Mindfulness and Meditation can Change the Brain Structure in Eight Weeks

At The Robin Kiashek Clinics, we believe in a holistic approach to your general health. Therefore, as well as assisting patients with conditions that are currently causing them pain, we also look to encourage and promote other preventative techniques and practices such as meditation and mindfulness. After reading about some exciting new research in this field, we thought we would share some of the findings with you.

The benefits of regular meditation

We have long known of the benefits to body and mind from regular meditation and focused relaxation, but the evidence has often been dismissed as anecdotal. Now, across the world, we are seeing more and more studies into what happens to us physically when we engage in this kind of mindfulness activity regularly.

What is mindfulness and meditation?

meditation

Before we discuss this latest research, let’s briefly touch on what meditation and mindfulness is. Meditation has been traditionally associated with the Buddhist faith and is considered to be a state of contemplation or prayer. Nowadays it is considered to be the practice of sitting quietly with one’s thoughts or focusing on breathing. The idea is to keep your mind in the present moment, calmly clear your mind of any particular thoughts, whilst in a lying or seated position, and becoming aware of the energy coursing through the body in order to relax.

Mindfulness is similar, in that it is a the practice of remaining present and becoming conscious of your thoughts, how they spring up, what they are telling you about your situation and learning how to observe those thoughts with a view to overcoming any negativity. It can also be practiced whilst going about daily tasks, by way of stepping back and being more aware of how we are feeling or acting.

Recent studies of brain activity

A very recent study used MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanning to prove conclusively that meditation can affect grey matter positively, causing it to undergo large, observable changes.

The work has been carried out in the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). The project’s director, Sara Lazar, has concluded that during an average daily 27-minute meditation, the very structure of the brain alters. These changes lead to prolonged positive and relaxed feelings, and if sustained over a period of 8 weeks, result in significant changes and improvements in emotional life, as well as in the body.

In previous studies by Lazar’s team, the area of the brain that relates to attention and emotional integration, the cerebral cortex, has been shown to thicken in regular practitioners of meditation, more so than in subjects who had no previous experience in such activities.

Changes in our ‘dinosaur brain’

What is more, in the amygdala, the part of the brain often referred to as the ‘dinosaur brain’, responsible for regulating anxiety and stress reactions, there is a decrease in density of grey matter, meaning that the body is less likely to respond in a stressed way when faced with displeasing or adverse situations.

None of this brain activity was observed in the group of subjects who did not engage in mindfulness practice during the period of the study. No growth boosts in the brain were found. This showed without doubt that changes in the brain were not part-and-parcel of time simply passing, but that consistently engaging in mindfulness drastically changes grey matter.

The brain can be changed

Now we know more about the brain’s incredible plasticity, and we also have more confidence in encouraging human beings to be pro-active in their own brains’ re-structuring. It is now a certainty that the brain can be assisted into a state that leads to enhanced health and improvement in emotions and relationships, as well as increasing our ability to cope with stress.

Meditation to cope with stress

So, in light of the research above, might you consider introducing a regular mindfulness or meditation practice into your daily routine? Just 30 minutes per day, either first thing in the morning or last thing at night can help to make fundamental changes that will help the brain to cope with negative emotions such as stress or anxiety. These types of negative emotions may end up leading to more serious mental or even physical complaints (many of which we can help to treat in clinic), so it is wise to have a strategy to combat them.

Wellness and The Robin Kiashek Clinics

Wellness is at the heart of scientific endeavour, and here at Robin Kiashek Clinics we use the latest studies in diverse fields to keep our services on the cutting edge. To find out more about what we offer and our holistic approach to your health, please call us on: 0208 815 0979.

 

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Plantar Fasciitis – Causes and Prevention

In clinic I seem to be asked more frequently than before about Plantar fasciitis, and anecdotally I have heard people speaking about the number of friends/colleagues of theirs who suffer from it.

What is Plantar Fasciitis?

AdobeStock_54976863 [Converted]It is actually a very common reason a person will suffer from pain in their heel and is caused by an inflamed or swollen plantar fascia (which is the fascia connecting your heel bone to your toes and supports your foot arch). This condition can cause immense pain when you stand-up or put pressure on it which is caused by a build-up of calcification at the point where the fascia meets the heel bone.

What Triggers Plantar Fasciitis?

