Improving meditation is key to successful results. Many meditate without many of its benefits due to poor technique. Poor technique may be due to posture, breathing or focus. It may also be due to when and where one meditates or how one successfully navigates distractions. It is important for successful meditation results to properly follow meditative instructions as taught. Many learn from meditation instructors or are continually guided in their progress until they are able to meditate without aid.
Meditation requires focus and practice of that focus. Please also review AIHCP’s Meditation Instructor Program
Meditation should not be a chore or difficult but should be something that one finds relaxing and looks forward to. If one is forcing meditation or not as passive as one needs to be, then one is not experiencing the true peace and calm meditation can provide.
The article, “4 ways to improve focus through meditation” from Koelsh Communities of the Seattle Times looks at ways to improve focus and meditation. The article states,
“Meditation can help improve your focus by reducing stress, improving mental agility, and helping you feel calmly in control of your thoughts. Rather than struggling and getting agitated when your focus seems off, through meditation, you’ll learn to calmly redirect your mind and find peace within your body.”
If you are experiencing difficulties with focus, please review our blog. Also if you are looking to learn more about becoming a Meditation Instructor, then please review AIHCP’s Meditation Instructor Program. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Meditation Instructor.
Ignatian spirituality is an excellent way of experiencing God and prayer in one’s daily life. In essence it is very intellectual and Christo-centric. Christ is the center of all and service is essential to the church and community. Meditation within the tradition is also Christo-centric and focuses on visualization on the life of Christ. This focus on Christ helps many through various therapies, especially in grief. The steps within Ignatian review of conscience can be important in helping individuals analyze their life itself
Ignatian spirituality makes one look deeper at self. It can help with various cognitive therapies through this exercise. Please also review AIHCP’s Christian Counseling Certification
The article, “How Ignatian spirituality enhanced my cognitive behavioral therapy” by Sue Do looks closer at the cognitive benefits of Ignatian spirituality and meditation on recovering from loss and grief. The article states,
“In the five steps of the Examen prayer of St. Ignatius, I found the “reviewing of my day” to be a crucial part of my resilience and recovery. Facing my struggles and talking about it to God through journaling is similar to confronting my distorted thoughts in cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. Positive affirmations are similar to the awareness of one’s needs and asking for graces in Ignatian spirituality.”
Ignatian spirituality is a very disciplined and precise spirituality that looks to find Christ but also helps to better oneself in deeper analyzation to find weakness within the soul. His exercises and meditation all help lead to a stronger Christian life
Please also review AIHCP’s Christian Counseling Certification and see if it matches your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Christian Counselor.
Have you ever started a fitness program, but didn’t see it through to completion? Or, on the flip side, change your way of eating but it just didn’t feel right to you? Maintaining good overall wellness is super important to our everyday lives. Partnering with a Health Care Life Coach might just be the perfect solution to finding what works best for YOU!
Having good insight on your own personal wellness journey is invaluable. There are so many areas to consider, not just what you eat and how you exercise, but your mindset, attitude, how you live, and so much more. Consider hiring a Health Care Life Coach to help guide you through this process. A Coach can help to define your goals, make you conscious of your highs and lows, and most importantly help you to make a plan and hold you accountable to work that plan. A Health Coach is going to help to connect together all the areas of your life for the better.
When hiring a Health Care Life Coach, you want to build a trusting relationship where there is open and honest communication. Your coach will want you to be successful in whatever you define as your success and will help you get there through one-on-one sessions, hands-on exercises, and take away reading homework, to name a few. You may also look to hire someone who can assist with a specific focus that needs attention such as weight loss, stress management, increasing your energy levels, and addiction. There are many coaches out there that specialize in these various areas and more. Define what you would like to accomplish overall and research to find the best person out there to help you do YOU!
Remember to keep these few tips in mind when choosing the best coach for You:
A Health Care Life Coach should provide one-on-one support and take a genuine interest in helping you achieve your goals. A Health Care Life Coach will help you define the life YOU want to live and help you to make a plan to get there.
MOST IMPORTANT: Remember, YOU are always in total control of your actions and goals. The process of working with a coach will allow you to become more self-aware so that you can make the best decisions in any situation that may pop up. You will know what success means to you and you will become your own expert overtime. Happy coaching!
If you are Health Care Professional and are interested in becoming a Professional Life Care Coach, the American Institute of Health Care Professionals, Inc. offers a full curriculum of Continuing Education Courses that leads to a national Certification in Health Care Life Coaching. You may access information on our program by visiting this page.
Meditation is extremely healthful. It has been proven in multiple studies that is reduces stress and stress response hormones in the body. This reverses multiple stress induced damage to the body. Furthermore, it helps the mind be more alert and mindful. These mind and body health reasons are enough for many to wish to learn meditation but many whether spiritual or secular struggle with meditation. They have a difficult time mastering it. This blog article looks to point out a few helpful hints and strategies to help others mediate more effectively from a health point of view only.
