Meditation Archives - HealingT1D

Meditation for Healing Type 1 Diabetes

Activating The Parasympathetic Nervous System

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

Summary: Meditation, a practice of inner peace and focus, remains a mixed journey for the author — balancing love and frustration. Despite inconclusive scientific backing, it personally enhances calmness and decision-making. Research highlights meditation’s potential to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, crucial for rest and healing, influencing her preference for calming techniques like Apan Mudra.

Meditation. Hmmmm. I have a love/hate relationship with this practice, which is kind of ironic! Isn’t meditation just supposed to be about inner peace, love and tranquility?! If only!!

What Is Meditation?

As is the case with most things that have a spiritual angle, meditation is difficult to define. It is often called a practice or a skill, one in which you can become more centred, more calm, more balanced. What exactly that practice or skill entails depends on the discipline you use. It is often about focussing the attention, whether on a particular word or phrase, your internal landscape, breathing or even just the present moment that you are in (becoming aware of the sounds around you or feeling the surface under your body as you sit, for example).

Is Meditation Healing?

The results from the scientific literature are conflicting about the benefits of meditation. Proponents of meditation state that meditation can improve stress, anxiety and mood, decrease blood pressure, relieve pain, improve your immune system and improve your cardiovascular system. However, I have been unable to find any clear studies, let alone meta-analyses, that support this view. Research in the field definitely seems to be in its infancy.

Nevertheless, that does not necessarily mean that meditation isn’t worthwhile. For me, I know that I feel calmer and more grounded after sitting in meditation. I know that my life flows more smoothly and my decisions are better. I know that I am working on my energy field when I sit in meditation and that, after all, bodies are purely energy when magnified to their most intricate level. For all these reasons, it improves the quality of my life and increases the positive emotions that Dr Kelly Turner states are key to healing.

When looking at the scientific literature on meditation, something caught my eye. The scientific literature hints at a link between activation of the parasympathetic nervous system when meditation is performed. The parasympathetic nervous system is the part of the nervous system that is more active when the body goes into a state of rest, repair and digestion. It is this branch of the nervous system that is switched off when your body goes into a fight-flight response (the state that I believe is in action when Type 1 Diabetes develops and the state in which I believe a person with Type 1 Diabetes is stuck).

For the reasons I stated above, any practices, including meditation, that promote activity in the parasympathetic nervous system are enticing to me. One robust piece of research that demonstrates this link is by Amihai and Kozhevnikov (2015). What is particularly interesting about this piece of research is that they found certain types of meditation activate the parasympathetic branch, whereas others activate the sympathetic branch. I definitely want to focus on meditation practices that increase parasympathetic system because activation of the parasympathetic nervous system counters the fight/flight response and increases the ability for the body to rest, repair and digest… The three things my body needs to be doing if it’s going to heal.

For those that are interested, meditation from the Theravada and Mahayana traditions were particularly found to heighten parasympathetic activity. However, I honestly believe that your own mind-body system are best for guiding you… Do what feels good! Try one kind of meditation. If you don’t like it, try something else.

My Meditation Practice In The Past

I first encountered meditation in my twenties, when I had raging anxiety and depression (yes, and probably rage!!). Getting through my days was more than hard work. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it through those times. I had done all of the doctors visits and been prescribed the good ol’ antidepressants but nothing was really helping. In desperation, I signed up to a yoga course specifically designed to aid those with anxiety and depression. My then yoga teacher was fantastic. She had a wealth of knowledge and a truly compassionate understanding of where I was. She got, right from the outset, that in my highly frazzled and anxious state, getting me to sit in peace and stillness for any length of time just wasn’t going to happen. So my meditation practice started with a simple walking meditation. And, boy, it helped! Just focusing, even for short amounts of time, on raising and lowering my legs with each step gave me a soothing that was in short supply at that time.

I have also done guided meditations in the past and sampled Transcendental Meditation (which the amazing Candace Pert placed great faith in). I think I might have continued my exploration and practice of Transcendental Meditation if I had not also read, at that time, the book “Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson“. In that book, Herbert Benson argues that transcendental meditation, and other meditative practices like it, do not have any particular magic quality, it’s just that they use a specific set of steps that trigger a relaxation response in the body. I will cover these steps, and my thoughts on that book, in a forthcoming blog post.

