Relax, JewishMOM!
Did you know that 40% of Americans currently take psychiatric medication, and that this number is rising year by year?
In her newly-released book Appreciate People, Dr. Miriam Adahan writes in response to this shocking statistic, “This indicates a crying need for people to learn how to recognize and manage their emotions and calm their minds naturally.”
Don’t get me wrong, JewishMOM. I definitely believe that there are many extreme cases when medication is necessary, when it can improve and even save lives. But there are also many milder cases for which lifestyle changes could keep people functioning well without medication.
I, for example, have a tendency towards depression and anxiety, but over the past 8 years I have discovered certain ways to keep myself feeling good. For years, I’ve been going to the gym every single weekday to get my endorphins flowing. I don’t eat sugar or anything containing caffeine, since they tend to make me anxious. I do classical homeopathy to help keep me more balanced. I also lie down on the sofa twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, in order to keep myself well-rested so I feel stronger emotionally.
And this year, I’ve discovered something new that is really helping me tremendously through the ups and downs of this postpartum period. My friend bought me a relaxation CD, and it is amazing! I listen to it every day, and during those 18 minutes I feel the best I do all day…and the effect of the disc lasts for several hours. Unfortunately, the absolutely awesome CD I use is in Hebrew*, but I discovered this short relaxation exercise for you JewishMOMs to get a taste of how good relaxation feels.
Try relaxation JewishMOM, you’ll like it!
* If you speak Hebrew, I HIGHLY recommend the AWESOME spiritual relaxation CD that I’ve been using. You can order it from: Chana Rot 03-6199714
very annoying – the deep relaxation exercise that you link to stops right in the middle of the meditation at 4 and 1/2 minutes, with no guidance how to get to the end of it.
Thank you, I really enjoyed this. So true.