Tips to properly meditate can help you maximize your meditation experience. Please also review AIHCP’s Meditation Instructor Program
Meditation Instructors can teach their students many ways to better meditate and find mindfulness, peace and reduced stress. The first step is finding a place to meditate. Many suggest a quiet place free from outside noise and distractions. Some places may be outdoors while others may be indoors. Some even create their own meditation room equipped with lighting and calming sounds. These are all excellent ways to help the body relax and allow the inner healing of meditation to take place.
Position is also key. Many recommend sitting but with a straight posture. If one is too comfortable, then they may fall asleep. Some may very well use meditation or like states to fall asleep but this not the purpose of mental meditation. One is to be relaxed but is to recharge the mind not so much the body. This is why it is good to meditate when one is not overly fatigued or just ate. Instead one should become comfortable and relaxed but not to the point of falling asleep. Comfort to the body is key through proper temperature and sound to set the proper mood for the mind to find peace without distractions beyond falling asleep.
Breathing is one of the most fundamental aspects of meditation. Breathing from the stomach is critical. These deep breathes refresh the body and lungs. They also create a rhythmic function of breathing in and out. Breath is key to life in Eastern Meditation and without proper breath work, then meditation cannot be successful. One should be able to breath multiple times to relax the body and reduce stress. One should also focus on the breath as it enters the nostrils and is exhaled through the mouth. Focus on the breath physically but also how it gives the body life. One should focus on every element of the body from head to toe and visualize the body becoming relaxed with each set of breaths.
In addition to breathwork, mantras play a key role in focus. The words keep one focused and should correlate with the breathwork. Two part phrases or sacred words can be utilized as well as words that are conducive to good health. Which ever word chosen, it needs to have special meaning to anchor one into the meditation event. Mantras and sacred words can help individuals maintain the importance of focus.
Many who meditate deal with distractions. They are upset when the distractions occur. While breathwork and mantras help one return to focus, it is important to not over fret about distractions and thoughts that may enter into the mind. Instead, friendly dismiss them and return to the focus of the mantra or breathing. They may return, but try to remain mindful of the moment and of the meditation itself.
Meditation can has many physical benefits when properly done. Please also review AIHCP’s Meditation Instructor Program
Those who seek to control the meditation session, or actively will certain states or thoughts or feelings miss the whole entirely and purpose of meditation. Meditation is passive and is open to what may flow into the mind and it is accepting. As the body calms and the world becomes more quiet, the mind can better hear. For those who are only secular, the mind becomes more sharp. It is better able to remember, organize and remain mindful of the moment. For those who are spiritual it gives one an awakening with the divine.
Whether religious or secular, the mind and body health benefits of meditation are undeniable. The tips above can help individuals properly prepare themselves physically as well as properly guide them through the meditative process with a more calm, passive and peaceful mind. The end results will clearly help individuals in their overall health but also their various life professions and relations with others.
If you would like to learn more about meditation, then please review AIHCP’s Meditation Instructor Program. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Meditation Instructor. If one is religious or secular the program will help one learn the necessary skills and knowledge to not only improve oneself but also to guide others in meditation. Please review the program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals.
Other resources on Meditation
“Mindful” has an excellent article on “How to Meditate” Please click here
Please review Healthline’s article, “5 Benefits of Metta Meditation and How to Do It” by Kirsten Nunez. Please click here
Please review AIHCP’s closer look at meditation its video, “Foundations of Meditation”. Please click here
ADHD and ADD used to closely related but different in that ADD was only lack of attention without hyperactivity but now both again share the same ADHD initials but are classified as different types. Some ADHD is inattentive while others are hyperactive. With ADD out, the article below looks to explain the differences between ADHD in both inattentive or hyperactive individuals
Is your ADHD disorder more hyperactive or inattentive? Please also review AIHCP’s ADHD Consulting Certification
“ADD vs. ADHD: What’s the Difference?” by Hope Gillette looks at these differences. She states,
“Before 1987, living with chronic inattention and distracted thoughts might have meant you were living with attention deficit disorder (ADD). Though ADD is considered an outdated term, it’s still used to describe “inattentive ADHD” — a form of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).”
Both elements of ADHD can be difficult. Some have both while others deal with one symptom at a greater level than others. It is important to find someone to help an individual cope with the symptoms that are most present.
AICHP offers a certification in ADHD Consulting for qualified professionals to advance their knowledge of ADHD. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals looking for a ADHD Consulting Certification. Please review and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.
