The mind affects your health more than you would think it would. Blood sugar control can be very much negatively affected by your stress (including remorse and counterfactual thinking of “could have”, anxiety over uncertainty of future, feeling that you completely lack the control over daily happenings, etc.) This is so, because when you are stressed, the secretion of your stress hormone produced in the adrenal glands, called “cortisol” is elevated, and in turn, the secretion of your blood sugar controling hormone produced in the pancreas, called insulin, is reduced. As a result, your ability to control your blood sugar level is compromised.  

Here comes Zen (Mindfulness Practice) approach to Diabetes -The Calm Empowerment.

Studies on various mindfulness practices such as meditations, yoga and mindful eating have shown positive effects on reducing HgA1C and improving blood glucose control. If you have already been working on good diet, exercise and sleep, it may be a good idea to add mindful practices to your routine. But even before starting such practices, let me remind you of one important teaching of Zen.

“Peace comes from Within. Do not seek it Without”

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​The STARTING POINT is YOU within. Do not forget to have COMPASSION for yourself. Love yourself truly from within, separating the worthiness of you as a person from that of your condition, diabetes.

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Having chronic conditions like ‘Diabetes” which require lots of control over what you eat and how you eat, we all tend to fall into the trap of believing “I am NOT OK, unless I control this, I control that ….”

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But just keep telling yourself, “I am not OK until…”, can exhaust you emotionally and deplete your mental energy to handle your condition. So never make yourself believe that you are worthless until you exert 100% control every time over everything you do from glucose monitoring to carb counting. In “Zen” approach to diabetes, it is very important to not confuse the worthiness of YOU as a person with that of your condition as a disease.

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So what does this mean?

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Simply, you accept and love who you are, but you manage your condition(s) wholeheartedly, and   what Zenists (I do not want to call “Buddhists”, for Zen itself is not a religion) may say “Intentionally”.

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If you are diagnosed with diabetes, or if your A1C level is off as in the case of pre-diabetes, start with non-judgmental observation, recognition, and acceptance of what you have (your lab, CGM data, your symptoms such as your feeling of lack of energy, frequent urination, etc) in terms of your condition at that particular “moment”, without denying or shaming yourself. The purpose of this non-judgmental assessment is to objectively grasp what you are facing with (your condition), not to shame yourself or your past behavior, with the understanding that things can change in the flow of time. (Zenists may call it “knowing of impermanence”).

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Then, what??   

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Now comes “Mindfulness” practice in every aspect of your life. This is in addition to, not as replacement of, your doctor’s recommended medical interventions (meds, insulin shot, etc), if any. Your doctor may say that (s)he wants you to first try lifestyle change before resorting to oral medications or insulin shots. In that case, you may want to do so, accordingly.  

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For your information, Mindfulness practice is not just 10 mins of mindfulness meditation (often people equate meditation with entire mindfulness practice!).  “Mindfulness” is a state of mind, and it pertains to every aspect of our life-  diet, movement, intellectual activities, stress management, and social relationships.

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As entry point for building mindfulness practice in your life, you may want to consider incorporating some of the research-backed up, recommended practices listed below into your life. If you practice even only one of those, intentionally and whole-heartedly, every day, over time, it is very much likely that something very good will happen to you as a person and to your condition.

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Try it/them on and Enjoy your journey! 

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• Mindful breathing to improve fasting glucose and A1C levels by self-inducing relaxation/meditation, focusing on breathing (Various breathing exercises/meditation apps, such as Calm, Insight Timer and Headspace are available), known for good sleep induction as well.

• Mindful movements such as yoga, Tai Chi and walking meditation, focusing on your breathing rhythm and body movements to reduce stress and improve mood while enhancing balance and flexibility. (https://bensonhenryinstitute.org/guided-relaxation-exercises)

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• Mindful eating to listen to your body’s hunger/fullness cues, and savor and appreciate “each bite” for its taste, aroma and texture, as you eat, without eating out of stress or numbing your emotional baggage by foods, shifting to more balanced, nutritionally dense diet with healthier food choices, leading to better portion control, preventing blood sugar spikes and crashes. (Various good Mindful and Intuitive Eating workbooks are on the market.)

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• Mindful scanning of body (body scan meditation) systematically focusing attention on different parts of the body, from the feet to the head to induce total body relaxation and sleep better (the same app. as mindful breathing has this option). (Various YouTube videos are available such as Guided Meditation for Sleep- Body Scan)

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*Remember, mindful practices alone may not cure your diabetes. What you may want to strive for is an integrative approach, incorporating good diet (plenty of high quality protein and fibers, avoidance of added sugar and highly processed foods), weight management (loose some if excess), good physical movements (consistent exercise routine of 150 mins/week of moderate intensity), high quality sleep of 7-8 hours/night and good stress management in addition to the doctor prescribed interventions (meds, insulin, etc). 

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