The science is out there: meditation is good for your brain!

Meditation increases your brain's neuroplasticity; which refers to the brain changes that occur in response to EXPERIENCES.

Neuroplasticity augments the growth of new neurons in the brain as well as your own improved ability to learn new and healthier patterns. 

Last week's video was about the brain's tendency to grab hold of negative experiences and ignore positive ones. Therefore in order to move past stale and unhealthy patterns of thought and behavior we must actively create more powerful positive experiences. 

This is especially important skillset to have when you live with type 1 diabetes. 

Even the best of intentioned diabetic will react to diabetes triggers unconsciously further perpetuating the snowball effect of up/down, high/low instead of calmly responding and putting an end to it. 

I want to show you that you are completely capable of mastering your mind's triggered reactions to type 1 diabetes (and any other life stressor) through simple meditation. I know just how hard it is to live with the high emotional cost of diabetes and I also know that if it were not for meditation I would not have the HbA1c that I do. 

This 20-min meditation is known as an open meditation. The idea is to allow your mind to move freely. Thoughts are always related to a time: past, present, future and a quality: positive, negative, neutral. 

By simply naming the thought and then letting it go, the thought ceases to control your mind and improves your brain's cognitive functioning, mood and of course behavior. You stop reacting and start actively RESPONDING. This can greatly affect your attitude about living with diabetes.
With practice a regular meditation practice can help you to master type 1 diabetes with grace. 

Even though I have lived with type 1 diabetes for over 20 years and have dedicated my life to helping other diabetics master and overcome their challenges with this disease, I do not profess to have this thing figured out. What I can tell you is that even if I “can’t figure it out” everyday I do have the power to choose how I respond to the ups and downs. This inner strength is all you need overcome even the biggest diabetes struggles. 

You always have two options:
RESPOND or REACT
 
Reacting is like a reflux. It is quick, impulsive, without thought and emotional. It can be aggressive and cause a snowball effect of more reactions causing unlimited suffering. Reactions are unconscious, meaning you don’t choose to react your unconscious mind does. 
 
Responding on the other hand, is conscious, meaning you have choice. It is calm, intentional and assertive. Once you respond from a clear place, the drama is over.
 
I think it's safe to assume that most of us would like to respond to type 1 diabetes from a calm place but instead we react without thought. Every time we have a negative experience in regard to type 1 diabetes this re-circuits the brain to make future freak outs more likely.
It’s no wonder so many type 1 diabetes report higher levels of anxiety and depression. 
 
Yoga tradition maintains that negative thoughts proceed negative behaviors.
The mind holds onto negative experiences more readily than positive ones.
​It takes about 10 positive experiences to overcome 1 bad experience.
I'm here today to show you how to overcome your learned behavioral refluxes which turns into diabetes chaos!
In this video you will learn:
How to lean into your own self-wisdom
The antidote for in the moment diabetes distress
Three ways to reinforce self-empowered choices
3:36 The beginning of my three steps for self-empowered choices