My Meditation Practice Today

I have more of an on/off relationship with meditation today. I have managed to heal my anxiety and depression so the desperation I had then is no longer powering me to the mat. Instead, as my ADHD becomes more pronounced in my life (or maybe just more visible as I have stripped away the noisier and more consuming layers of anxiety and depression), I am finding it more of a struggle to do things, like meditation, that don’t have an immediate pay-off. I get distracted and frustrated. But those two emotions are ones that definitely benefit from meditation so back I swing to it again!

At the moment, I am meditating most days. I do it in the morning for 15 minutes as part of my morning routine. I have used guided meditations in the past but find that I don’t feel so recharged and relaxed after those. So, these days, I simply sit, close my eyes and watch my thoughts come and go. I may at times pay attention to how my body is in the present moment or observe the coming and going of my breath. It feels playful. I let my focus be with what it needs to be with.

I also use a mudra (a hand gesture) whilst I meditate. My body naturally found this mudra itself some ten years ago. A meditation teacher I had at that time encouraged us to touch our index finger to our thumb on each hand whilst meditating. This is known as the Gyan Mudra and is a very popular mudra during meditation. It is thought to promote control in the mind, releasing negative thoughts and promoting positive emotions. However, I naturally gravitated to instead placing my middle and ring fingers on my thumb instead. I have now discovered that that mudra is known as the Apan Mudra and is used to promote healthy diabetes control! My body knew!!

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Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

The Beauty of Rest

Fight-Flight To Rest-Repair

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

Summary: In her reflection on relaxation, the author admits to neglecting it after her blood pressure normalised. Recognising the historical significance of rest in healing, she aims to reintroduce relaxation into her daily routine. Despite feeling guilty, she acknowledges the necessity of rest for transitioning her body from fight-flight to rest-repair for her healing journey.

I’m calling myself out! You see, when I wrote my post on ‘High Blood Pressure’, I said that I was going to start resting properly. I promise I did start doing that. I was doing my good solid 30 minutes of re-lax-ation. But I then found out my blood pressure was back to normal so the rest stopped too. But shouldn’t I still be doing this? Don’t my mind and body deserve this? Don’t we all deserve this, sick or not?!

Relaxation In Ancient Times

In Ancient Greece, an important part of a healing journey was the act of leaving your normal environment in order to seek out a sanctuary for rest and recuperation. Similarly, in Victorian times, it was considered standard practice to spend time by the sea or in a spa or bath house to restore oneself. What has happened to this today? Life today is too focused on being rushed and hurried, being productive and conquering to-do lists.

I am choosing to take a quarter-turn (perhaps more!) away from my to-do list. I’m starting to choose to sit in the sun (topping up my Vitamin D as I do so) or read a few more pages of that novel.

The Need For Rest

In today’s particularly hurried and harried world, rest needs more prioritisation. Adequate rest enables your body to switch from a state of fight-and-flight to rest and repair. It signals to your body that it is safe and satiated, that nothing externally needs to be done so work on maintaining and healing your internal systems can take place. Thus, for healing any kind of illness, including Type 1 Diabetes, rest is compulsory. It’s a non-negotiable.

When you rest, your parasympathetic nervous system is activated. The parasympathetic nervous system is the branch of the autonomic nervous system that is responsible for the rest and repair of your body. We want this one in action as much of the time as possible. Our resting facilitates this branch.

The Discomfort Of Rest

The thing is… I feel guilty every time I rest. As a wife, mother, homemaker, blogger, friend… I always feel like there is more I need to be doing. I can’t seem to give myself permission to rest until everything else is done. Sitting down on the sofa surrounded by the mess of an unfinished tidy-up is just not something I can do with ease.

I suspect that my inability to just sit down is rooted in my nervous system too. My twitchiness, my desire to always move and ‘do’ seems indicative of a fight-or-flight reaction. If you’re being stalked through the trees by a predator (or your body thinks that’s the case), you’re not just going to kick back and stargaze, are you?!