Just some of the triggers for Plantar fasciitis include:

  • Excessive running or walking on hard surfaces
  • High arches
  • Wearing ill-fitting shoes
  • Having either high arches or being flat-footed
  • Carrying extra weight

Most people find that the symptoms and pain are most prevalent when they stand up after sitting for a long time or when the first get out of bed in the morning. Many of my patients would say their symptoms get less painful throughout the day however this isn’t exclusively the case and some patients say that the sharp stabbing pain and stiffness ease but their foot actually takes on more of a dull ache as the day goes on.

Prevention of Plantar Fasciitis

So, you may ask me, how can it be prevented?

  • Make sure if you’re a jogger/runner that you have well-fitting shoes, I’d recommend going to a specialist running shoe shop
  • If, on the opposite end of the spectrum, you have a sedentary lifestyle and don’t get much exercise start trying to get even twenty to thirty minutes per day of exercise, starting with walking or something gentle
  • If you are overweight try slowly and steadily lose some weight
  • If you’re on your feet all day or have a job which requires you to stand make sure to wear suitable insoles or stand on a soft mat

Of course, even the best laid plans don’t always lead to a condition free life. You may do all you can to prevent Plantar fasciitis yet still end up in pain. If you come to see me at the clinic I will:

  • Take a detailed case history, including Lifestyle factors which may have caused the problem Assess both feet, passively and actively (note the way you walk/heel strike)
  • Assess the ‘Closed Chain’ biomechanically – the pelvis, leg and foot
  • If confirmed as Plantar Fasciitis, Low Level Laser Therapy (https://www.robinkiashek.co.uk//low-level-laser-therapy-lllt/) will be used to the plantar fascia
  • If relevant, a combination of Osteopathy and Western Acupuncture used to address any related biomechanical underlying issues to the Pelvis and leg
  • Give the patient Lifestyle advice to aid speed of recovery and future possible relapses

For further information on Plantar Fasciitis or to book a consultation with me in either the North London or Central London (Regent Street) clinic, please call (020) 8815 097 or click here to request an appointment.

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Exercise on Prescription: How a Nationwide Scheme Can Offer Alternatives to Medication

exercise on prescriptionI am a keen advocate of the benefits of exercise as part of the journey to health restoration. I therefore wholeheartedly back the government scheme that means NHS patients will be prescribed exercise as part of ongoing treatment for certain conditions.

The workouts are set for patients who suffer from obesity, heart disease, stress, diabetes, osteoporosis and back pain. It has also been created for pensioners who have suffered accidents or falls.
In a bid to make the country healthier and to cut hospital waiting lists, the schemes are making aerobics, yoga, weight training and swimming either free or discounted for up to ten weeks at a time.

For many of the patients who visit my clinics, this kind of help and support is extremely welcomed. The sheer fact that exercise is now classed as a treatment plan and not just an advisory action will almost certainly change its level of importance in patients’ minds. If a doctor prescribes a patient antibiotics, then they will take the prescribed course – the same commitment is now likely to start evolving for exercise.

Department of Health guidance has been provided to doctors which highlights precisely what can be described for certain patients. Insurance cover and legal responsibilities (for patients who attend the gym under prescription) have also been addressed. Exercise specialists published by Fitness Industry Association will take legal responsibility while patients are exercising under these prescription workouts.

I know that all biological systems work in conjunction with one another and I am positive that a national increase in exercise will result in fewer people needing medical treatment for illness or disease. It will also go a long way towards placing a higher value on regular physical exercise, the importance of maintaining good health and working on the notion of prevention rather than cure.

I have always been interested in the power of exercise. In 1995, I researched the “exercise on prescription” model with 60 GPs and wrote a dissertation entitled “The effects of exercise on clinical depression”. The “exercise on prescription” model being trialled then enabled GPs and allied healthcare professionals to refer patients with conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and depression, for a monitored exercise regimen instead of prescribing medication.

Just like I believe our biological systems do not work in isolation, neither does treatment. By looking at both the cause and treatment of conditions in more entirety, perhaps we can start to get the whole country healthier.

