Do you think about food all the time? While you’re trying to focus on a work task, is there a small voice at the back of your mind counting down the minutes until you can reasonably go for your next snack break? Do you quietly hope that someone in the office will bring in cookies or pizza that day which it would be simply ‘rude not to’ eat?
When I say ‘meditation’, what image comes to mind? Someone sitting in lotus pose, dressed in a white kaftan, holding mala beads? Or perhaps the monks of Burma sitting silently en masse, in a state of deep transcendence?
Let me paint a picture for you. A 15 year old girl is sitting in a doctor’s office, wide-eyed with a tightening knot of shame in her gut as she hastily shakes her head at the question ‘are you sexually active?’. Her parent or guardian explains to the doctor that she has been struggling with severe mood swings, acne and very heavy, painful periods ever since her cycle started. Best case scenario, the doctor sends them away, saying it will settle down in a few years. Most likely option, the doctor will prescribe a hormonal contraceptive pill to smooth out the symptoms. Worst case scenario, a long term antibiotic will be thrown into the mix to take care of the acne. No discussion of possible side effects, no advice on how to naturally support the body in tandem with the medication. Just a piece of paper and off they go.
