Meditating Fights ‘Stress Eating’ Says Eve The O.T. (Episode 204)
5 12 2008
Hello and welcome once again to the internet’s best source of low-carb podcastery, The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show With Jimmy Moore!
In today’s episode, Jimmy interviews Occupational Therapist Eve Kennedy-Spaien (OTR/L), a specialist in Chronic Pain and Women’s Health who wants to help you fight your stress eating. Stress eating and many other disorders and inconveniences of modern life are caused by a “fight or flight” reaction. Relaxation is a great way of breaking out of that physiological state, but not just any form of relaxation will stimulate your brain to produce theta waves. It is in this state that both body and mind are completely relaxed and stress-free.
What kinds of Meditation does Eve recommend? Whatever works for you! Are you physical? Try Tai Chi or Yoga. In pain? Try guided meditation. there are dozens of styles and she believes everyone can find at least one method that will work for them.
Jimmy has some great questions, and you can hear two examples of Eve leading guided meditations: First, one excerpt from the CD The Beach: A Journey in the Mind’s Eye, followed by a special meditation just for listeners of The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show With Jimmy Moore. This meditation is on mindful eating, and features music from the CD BodyMind: Methods for Meditation.
LINKS MENTIONED IN EPISODE 204:
- Disc of Light Media: www.disc-of-light.com
- Order The Beach: A Journey in the Mind’s Eye.
- Spaulding Rehabilitation, Medford MA
- Eve’s professional profile
- Dr. Herbert Benson’s Mind Body Institute
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From over 400 pounds to 230, Jimmy Moore is 
Hi, Jimmy. I’m glad Eve was up-front about the fact that a lot of people actually struggle to concentrate while meditating. I liked her honesty. This was a helpful interview, and I’m going to try her method of really focusing on my food while I eat…at least for a few minutes. Hopefully this will help me slow down a little and think twice about putting something in my mouth.
By the way…since I live in Asia, I see people doing Tai Chi every morning…they usually start at 5:30 am, when the sun starts to rise. The older people here are often in great shape since they still exercise outside in the park on a daily basis.
I am a firm believer in meditation and know of at least one cardiologist who recommends it with his prescription of lifestyle changes for his patients. I really like how Eve talked about different styles resonate with different people. Each one of us is unique in the type of meditation that works best to get us quiet and in that meditative state. I also like how she acknowledged the difficulty so many of us have with our minds racing all over the place.
Stress is often a factor we have to look at when we are not losing weight despite eating and exercising properly. Obviously, it’s not the only reason, but it is important enough that our bodies need for our hearts, souls and minds to be stress free in order to perform optimally.
Guided meditation works best for me. Yoga, for one of my dear friends. Another just needs a cup of coffee and her favorite chair on her back porch. All of us recognize and acknowledge the necessity of it in our lives. I miss it when I allow myself to get too busy to take the time to slow down.
Eve seems to be a very reasonable, compassionate and knowledgeable practitioner. How lucky you and Christine are to have her and her husband as friends! Thank you for this podcast. I am adding her CDs to my “wish list”.