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Shining a Light on Low Level Laser Therapy

low level laser therapyLow Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) is a treatment that can speed up certain healing processes by using specific wavelengths of light to interact with tissue. It has been effective in treating a variety of chronic and acute conditions in order to enhance functionality and to reduce pain, swelling and spasms. Some conditions that respond particularly well to LLLT include:

  • Sports Injuries
  • Plantar Fasciitis (Heel Pain)
  • Epicondylitis (Tennis Elbow)
  • Achilles Tendonitis
  • Acute & Chronic Back Pain
  • Adhesive Capsulitis (Frozen Shoulder)
  • Rheumatoid & Osteo-Arthritis
  • Chronic Oedema (Swelling & Fluid Retention)
  • Fracture Healing
  • Headaches & Migraines (including TMJ Dysfunction)

I advise my patients that LLLT can stimulate certain cell types including muscle, ligament, cartilage and nerves; therefore a thorough evaluation of each patient’s case should be conducted to assess the correct form of treatment.

Interesting Note: The light used in LLLT has the ability to penetrate 2 to 5 centimetres below the skin!

So what happens during LLLT treatment?

During treatment, the laser (which is about the size of a torch) is placed directly over the injured area for about 30 seconds to several minutes (the exact time depends on the size of the area being treated and the severity of the injury). As a painless and extremely safe process, the light passes through the layers of skin and interacts with the light sensitive areas of the mitochondrial and fibroblast cells. Once the cells have absorbed this light energy, a series of events initiate, which create a healing process to the injured or damaged tissue. The desired result is a reduced level of pain, swelling and inflammation and an accelerated healing process.

Depending on your type of condition and its severity, you may be offered LLLT on a weekly or twice-weekly basis where the frequency of your treatment will decrease as your condition improves.

Find out more about: Low Level Laser Therapy.

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Suffering with Digestive Problems?

Some patients who come to see me are suffering with digestive problems. Conditions that affect the digestive system can cause many unpleasant symptoms such as bloating, gas, cramping, nausea, constipation, gallbladder issues and sleep disturbances. For many patients, over the counter medication simply masks their digestive problems, instead of correcting them.

At The Robin Kiashek Clinics, we work to establish the cause of a client’s problems and focus on each client’s individual case to give them the specific treatment that they need. These conditions may include headaches, migraines, painful periods, digestive disorders, depression as well as conditions more directly related to muscles, bones and joints. For many patients presenting with digestive system issues, there is compression and strain on the ligaments and connective tissues around the organs. A fall on the buttocks could cause tension on the ligaments around the kidneys, for example.

When you consider all areas of the body working in conjunction, it is perhaps worth considering if your aches and pains are actually coming from a previously unconsidered source.

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A Newsletter of a Newsletter!

So there I was, preparing January’s Newsletter, when in popped an email Newsletter from my colleague and friend, Clive Lindley-Jones.

Clive, who lives and works in Oxford, wears many ‘hats’ professionally speaking:  Osteopath, Applied Kinesiologist (AK), Psychotherapist, Neurolinguistic Practitioner (NLP), Life Coach and general all-round ‘good-guy’.  He has helped me over the years in many ways, both professionally and personally.

I read Clive’s Newsletter and as usual, found it inspirational and hence decided, with his permission, to republish the Newsletter.

I originally met Clive in the early 1980s, when I was a fledgling commercial photographer and he a fledgling osteopath.  Clive and his partner, Kerstin (now a Psychotherapist working alongside Clive), were running a Swedish massage course, which I signed up for. My abiding memory of the course, held over 10 weeks, was sitting round in a circle with 20 unknown participants within a few minutes of the first week’s module in order to introduce oneself, having been asked to undress TOTALLY!  Those were the days.

Fast forward 25 years, during which time I had lost contact with Clive.  I rediscovered Clive whilst searching Google for ‘Osteopath NLP’ as I wanted to see if there were like-minded osteopaths – I had just completed my Masters NLP training and found that Clive had done exactly the same training as I, with the same organistaion (International, Training Seminars, ITS).

And the rest is history.

So, here’s Clive’s newsletter. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
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Happy (and ‘lucky’)  New Year. January 2016.

“The harder you practice, the luckier you get.”

I just purchased a Lottery ticket for the first time today. I know, my chances of winning, and having the pleasure of becoming a serious Philanthropist, are about 65 million to one! But I have been thinking about lady luck this week and decided to indulge in the most extreme form of luck consciousness, in honour of this blog, just for once. But really that is not the kind of luck I want to think about here.

That famous quote,  above, linked in 1962 to the great american golfer Gary Player, has its roots much further back in time, but  still has a resonance with us, for, on a good day, when we are in harmony with things, we know that we can, sometimes, make our own luck. Yet, at other times, we seem doomed to thrash around, just making everything worse with each crashing stumble. Especially when we are young and struggling to get established, finding the art of easing the passage of life and flowing with things, can often seem utterly beyond us. So much so that the very suggestion that we could, feels a preposterous slander.

