Controlled meditation can help some people lose weight

By Rahayu Ratnaningsih

JAKARTA (JP): Weight control is a pain in the neck and often costly for many adults. Numerous diet counselors found out that 97 percent of people who pay money to lose weight put it back on again in less than two years. In other words, diets work on the body but not the mind; and unless the subconscious is changed, willpower is only temporary.

We have talked about the principles of controlled meditation or subconscious programming before (The Jakarta Post, Aug.8, 1999). Here, we are getting acquainted with the practice to help lose weight quite effortlessly. This is not to be meant as quick fixes. You still have to watch your food intake and you still have to work out. The difference is, this will no longer be a torment to you as it would otherwise be without subconscious programming.

There are five component parts to subconscious programming: motivation, relaxation, concentration, imagination and autosuggestion. What you need to do first is to acknowledge the bad habits that make you overweight. It is usually overeating combined with a lack of exercise. You should also identify whether there are underlying emotional problems that induce you to overeat, such as being in a bad relationship, low self-esteem, stress, etc.

You really have to feel a strong desire to change and lose weight. Decide how much weight you would like to lose and within what length of time. The most desirable weight for anyone is the weight at which a person looks and feels best. Height, bone structure and muscular development must all be taken into account.

To keep your motivation high, you could take out your favorite outfit you have hidden away in the closet because it's too small to wear and/or a picture of your previously slim figure, or a picture of someone else whom you want to, and think you could, look like. It's important to be realistic at this point. If you have always been a large-framed person with a minimum weight of 90 kg as an adult, there's not much point in aspiring to look like Elle McPherson or Ricky Martin. You may eventually be able to look like them, but that will be an added bonus when you do. What you need to take into account is the failure to achieve an excessively ambitious ideal can be a demoralizing to you. Look at the picture(s) several times a day, or hang it on your bathroom door or the place you usually weigh yourself. That will be your new self-image you truly believe you can achieve.

A useful goal setting strategy is scheduling your goal into small achievable pieces. The thought of losing 18 kg in six months may be too overwhelming, but spacing it into three kilos a month, will allow you a sense of achievement that will keep you focused and your spirits high. If you are really overweight and have been like that for a long time, probably it would be wiser to be generous with your time frame. Don't set yourself up to be a failure. Losing unwanted fat in a seemingly interminable time frame is fine as long as you know that you are making constant progress and you are getting there step by step. Besides, many will attest that losing weight drastically will only be temporary and may be accompanied with various unwanted side effects. Keep records of your progress and congratulate yourself when you have improved upon your previous performance. You have only yourself to beat.

After you are done with the above mental preparation, you can now start practicing. Find a place you feel at ease and with a minimum of interruptions. You can choose sitting or lying down or any position comfortable to you. At home you may want to try lying down since that is the most effective way to induce relaxation.

The challenge is not to get too relaxed that you'll fall asleep when you go too deep into the theta state (the state in which the brain radiates waves of four to seven cycles per second). Put your hands on your lap if you are sitting, or rest them interwoven on your stomach. You can have your favorite slow music on, only make sure its not too loud. Baroque music at 60 to 70 beats per minute, as has been shown by researchers studying brain waves, is ideal to stimulate alpha waves, the brain waves associated with relaxation. This state is conducive to learning and serves as a gateway to the subconscious mind. Some of the best baroque composers include Bach, Boccherini, Corelli, Fasch, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert and Vivaldi.

Breath deeply and very slowly. Let go of all thoughts, worries and concerns. Just let yourself daydream. You may want to imagine the spectacular scenery of Alpine mountains, or the serenity of Lake Toba. Keep breathing deeply and slowly for about 10 minutes then start autosuggestion to loosen up your muscles even further. Say mentally, "My entire body is becoming heavier and heavier ... my arms, heavy, limp and relaxed ... legs limp and heavy and relaxed ... feet are becoming relaxed ... relaxed all over."

Special attention should be given to each mentioned part. You can also suggest, "My left foot is so heavy I can't lift it." And then try to lift it. You will notice that your left foot somehow resists.

Now, count backward from 50 to zero. When you are well versed to this exercise, you can count only from 10 to zero. With each count, repeat this in your mind, "I'm going deeper and deeper into sleep with every count." When you get to zero, you should feel very relaxed and thus, you are ready to reprogram your subconscious mind.

Say mentally, "Every day in every way, I'm getting better, better and better."

In your mind, project your current image: overweight, feeling bad, lack of self-confidence, miserable or anything about yourself that you want to change. Quickly, superimpose your new self-image over your unwanted image: slim, happy, attractive, healthy, energized, self-confident, or perhaps in a sexy swimming suit you have not dared to wear for a long time. If you have underlying emotional problems, imagine yourself having solved those problems. You have become a new person that is seen with love and admiration by people around you. In your mind, you are now having a fulfilling relationship, a satisfying job, a loving partner, a supportive group of close friends. Be sure at every stage that it is happening or could be achieved anytime soon. Enjoy the overwhelming feeling of being a "new you" for a while.

Foods

Now, visualize yourself refusing the foods you usually can't resist. Imagine yourself content to have low calorie foods, such as salad and fruits and having regular exercise easily. Feel the sensation of your toned skin and flat tummy. How wonderful it is now to be able to see your toes again!

The key is to link as much pain as possible to your current state (not changing) and as much pleasure as possible to your ideal self you are working on (changing).

Say this several times: "I am slim. I am attractive. I only eat (like) healthy, non-fattening foods. I work out regularly." If you feel ridiculous since you are not any of the above, rephrase the sentences: "I'm getting slim. I'm becoming attractive. I prefer to eat healthy, non-fattening foods. I prefer to work out regularly." Remember, you have to believe in what you say.

Stay for 15 to 20 minutes, when you finish, say mentally, "I will slowly come out as I count from one to five, feeling wide awake and better than before. "One ... two ... prepare to open my eyes ... three ... open eyes ... four ... five ... eyes open, wide awake, feeling better than before."

Do this exercise several times a day and just as you are drifting into sleep every night. To sustain your acquired change, it is also vital to reward yourself as soon as you take some specific actions or make any positive emotional progress however small it is, like choosing to walk around your complex instead of paying a visit to the nearest Dunkin Donuts.

The last, and this is absolutely critical to establishing long-term change is you need to create a new, empowering alternative to replace your old patterns or habits. If you usually snack in front of the TV in your spare time even when you don't really feel like watching that silly local soap opera, you can't just do nothing now because very likely this idleness will bring you back to that old habit. You should instead find another activity, preferably the one that will boost your self- worth such as cleaning up your messy bedroom or gardening. Make daily personal accomplishments, however small, your new way of life.

The more you are content with yourself and the result of your new patterns, the more you are motivated to achieve more and the easier it becomes.

I lost five kilos in about five months using this method. It doesn't sound awfully impressive, but I wasn't particularly overweight at 160 cm and 55 kg to begin with. The good news is, I am not restricted to any unpleasant diet. I eat normally and regularly have my favorite foods, perhaps in smaller portions now since I have reeducated my stomach and my subconscious, and I enjoy my 30 to 50 lap swim of my favorite 25-meter pool, three or five days a week without having to force myself into it.

-- The writer is director of the Satori Foundation, a center for study and development of human excellence through mind programming and meditation techniques.