For a long time, my self-esteem and my self-worth, even feeling that I existed at all, came from what I did in my day. I guess you could say my raison d’être was ‘I do therefore I am’. If I had ticked jobs off my to-do list, accomplished a lot, I felt I had earned the rest. This old trauma response is ingrained. I need to learn to honour my need for rest. I need to learn to sit with myself in that moment, just as I am. I think trauma takes you away from an ability to sit with yourself in any form – mentally, physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Sitting down and just being, rather than doing, is necessary for my healing now.

This may sound counterproductive but, for now at least, I’ve put relaxation on my to-do list! It’s now one of my daily tasks. I’m going to have to condition my body back into the idea of relaxation. It feels a bit like the starting stages of meditation. You know how it is… That first time you meditate, you try so, so hard to stop thinking that you spend all your time thinking about how you shouldn’t be thinking…!!

Returning Home

I have now started to rest. But it’s painful. Yes, that’s right. I struggle to rest. But it’s getting easier. I am saying no to that extra task (or ten extra tasks). I am ensuring I have a whole day each week with no agenda items. I am also taking naps in the sun. I am taking time to read a rubbish book. I have dug out old jigsaws that I haven’t done for years. Most importantly, I am taking the time out to show my body that I am not fighting anymore and it doesn’t need to either.

Now that I live in the Middle East, I am finding myself in a country with a slower pace of life. People don’t rush here. Things happen, things may not happen. Someone may drop by, they may not. And all is good. As I reflect back on how fast-paced my life used to be, it reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend not long after moving out here. He kindly provided some feedback to my driving style. He explained that I was switching lanes too fast when on the motorway (a pace that would be considered perfectly normal in the UK!). He said that local drivers wouldn’t anticipate my ‘quick’ lane changes and that I was therefore more at-risk for an accident. I had to train myself to indicate for longer and transition over the white line at a much slower pace. It has taken time, but I move more slowly now. I hover and pause as I cross the line. I have allowed my car to flow at pace with the cars around me. And now I am encouraging my body and mind to do the same.

Sleep

I am still having some struggles with sleep. Don’t get me wrong… When I’m in bed, I’m usually out like a light. But it takes me a long time to get up those stairs to my bedroom. I procrastinate or, as my husband would say, Dilly and Dally come out to play! I think there are a few reasons for this. Firstly, the godforsaken Netflix. It still sucks me in, despite my best efforts. The combination of the blue light it produces plus the never-ending jump to the next episode makes it hard to switch off. Secondly, there is also a desire to “just get one more thing done” before I get to bed. That is the trauma response. The need to justify rest. The need to persuade myself it’s safe enough, everything is safe enough in my world, for me to go to sleep.

Andrew Weil, in his book ‘Spontaneous Healing’, argues for the importance of rest in healing. I completely agree with him. However, his discussion of rest focuses solely on sleep. Whilst I agree that sleep is important (see my post on sleep here!), I think rest needs to extend beyond that, into the waking hours of life too.

I have two dogs. I believe that they are incredible role models in the way that I should live my life. Being creatures of the wild (their grandmother was a wild-born dog), they have not been influenced by the modern world, by Netflix and to-do lists. And they sleep. They rest. Their meals and exercise are provided as required. So, the rest of their time, they sleep and rest. They play. They enjoy belly rubs. They don’t feel the slightest need to do anything more than that. And they’re happy.

Extending Rest

I recently discovered Matthew Edlund’s book on ‘The Power of Rest’. He outlines a 30-day plan for effecting rest in your life. Whilst the plan itself did not call to me (why rest for 30 days only?!), what did stay with me was the five different types of rest that he stated are needed in our lives. These are: sleep, physical rest, mental rest, social rest and spiritual rest. Matthew Edlund outlines various activities that fall under each of these headings, including meditation, power naps, walking with a friend and so on. For this content alone, I think this book is wholly worthwhile.

Going forward from here, I feel that I need to dedicate some time to considering how to percolate rest, in all its forms, throughout my days. Activities such as gratitude, breathing, yoga, meditation and laughter as forms of relaxation are likely to be content in future posts!

