[Natalie8]

I posted this in another thread the other day but I want to make sure everyone gets to see this so I am creating a new thread. I HIGHLY recommend this visual imagery CD for thinking about your body healing.


Anyhow.... I have a suggestion for you regarding sleep or just plain relaxation. I have suffered from insomnia for many years even before all of this MS crap (I've noticed that I use the word crap a lot now in these posts -- just about sums up the MS I guess). In the beginning when I was diagnosed I bought this guided imagery CD by Bellaruth Naparstek called "Multiple Sclerosis." It has a guided imagery sequence designed to alleviate fatigue, improve movement etc. and to envision less inflammation around the myelin in the brain. It also has some affirmations to listen to as well. I am a holistic health junkie and I thought, hey this can't hurt, I'll check it out. I put it on my MP3 player so I could listen to it on the headphones as I lay on the couch or in bed. I fell asleep the first time I listened to it in the middle of the day!!!! So now, when the insomnia is really bad I listen to it lying in bed with the lights out before I go to sleep. I'm telling you, I can never seem to get to the end of the CD because I always fall asleep!! Consciously I'm not even sure what's at the end since I konk out before its over but unconsciously I imagine my brain is listening to these affirmations. Bellaruth has the most soothing reassuring voice--it's so comforting. When I'm in bed in the dark, tucked into my covers, and listening to her I just instinctively relax. It's worth a try for insomnia. I also recommend it for relaxation and thinking positively about your body.

Here is the link http://www.healthjourneys.com/product_detail.aspx?id=17

[tamiloo]

I have to agree with you...using imagery and meditation to help heal. I started using it about 15 years ago when I was preparing for my fourth back surgery...I used a great book by Bernie Siegel..."How to live between office visits." Great book, it talks mostly about his experiences with cancer patients but what he teaches can apply to most any chronic illness...

[greta]

Thank you so much for posting this Natalie. I'm going to pick this up. I have several meditation / relaxation CDs/DVDs that I rotate through. I've done some healing imagery meditation on my own (mine is bricklayers adding more mortar to my neurons ) and this sounds like a great addition.

I think the mind is a very powerful tool. I've seen a couple of great examples (in my health psych class we saw a study on a boy who shrunk his brain tumor by imagining star wars in his brain attacking the tumor) and my own PCP told me that she shrunk a uterine tumor through imagery. So I figure, why can't I remylinate Certainly never hurts and meditation helps keep me on a more even keel, that's for sure!

[Natalie8]

Yes, I really believe the mind is a powerful thing too. Even if you don't believe in the power of visual imagery I think people should still buy this CD because it is just INCREDIBLY soothing. It will make you feel good afterward and god knows we can use more of that. I've heard that story of the boy shrinking the brain tumor. Greta, I love the imagery of bricklayers adding more morta to your neuronsr! That's awesome.

There's a whole world of research on this very issue. If you are interested in the mind-body connection with regard to illness you should also check out a book by John Kabit Zinn called Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness He talks about this emerging scientific field and then gives you tools to handle stress and illness. He's a professor of medicine and founding director of the Stress Reduction Clinic and Center for Mindfulness in MEdicine, Health Care and Society at Univ. Mass. Medical School.

It's all worth a shot!!

[SallyC]

Thanks for posting this, Natalie. I believe in Meditation, as well. We haven't begun to realize of what our brains are capable.

[lady_express_44]

I learned self-hypnosis (from a professional) back in the 70's. I did it in order to calm myself (that was the message that was "planted"), but it went beyond that. I can fall asleep in 5 min, even when I am in pain.

I do a lot of yoga deep breathing as well. Again, this helps for pain and relaxation.

I don't (can't) do any meds through attacks, so learning these techniques have been my saving grace.

Cherie