At the start of another new year I would like to think about how we approach our ‘luck’ in  all aspects of our life. So much of what we get caught up in day-to-day, may not really lead to us living in harmony with the more profound aspects of our lives.

If we can allow ourselves to truly see that, even with all the cruel and often overwhelming inequalities and injustices of our world, we are also, in some profound way, the drivers of our destiny.  As we align ourselves more with the  mystery of our unfolding life, we may more easily be able to see the extraordinary synchronicity that pops up in life, the more one steps into harmony.

Studying Luck: Lucky for some

In Oxford we have two great universities studying all sorts of erudite subjects, all of which are important, but still we struggle with key aspects of how to be happy, healthy and at peace, both as we go through our lives and as we come to their inevitable ends. Our city houses large number of clever people employed to crunch the evidence, to understand, to guide the policy,  of how we live and why we die before, what might be seen as, ‘our time’.

Over the last year researchers around the world have tried to work out how much cancer, for example, is caused by bad luck and how much as a result of choices we make. Every few months various, impressive, statistical studies come out, with  different views on this, which must be confusing for those who take these efforts as a final truth, instead of well-informed, statistical guesses and useful ways of  keeping epidemiologists gainfully employed.

In  January last year one study suggested that two-thirds of cancer types were down to luck rather than factors such as smoking. While later in December another studysuggested that cancers were overwhelmingly a result of environmental factors and notlargely down to bad luck. This can be both encouraging, in that we may have greater agency over our life, but can also turn into an unpleasant and erroneous ‘blame the patient’ game, if not fully understood.

Seeing Life through another window

What if we were all inextricably one and everything that happened to us was for the sole purpose for us to learn? That our whole life was one big learning experience?

It is easy to say, but much harder to accept when the most precious things in our lives are snatched away from us, as they were for Jeff Olsen. Whatever you might think of his touching and profound life changing, Near Death Experiences around a terrible car accident he was in, that killed both his wife and youngest son, it provides another narrative to the dominant materialistic model that holds sway in our culture today.

When you have a chance you might want to give some time to listen to Olsen’s story and witness how it has shaped him to become the impressive man he comes across as today. There is a considerable amount of  scientific evidence around the whole subject of Near Death Experiences. (For more on this subject, see my book review in  my blog; August 2012: Dying to Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing by Anita Moorjani) Whatever you make of them, there are useful pointers to be gained from those who have had these experiences, relevant to our own life and how to live it. How we ‘make our own luck’.

The School of Life

Talking of how to live our life,  are you familiar with The School of Life?   This is an organisation, with centres around the world, founded in 2008  by philosopher Alain de Botton and  Sophie Howarth a former curator from Tate Modern, in collaboration with a number of writers, artists and educators. The School offers a variety of programmes and services concerned with how to live wisely and well: finding fulfilling work, mastering relationships, achieving calm, and understanding and changing the world.[1] The School also offers psychotherapy and bibliotherapy services and runs small shops[2] which have been described as ‘apothecaries for the mind'”.[3]

What I wanted to draw your attention to specifically, were their impressive, and ever-expanding, list of very short five-minute films  that they have on YouTube. Here they dispense sassy, calm, well-informed,  non-judgemental insights on a wide variety of subjects, from mini introductions to the great philosophers to a recent addition, ‘Why God says you should have sex every Friday night’! (The wisdom of the Torah. it’s a couple’s duty under God to have sex every Friday night, perhaps an insightful piece of ancient, couples therapy). You’ll have to check out that one!

Making our own Luck in 2016

So how are you going to make your own luck in 2016? There are so many better ways of doing so, that are more sane and effective than my one-off,  mildly ridiculous, Lottery approach.

You could do worse than check out some of the School of Life’s brilliant little films, bringing some clear thinking into how we see, and maybe change, our lives so ‘making our own luck’.

It only remains for me to wish you, Good Luck, in 2016.

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An Intriguing Medical Breakthrough

Cartilage growing to rebuild body parts

Image source: BBC

I am always interested in hearing about medical advancements, so I was intrigued when I read an article from the BBC recently about cartilage being able to rebuild body parts. The article explains how in just three years time patients requiring surgery to reconstruct certain body parts could have treatment using lab-grown cartilage.