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Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

Morning Routine

Starting The Day In A Healing Way

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

Summary: Waking at 5:30 AM despite being a night owl, the author embraced a morning routine influenced by Hal Elrod’s ‘Miracle Morning’. Initially including SAVERS (Silence, Affirmations, Visualisation, Exercise, Reading, and Scribing), the author tailored it to include: meditation, spiritual reading, soulful writing to God, and prayer. Completing the ritual with self-hugging and Reiki principles, it centres the author’s day spiritually.

Now that I’ve chatted through my new bedtime routine, I guess I need to talk about what happens at the other end of the day… My morning routine! I’ve actually been getting up for a morning routine at 5.30am (or thereabouts!) for probably two years now.

Now, I think it’s important to make clear right from the start that I am NOT a morning person. Well, not a natural morning person, anyway! In all of my iterations of my ideal day, getting out of bed never happens before 10am! So how did I, the archetypal night owl, persuade myself to end up getting up daily at 5.30am…?

Hal Elrod’s ‘Miracle Morning’

A friend first introduced me to this book two years ago. I was pretty frustrated with my life at that point, feeling I wasn’t really in charge of my life or had any real direction. When she handed me this book, I devoured it in a couple of days. To this day, I still recommend it to friends!

The book outlines a model for your morning that you can adapt to any timescale you have available (six minutes to two or more hours!). It is based around six key areas that you focus on each morning, which Hal Elrod calls the ‘SAVERS’:

On top of detailing what to include for each section, Hal gives tips on how to effectively get up in the morning (great for us night owls!) and how to maximise the productivity and profitability of this routine and therefore the rest of your day.

The Miracle Morning was a really great way for me to start the practice of a morning routine and set me up well for finding what works for me from there. However, I did struggle with the idea of exercise that early in the morning – I was barely conscious! I found, as the months went on, my ‘SAVERS’ became ‘SARS’ (yikes!!). My frustration levels built with my lack of discipline. So I looked for inspiration elsewhere.

Adapting The Miracle Morning

I still really liked the Silence (aka meditation), Affirmations, Reading and Scribing (aka journalling) parts of the Miracle Morning but I was having a couple of issues with them. Firstly, being a busy wife and mum, I was frustrated by the time limit imposed on me by the demands of my life. For example, I would get halfway through an amazing chapter in the inspirational book I was reading then realise it was time to get my daughter up for school. Secondly, as time went on and I read more self-help material, I realised that there were other things that I also wanted to include in my morning routine or do in its place that I couldn’t accommodate in the SAVERS routine. So I branched out.

What Is No Longer In My Morning Routine

The first thing I knew had to go was the exercise. I have never enjoyed starting my days with exercise. My body just doesn’t coordinate well first thing in the morning. On top of that, I have high insulin sensitivity and high glucose sensitivity before 10am, with both increasing by a factor of two. Chucking exercise into that mix just turns my blood sugar levels into a disaster for the rest of the morning. So exercise was out.

I also found the visualisation quite boring and didn’t ever really get into that. I tried to improve my technique and by reading both ‘Creative Visualization’ by Shakti Gawain and ‘Vivid Visualisation’ by John Freeman. Despite their stellar Amazon reviews, it just didn’t stick with me. So, reluctantly, visualisations didn’t make my final list. (However, I may return to this. I have just discovered that the highly successful Tony Robbins uses visualisations as part of his morning routine so there must be something in it. I think there is great power in visualisations, if only I can learn how to harness them.).

Affirmations were something else that I removed from my morning routine. I enjoy using affirmations and feel they really help me to shift my mentality around whatever I focus my affirmations on. However, I found that I use them most consistently when I attach them to the action of brushing my teeth every morning and evening. I have stuck my affirmations to my bedroom mirror and repeat them every time I brush!

My Spiritual Hour

I now call my routine my spiritual hour because that’s where I want to place my emphasis during the start of my day. I want the focus to be on my spirituality and practices that support that. I feel this aligns well with my healing and reflects Dr Kelly Turner’s findings about the importance of spiritual practices in a healing journey.