Dealing and coping with grief can be difficult. Too many, loss is new and too others it remains as complex and painful as the first time. Certified Grief Counselors can help individuals cope with basic grief and learn how to navigate the tricky waters. There are no shortcuts but accepting loss and learning to adjust through the loss. Grief and loss are forever because the loss is tied to love but that does not mean one cannot learn to better cope with their emotions and find happiness in other aspects of life.
Learning how to cope with grief can be difficult for some. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification
The article, “Dealing With Grief: 7 Coping Strategies, According to Experts” by Madeleine Burry looks at some coping strategies with grief. She states,
“While coping mechanisms are helpful, they’re not one size fits all. “Coping strategies work best when personalized,” Manly adds. “For example, some people do very well sharing in grief groups, whereas others prefer sharing one-on-one with a close friend or therapist,” she notes. Some people want to talk about a loved one who passed away, while others get upset by this and would prefer not to.”
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Grief Counselor.
Case Managers can play a key role in helping cancer patients with a variety of different issues discover proper routes in care and recovery. Case Management is essential to collection of information and properly using that information for the overall benefit and health of the patient. It is extremely important in the case of cancer cases.
Case Managers can play a key role in cancer recover. Please also review AIHCP’s Case Management Program
The article, “Health Disparities in Cancer Care” by Marissa Fors from Oncology Nursing News looks closer at issues that vary in quality of cancer care from one person to another. The article states,
“Cancer patients face many obstacles to care, including financial, psychosocial, and practical barriers. Health disparities also prevent patients from receiving optimal treatment. In order to be an effective case manager, health care professionals must have a clear understanding of the definition of this role, the overall benefits of case management, and how to assess patients’ needs. The priority must be to put the patient first in order to improve outcomes. Addressing inequities in access to care is essential to adequately enhance a patient’s wellbeing.”
To read the entire article, please click
Please also review AIHCP’s Case Management Training Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Case Management
Unfortunately medical malpractice and legal lawsuits are part of life. Sometimes it is the doctor’s fault, other times the patient is pushing a case that is not deserving. Lawyers, juries, judges and legal nurse consultants can all play roles in sorting it out. While doing that, the patient can help his or her case by doing some important things to help win the case.
There are small things you can do to help prepare your case in malpractice. Please also review AIHCP’s Legal Nurse Consulting Program
The article, “Useful Tips On How To Win Your Medical Malpractice Lawsuit” from Harlem World Magazine looks at a few things one can do to increase the odds of a successful legal outcome. The article states,
“It absolutely makes sense to put your trust in a doctor when it comes to your health, as they are healthcare professionals. You can trust them with some minor health problem, but sometimes, you are literally putting your life in their hands. Most of the time, they do their job well and you leave their office as a happy patient. But, unfortunately, sometimes it can happen that your doctor, or another medical professional, endangers your health and your well-being. In cases like this, they can be held accountable in a court of law.”
Please also review AIHCP’s Legal Nurse Consulting Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification
Contact with patients is key to good case management. Communication, updates and ensuring patients meet recovery requirements, as well as future preventative measures. These things improve patient outcomes but also increases revenue for the facility.
Better patient outcomes is best for the patient but also the financial security of hospitals. Communication is key in ensuring better outcomes and regular recovery as well as preventative visits. Please also review AIHCP’s Case Management Certification
The article, “Closing Gaps in Care: Improving Patient Outcomes and Revenue Recovery” by Jaci Haack looks at three ways hospitals and other healthcare facilities can better engage patients and also increase revenue in the process. She states,
“Encouraging patients to return to care sooner will not only ensure better outcomes but also ease the healthcare system back to normal. Given the magnitude of postponed care, this will hopefully quell a sudden wave of hospitalizations for newly diagnosed conditions that could overwhelm hospitals that may be facing another COVID-19 surge.”
As society attempts to recover from the virus, it is important to engage patients to ensure quality care and prevention. It is also important for healthcare to continue to grow financially so it can continue to offer services to patients. Better Outcome Patient Management is key to this and communication is pivotal
Please also review AIHCP’s Case Management Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Healthcare Case Manager.
Meditation is a key component of religious faiths. It leads to a closer union with God and overall better mental and spiritual health. It differs in aim from East to West but shares striking similarities as well as subtle differences to those not familiar with world religions.
In the West it is more prayerlike and focuses on a closer union. These stages of contemplation are to become closer to God and allow the creature to hear the Creator. It is the highest form of mental prayer. As prayer it looks to adore, thank, ask, and offer reparation. It however is a deeper longing to be in union with God. It occurs after many of these intents have been expressed. It occurs when the mind becomes more quiet and focus on deeper spiritual truths found in Scripture emerge. Its central focus is on the Word of God and that serves as the entry into meditation. It is never forced but is a knocking on the door to be open to God’s word and His presence. It looks for union but a union that identifies a distinction between divine and creation.