Researchers at Morriston Hospital in Swansea are hoping to be the first in the world to start using the form of treatment which involves growing “new tissue using human cells.”

So what is the actual process of this potential medical breakthrough? Put simply, someone else’s cells are put into an incubator and then mixed with a liquid. This is then 3D printed into the jelly-like shape required. The mould is then placed back into an incubator to continue to grow until it is ready for the patient.

Talking about the exciting innovation, Prof Iain Whitaker, consultant plastic surgeon at Morriston Hospital said: “We’re trialling using 3D printing which is a very exciting potential modality to make these relatively complex structures. Most people have heard a lot about 3D printing and that started with traditional 3D printing using plastics and metals. That has now developed so we can consider printing biological tissue called 3D bio-printing, which is very different. We’re trying to print biological structures using human cells, and provide the right environment and the right timing so it can grow into tissue that we can eventually put into a human. It would be to reconstruct lost body parts such as part of the nose or the ear and ultimately large body parts including bone, muscle and vessels.”

Engineers have already built a 3D printer which has been specifically designed for this kind of treatment and even though the project didn’t start until 2012, research into this field of reconstruction has been taking place for over twenty years.

If the current research is successful, patients will be able to recreate a missing body part within just two months without having to take it from another area of the body. This will have a significantly positive impact on patients who would have previously had to possibly deal with scarring and possible disfigurements.

I am excited to hear the outcome of this research.

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“Your Body is Your Medicine!” Says Leading London Osteopath, Robin Kiashek

As a leading osteopath in London, I believe that the body has incredible self-healing properties and that thoughts held long enough can be physically presented. But many of the patients who visit the Robin Kiashek clinics have long believed that only doctors, drugs and medical technology have the abilities to heal… and that the human body itself does not. Ironically, many of these patients have actually sought my help in response to being left undiagnosed by more mainstream medical practises.

In my experience, the first step on the journey to health restoration is often the understanding that the body is full of remarkably powerful healing energies; energies that can ensure long-term good health if we work in collaboration with them. Once we believe that there is as much power inside the body as there is outside, we are injected with a new boost of motivation, hope and a willingness to get healthier.

Will this be the year you change your health forever?

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Is This The Year You’ll Change Your Health? Asks Leading London Osteopath, Robin Kiashek

As a leading osteopath in London, I often see patients with positive health goals at the start of each New Year. For many of the patients I see, leading a healthier lifestyle and losing weight is among their core goals. But how we do we stay on track to fulfill our potentially life-changing New Year’s resolutions?

Here are my top three tips to make 2016 the year you change your health.

1. Discover Your Motivation

What are the main reasons you want to lead a healthier lifestyle and lose weight? Do you want to look better in your clothes? Do you want to achieve more self confidence? Do you want to help to combat an existing or potential health condition? Get your reasons for changing clear in your head first and use those reasons to motivate and encourage you throughout your journey.

2. Plan for Success

Fail to plan, plan to fail; it may be a cliché but it’s absolutely true! The worst thing you can do is wake up on the 1st January and jump into a whole new lifestyle without having a set a plan on how you’re going to achieve your goals. Planning head and deciding how you are going to implement your New Year’s resolutions into your schedule will set you miles ahead on your journey before you even start. Bear in mind that working from target to target is much less daunting than trying to tackle everything at once.

3. Set Goals

Setting goals will enable you to measure progress and keep you motivated and inspired along the way. An effective strategy is to make sure your goals are ‘SMART’:

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Attainable
  • Realistic
  • Timely

Be true to yourself and do things at your own time and pace. Success has nothing to do with speed, remember.

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Did You Get Any Downtime Over Christmas? Asks Our Experienced Osteopath In London

While most of us planned to fit in some “downtime” over the Christmas period, how many of us actually had it? With the festive period being the busiest time of year, some of us will be entering the New Year in need of another break just to recover from the hustle bustle of the season. But as a reputable London osteopath, I am a keen advocate of “downtime” as a combat against chronic stress and overworking your mind and body.

Untreated, long term stress can lead to both mental and physical health issues including depression, cancer, diabetes, heart attacks and strokes. (By the way, these only “scratch the surface” of the health hazards of stress!)

No matter what your job or your family commitments, it is fundamental to your happiness and health to take some time out for yourself every day – even it is just a relaxing soak in the bath with no interruptions! Many people see “downtime” or “me time” as a modern craze, when in fact it’s simply a biological necessity.

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