Meditation – 20 Minutes

The first thing I do every morning is meditate. I tend to do this for about 15 to 20 minutes. I do different kinds of meditations because I try to choose something that answers whatever I feel my mind, body and soul need that day. Sometimes, I will just sit in silence (I actually find this the hardest type of meditation to do… My, how my mind wanders and my frustration rises!!). Other times, I might listen to a guided meditation on my laptop. I’ve accumulated a selection of these over the last few years. One set I particularly like is an album called ‘Blessing of the Heart’ by Padma Devi Sumananda at Heart of Living Yoga (available here). Other times still, I might follow a particular course that has called to me. Deepak Chopra’s 21-day meditation challenges are particularly good for that! These incorporate some learning with some meditation that usually involves a mantra. I feel particularly zen after these! Deepak has released some of these for free on YouTube and others are promoted free for limited periods of time through his website.

Writing

The next thing I do is a form of writing. I did feel inspired by Hal Elrod’s suggestion to write and knew that I wanted to keep some form of writing in my spiritual hour. I just didn’t like the whole ‘write about what’s on my mind’ thing. I looked around for ideas to replace this.

I have heard really great things about something called ‘The Morning Pages’, which is outlined in Julia Cameron’s book ‘The Artist’s Way’. Whilst it is outlined as a way to inspire creativity in your life, I know that people use the morning pages for all kinds of levels of exploration. The idea is that you write whatever comes into your mind – yes, every word! – for three pages. It is supposed to bring clarity and inspiration and all host of other amazing things. Unfortunately, it fell flat with me. It just seemed a bit pointless. I did it for a couple of months but didn’t feel I gained anything from it at all. It just didn’t call to this one’s soul!

The writing practice I eventually landed on was Janet Conner’s ‘Writing Down Your Soul’. I love this book!! It gave me a brilliant tool to access my spirituality in a way that felt progressive and fulfilling. Janet Conner outlines a routine to surround and hold the writing practice. She also generously gives a whole series of questions you can seek to ask if you are stuck for your own.

Janet suggests that, as part of the preparation for writing, you could read something that resonates with you. The book I chose for this part is Sarah Ban Breathnach’s ‘Simple Abundance: 365 Days to a Balanced And Joyful Life’. This book is truly beautiful. It consists of 365 passages, one for each day of the year. I think you are supposed to work through each day in turn throughout the year but, as I bought it half-way through the year, I decided to pick a page at random each day. Most days, whichever page I land on, it seems to resonate deeply with something in me that is stirring that day.

So, every morning, that is my writing practice. After I meditate, I read ‘Simple Abundance’ and then I write to God. I tell Him (Her?) how I’m feeling and what is going on for me, then I listen for His answers. They always come. This writing practice reminds me of what Neale Donald Walsch did in his ‘Conversations with God’. I hope to benefit from even a fraction of the wisdom that he gained from his experience!

Prayer

After writing, I usually pray briefly. I like to say thanks for all the good in my life and then I select a prayer from ‘Uplifting Prayers to light your way’ by Sonia Chouquette. This is another book that I really appreciate. Again, I select a page at random. More often than not, there is a great synchronicity with the prayer that I find. It often compliments what I have read in ‘Simple Abundance’ and also often resonates with me. It really makes me feel close to God as speak the words out that are presented to me. I feel at peace.

Other Quick Practices

Mirror Exercise: I learnt this on the desert retreat I went on last year. I grab a mirror and, whilst looking directly into my own eyes, I say ‘I see you. I love you. You are beautiful. I am proud of you.’ It is a really affirming process that, whilst feeling awkward at the start, builds over time. It is a powerful practice to sit with yourself in that feeling.

Hugging: I finish my spiritual hour by giving myself a good hug. I discussed in this post about the importance of hugging and how self-hugging can be as effective as hugging someone else. Every morning, I regulate myself and my body with this quick practice.

Reiki Principles: As I walk out of the room I do my spiritual practice in, I turn off the light. I have placed by the light switch the Reiki principles to repeat. These are:

So that’s it! That’s my morning routine.

Of course, there are days I don’t do it. There are also times when I step away from this practice and do something else. For example, that happened when I decided to focus last month on my forgiveness practice. I spent my spiritual hour each morning doing that. But I always return to this. It is my home.

GET HEALINGT1D’S FUTURE ARTICLES IN YOUR INBOX!

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Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

Meditation for Healing Type 1 Diabetes

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The Beauty of Rest

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Morning Routine

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