember that my friend’s father dismissed it all as "a bunch of bunk", stating that the heart was a muscle and nothing more.  What’s more we were all in agreement.  All hail drugs and modern medicine!!

If I were to have that conversation today it would go very differently.  I can’t say that I believe 100% in Dr. Chopra’s work but absolutely believe that through meditation, awareness of the subtle body and body work we can consciously impact our inner landscape.  Does that mean we can cure ourselves of cancer?  I’m no expert there and have certainly seen enough cancer among my friends and family to say probably not although instances of radical remission have been documented.

What I do know is that having lost my father to a blood pressure and stress induced cerebral hemorrhage, I still wish we had not put off our planned meditation sessions.  I was pretty sure that the blood pressure meds he was on weren’t helping him and may have been hurting him.  I am convinced that what he needed was to relax and to tap into the healing nature of turning has awareness inside.  He was no stranger to eastern approaches to wellness having spent time in India in the 70's and was amenable my help here.  We never got the chance.

For myself, I know that my meditation practice has made me a more patient parent and partner and I have experienced some of what was discussed in my 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training and in other mediation/pranayama sessions I've attended.  I now know that I can manipulate my lung function, consciously draw down on one lobe of my lungs at a time and feel the lift in my pelvic floor when I exhale.  That is just the tip of the iceberg and it is so cool.

Take the time to observe your inner landscape.  Learn about your body, how it works and the position of all the puzzle pieces.  You won’t be harming anything and you might even be helping yourself and others.