WEBVTT - Meditation to Ease Anxiety

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<v Speaker 1>Stay Calm as a production of I Heart Radio. Hi.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Bob Roth, and I've been teaching people to meditate

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<v Speaker 1>for fifty years, helping them to stay calm under pressure,

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<v Speaker 1>reboot and re energize their lives, and basically be a happier,

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<v Speaker 1>healthier version of themselves. And now I want to help

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<v Speaker 1>you do the same. Welcome to Stay Calm, your daily

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<v Speaker 1>dose of calmness. Every weekday morning, I'll share a meditation story,

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<v Speaker 1>offer a simple practical tip about how you or a

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<v Speaker 1>loved one can stay a bit calmer in your life,

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<v Speaker 1>and then we'll end each episode together with a moment

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<v Speaker 1>of gratitude. My hope is that I can share what

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<v Speaker 1>I know to anyone who needs it. Ready, sit comfortably,

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<v Speaker 1>take a few deep breaths, and let's begin today's journey.

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<v Speaker 1>I want to talk to you about Michael J. Fox,

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<v Speaker 1>the great actor, director, producer, author, and all around extraordinary

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<v Speaker 1>human being. A few years ago, I received a telephone

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<v Speaker 1>call from a woman named Tracy. She explained that she

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to arrange a course for her husband to learn

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<v Speaker 1>to meditate. I said we could schedule a time, and

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<v Speaker 1>then I talked about some of the benefits and I said,

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<v Speaker 1>has a very powerful effect for reducing stress and anxiety.

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<v Speaker 1>And she interrupted me and she said, yes, my husband

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<v Speaker 1>is Michael J. Fox, and you may know he's been

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<v Speaker 1>living with Parkinson's for over twenty years. I want to

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<v Speaker 1>give him a tool that might help him manage his anxiety.

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<v Speaker 1>So he came into my office two weeks later, and

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<v Speaker 1>when he walked in, he said, I just want to

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<v Speaker 1>let you know that usually when I'm out in public,

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<v Speaker 1>I have a medication to reduce the tremors. But I'm

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<v Speaker 1>on no medication right now. I want to see how

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<v Speaker 1>potent transcendental meditation could be. I gave him a mantra,

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<v Speaker 1>which is a word or a sound that has no

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<v Speaker 1>meaning associated with it. He closed his eye, and before

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<v Speaker 1>I closed my eyes, I noticed that immediately the tremor stopped.

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<v Speaker 1>Several minutes later, I opened my eyes, asked him to

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<v Speaker 1>open his and his hands were still calm. He stared

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<v Speaker 1>at his hands for several minutes, not saying a word.

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<v Speaker 1>Then he looked over at me and he said, this

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<v Speaker 1>is the calumnist I felt in twenty years. As he

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<v Speaker 1>was leaving to go home, I said, I want you

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<v Speaker 1>to meditate this afternoon for twenty minutes. I want you

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<v Speaker 1>to meditate tomorrow morning for twenty minutes. So he came

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<v Speaker 1>back to the office the next afternoon, and sure enough,

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<v Speaker 1>in both meditations, as soon as he started to meditate,

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<v Speaker 1>his tremors calmed. What was more impressive to him, though,

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<v Speaker 1>was how he felt afterwards. He said, he did this

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<v Speaker 1>peacefulness inside that he hadn't had in years. Michael has

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<v Speaker 1>continued to meditate for five years, and every time he

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<v Speaker 1>meditates the tremors stop. They do increase slowly after meditation,

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<v Speaker 1>but that is inevitable because Parkinson's is not a stress

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<v Speaker 1>base disease. But what was more impressive to him was

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<v Speaker 1>that equanimity that he felt inside. And he told me

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<v Speaker 1>about a talk that he had recently given in Toronto.

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<v Speaker 1>And before, even though he'd given the same talk for years,

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<v Speaker 1>he'd be so nervous and he'd be reviewing his speech

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<v Speaker 1>over and over and over again. This time he just

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<v Speaker 1>sat in the green room, did his afternoon meditation, walked

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<v Speaker 1>out on the stage, gave the best talk he'd ever given. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>the interesting thing about Michael's story, and it is a

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<v Speaker 1>lesson for all of us. There are inevitable challenges and demands,

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<v Speaker 1>an unexpected tumult and traumas that come to us in

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<v Speaker 1>our life for which we may have little or no

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<v Speaker 1>control over. But what we do have control over is

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<v Speaker 1>how we respond to those challenges and demands. And look

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<v Speaker 1>at Michael, top of his game twenty years ago, comes

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<v Speaker 1>down with Parkinson's. He didn't let it stop him from

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<v Speaker 1>building his career and enjoying his life. But the last

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<v Speaker 1>few years the anxiety was rising in him. He wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>living in the present, he was fearful of the future.

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<v Speaker 1>What the meditation has done was allow him to enjoy

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<v Speaker 1>and appreciate what he has now. And what a lesson

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<v Speaker 1>for all of us. We're accessing a field of calm

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<v Speaker 1>that lies deep within everyone. When we transcend in meditation,

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<v Speaker 1>we can enliven that with all the other important natural

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<v Speaker 1>things we do in our life, getting enough sleep, exercising,

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<v Speaker 1>eating properly. Going back to this point about sleep, this

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<v Speaker 1>is what happens when we don't get enough sleep. There

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<v Speaker 1>are two hormones. One is called grellin and it is

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<v Speaker 1>the hunger hormone. It's what makes us feel hungry. Then

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<v Speaker 1>there's another hormone called lepton. Lepton is what tells us

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<v Speaker 1>that we're full, we're satisfied. When we don't get enough sleep,

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<v Speaker 1>grellan the hunger craving hormone goes up. The lepton hormone,

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<v Speaker 1>the one that says I'm done, decreases. We have a

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<v Speaker 1>craving and we're never satisfied. And that, my friends, is

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<v Speaker 1>a formula for disaster. All right, let's end this time

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<v Speaker 1>together doing something that I think should be a feature

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<v Speaker 1>of our everyday life, and that's appreciation and gratitude. So

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<v Speaker 1>let's take thirty seconds of quiet, thirty seconds to take

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<v Speaker 1>a break, just take a moment. It turns out when

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<v Speaker 1>we do that, it's good for our health as well.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll be right back, all right. Thank you for joining.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Bob Roth. Keep calm, Thanks for listening today.

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<v Speaker 1>I hope you heard something that inspires, that uplifts you

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<v Speaker 1>and that you can incorporate into your own life. Until

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<v Speaker 1>next time, remember, meditate, be kind, and be true to yourself. Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>all of you out there, I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can send me your stories, your questions, or anything

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<v Speaker 1>else on your mind. Just connect with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook or Instagram at meditation Bob. You can also send

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<v Speaker 1>me an email at Meditation Bob Roth at gmail dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to hearing from you.