Controlled meditation can help some people lose weight

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.