Applications of Eastern Meditation can be beneficial for health as well as certain techniques applicable within Theist traditions with caution
In the East, the spirituality is to become one with the ground of all being which is quite different than the idea of a personal deity as found in the West. It looks for a union that helps the individual find the collective nature of the divine that is found all being. It is a reunification with the divine and a reabsorption into it.
Yet emerging out of the East’s goal to become re-immersed into the divine, greater care and time was taken into physical preparation. Ideals on concentration, centering and mindfulness are emphasized to retain focus, passiveness and mindfulness of moment. Various postures, mantras and breathing techniques are essential to relax the body and allow it to be freed from physical distractions. Eastern Meditation within its various techniques to promote silence and peace are unique and have value well beyond the religious.
Medically, these relaxation techniques reduce stress and counter the sympathetic response within the body. These practices lower blood pressure and help the body find a better balance with the mind and soul. Balance is key to a healthy body and the balance that is spiritually reached in Eastern meditation is essential to good health.
Many practice these Eastern techniques for stress and anger management and can do so successfully. The relaxed states are not contrary to any Western faiths if the spiritual end is not sought. It was due to this that some Christians have incorporated many of the physical strategies of the East into Western and Christian meditation. Thomas Merton was one who travelled to the East to learn of these techniques in hope of finding ways to utilize within Christianity. Thomas Keating also followed in these steps and developed Centering Prayer which looked to prepare a Christian to enter into a state of prayer and meditation with God.
The similarities of meeting with God in meditation in East and West were hence combined but with different outcomes. Instead of becoming part of one being, the Western school looked to become more in union with God and all His creation but not in a pantheistic form. Creator was still distinguished. An “I” existence was still preserved although union with everything was still sought through God’s presence in everything. Hence God’s presence in everything, an accepted Christian idea, replaced the idea of God is everything and one is part of God.
Mantras in Centering prayer were utilized to meet the spiritual desire of the individual. Dr Benson in his Relaxation Response taught that spirituality is not necessary for healthy meditation but those who find something spiritual or something to connect to can utilize religious mantras of a particular faith to elicit the same mental and physical effects. Hence a Jewish individual could use the word Shalom, or a Christian could say Jesus, or a Muslim could say Allah, as a focusing word. Utilizing other religious texts are also helpful.
Hence, the utilization of Eastern techniques was incorporated into Western Meditation.
With that said, many contend that if taken too far, one can easily fall into Eastern spiritualities so intimately connected with Eastern Meditation. Those of an Eastern spirituality naturally have no issue with this, but those who do not see God as a ground of all being and everything in essence divine, would find this contrary to their faith. Both traditions contend a passive attitude to hear the Divine but in regards to what the divine is and how one interacts is essentially different. In Western culture, caution in intention and exposing the body to more out of body experiences should be avoided. Some in the West in fact refuse to use any Eastern techniques in religious meditation. This is perfectly fine because Western Meditation and its own spiritual look for the quiet is well documented especially in The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius. However, visualization, concentration and peace and quiet are still essential in these exercises as one focuses on the Word of God or life of Christ. Various similar ideals of visualizing are utilized as found in the East. There are always similarities to find God in the quiet.
Regardless of the spiritual direction, incorporating Eastern meditation on a physical level only can be beneficial. Businesses look to Eastern meditation to help employees not only be less stressed but also more focused and mindful towards success. Furthermore, the studies from Dr Benson show clearly how meditative states reverse stressful sympathetic responses of fight or flight. Fight or flight responses are good for true danger but with the everyday stressors of modern life, they can be detrimental to health. Chronic stress kills. Meditation is a possible solution to reducing chronic stress.
Please also review AIHCP’s Meditation Instructor Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.
One who is religious can use Eastern meditation secularly only, or if religious, utilize it for its Eastern roots of spirituality. Those of the East can apply it equally while those in the West can apply it spiritually but with caution, utilizing only partial aspects of it and converting it to a Theist formula with a Theist end. That is the amazing reality of Eastern Meditation. Its techniques void of Eastern spiritual ends can be utilized in other religious traditions as well as purely secular ends for health-and for those who are practice Eastern spirituality, then it is fits every aspect of life without editing.
If you would like to learn more about Eastern Meditation then please review AIHCP’s Spiritual Counseling, Stress Management and Meditation Instructor Programs. If you are more interested in Christian Meditation, then please review AIHCP’s Christian Counseling Program.
The programs are online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking how to better meditate but also help others learn the secrets and techniques of meditation. The program is also beneficial to mental and healthcare professionals looking to incorporate meditation into their practices.,
By: Tara Tonsetic, CHC
