As the stressed-out world continues to hunker down — for almost a year now, due to the COVID-19 pandemic — many of us may find ourselves in emotional spirals laced with anxiety and cabin fever as we navigate today’s complex ‘new normal’ of isolation and social distancing, the wearing of masks, and constant vigilance against a mutating virus. What may easily and often get lost in the mix is the need for mental and emotional clarity — which will highly benefit both our mind and our body as a whole – which, of course, includes our hard-working liver. In fact, studies have shown that mindful meditation improves the quality of life of people with liver diseases, particularly those who suffer from sleep problems and depression (Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 2017 Jul; 8[7]: e108.).
The road toward mental and emotional lucidity may not look the same for everyone, so we’ve put together this list to help you find what activity may best suit you. While this list is not exhaustive, it should provide you with plenty of options to help you in your journey, as we all cope with pandemic-related challenges, while building your resilience. Together, we an do this as a community that values mental and physical health, and notably our liver health.
MINDFULNESS MEDITATION
This popular type of meditation is known to reduce depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances. In the study mentioned above, the researchers found that the impact of mindfulness meditation benefited not only the people with liver disease who practiced this meditation but also helped reduce the burden on their caregivers (Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 2017 Jul; 8[7]: e108.). Cultivating a sense of mindfulness, particularly amid a crisis such as the pandemic, can help you be more ‘present in the moment’ and lead to more transformative health behavioral changes.
Mindfulness.org offers ways to get started with this type of meditation, as well as daily guided practices and more in-depth courses.
GRATITUDE, LOVING, KINDNESS MEDITATION
This type of meditation encourages you to reflect on specific positive thoughts and repeat key messages of gratitude and compassion many times. The goal is for you to experience those positive feelings toward yourself and to others.
Try this 13-minute guided meditation from Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education.
MOVEMENT MEDITATION
Body awareness — such as listening to your breath or heartbeat or paying attention to hand movements — has been suggested to be associated with a person’s understanding of his or her mental health. In fact, a study has found that the more accurate people are at perceiving their heartbeat, the more they’re able to notice and label their emotions (Psychophysiology. 2017 Mar;54[3]:469-482. doi: 10.1111/psyp.12790). Movement meditation may come in various forms, such as yoga or even dancing. Movement meditation spans different cultures as a means of exploring life and spirituality through finding and expressing one’s “dance energy” and impulses (https://trans4mind.com/).
As an added benefit — which we noted in our previous blog post — maintaining regular body movement throughout our day reduces the risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
To try some liver-friendly yoga poses, learn more here.
To explore different meditative dances, checkout Sheer Lev on YouTube.
VISUALIZATION MEDITATION
Visualization may sound commonplace; it’s when we picture — or envision — something that we want to actually happen. Giving life to a goal and a desire — albeit inside our head — through visualization, draws positive enegy from our creativity and ability to focus, making it a good meditative practice. This type of mediation can even be done alongside some of the meditation techniques that we’ve explored, such as loving-kindness and mindfulness meditation. Every time we hear someone say, “Go to your happy place,” that in itself is a directive of visualization meditation.
Try these visualization techniques to help relieve your stress and anxiety.
At ADRLF, as this year swiftly takes hold, we’re rooting for you to harness your optimum health in the face of these challenging times. Again, beneficial meditation comes in many dynamic forms and variations. We hope this list will help you kick-start your meditative journey toward achieving inner peace and strength — and of course, toward ensuring a happy and healthy liver.
