How Meditation Saved My Life
By Dr. Randolph Shipon. Posted on .
![How Meditation Saved My Life [EXPERT]](http://images.tangomag.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/node-full/image_blog/ohm.jpg "How Meditation Saved My Life [EXPERT]")
Meditation saved my life this week. And it could save your relationship.
I thought I ate too much in Texas because my belly felt full all day, and I couldn't eat breakfast. Beautiful places, friendly people and great food. My wife and I really had a blast.
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Then I realized in a 767 at 35,000 feet off the ground, I once again confused anaphylaxis with belly-fullness, and I could only breathe at about 15% of my normal capacity.
What was I to do? Since there was not a medical doctor on the plane, and I unwisely had no Benadryl or Epipen with me to control my allergic reaction to Cipro, the only thing to do was wait for the flight crew to authorize a normal adult dose of Benadryl from the emergency kit with a ground-based doctor.
This took about an hour. Meanwhile, I could barely breathe. I could easily have lost consciousness ... or worse. My wife, who was internally terrified, stayed calm because she knew panicking would make me worse. (Have I mentioned I love her?)
The answer when you can't breathe is to do it anyway. Because I have some limited experience with meditation, I used it as a way to relax.
Mindfulness meditation has gained traction across most psychotherapies, and I teach it to the people with whom I work in my practice. It even helps people improve their relationships. 3 Ways To Attract Your Mate Through Self Love
The practice is simple: Stress reduction occurs when we can pay attention to the breath exclusively. Slow the breathing, deeply oxygenate areas of the lungs we forget to use, and send a message to the brain indicating all is well. Meanwhile, any thoughts that interrupt this process are gently acknowledged as being interesting, and then let go, rather than analyzed to death.
In my case, worrying may have literally caused my death. I had to breathe.
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You will gain many health, stress-reduction, creativity and relationship benefits from regular meditation. People who meditate are less stressed out. They think things through easier and they have better access to the creative parts of their brains.
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