There are many who believe that meditation can heal the body, especially from chronic illness. And, it’s not surprising as one of the biggest things that hold any of us back is our own minds – specifically, the thoughts our minds think and our willingness to believe them. Imagine the mindset shift for a person with chronic illness and the meditation benefits that they can achieve through mindfulness practice.
In this episode of the Passion Struck Podcast, John R. Miles interviews Cryoglobulinemia Vasculitis illness sufferer Steph Lee about how her life suddenly changed when she was faced with this extremely rare condition.
She and I discuss how we all are able to become aware of our thoughts and learn how to manage them instead of them controlling us. Steph Lee opens up about how her life has changed and how the little things matter so much to her now. But, also how looking at the big picture is so vital for how she lives her life.
She also discusses how her meditation started through the teaching of Jon Kabat-Zinn, who is a pioneer in using meditation to help treat chronic illness.
New Interviews with the World’s GREATEST high achievers will be posted every Tuesday with a Momentum Friday inspirational message!
Meditation and Chronic Illness
Meditation is focusing oneโs mind for a period of time and practicing deep thinking to evoke feelings of self-healing, awareness, and relaxation. This has been around for centuries but has only gained resurgence more recently. More studies are linking meditation to helping everything from gut health to long term impacts on health.
Several studies have established the many benefits of meditation, including how the practice of meditation can positively influence the ramifications caused by chronic illness and can serve as a prevention strategy. During our interview, Steph discussed that while she was going through the long-term diagnosis of her chronic illness it brought on everything from feelings of depression to being anxious. Over the years, she learned that daily meditation could really help her to minimize her physical symptoms and also assist with the anxiety she felt about her illness.
“And my big tip is that meditation was the big changer for me seeing things differently and letting things go.”
Steph Lee from the Passion Struck Podcast
What are the symptoms of Cryoglobulinemic Vasculitis?
Cryoglobulinemic vasculitis (CryoVas) is a vasculitis that impacts the small vessels involving mainly your joints, skin, kidneys, and peripheral nervous system. The cryoglobuline when they get cold can cause things to get clogged and cause inflammation. The disease is so rare that the Mayo clinic just started putting literature out on it.
Symptoms include:
- Rash with red spots and/or purplish discoloration from bleeding under the skin, mostly affecting the lower legs.
- Severeย fatigue.
- Jointย pain.
- Numbness, tingling, and/or burning sensation of the extremities, especially hands and feet, caused by nerve damage.
- Muscleย painย and weakness.
Meditation Benefits For Chronic Illness Show Notes
- Steph’s Love of Global Travel
- Her favorite travel destinations
- The symptoms that became her chronic illness
- How Cryoglobulinemic Vasculitis altered her life
- Overcoming her fears
- How meditation changed her life
- Embracing joy and letting go
- Appreciating the little things
- Applying the bigger picture to your life
- How life changes with cryoglobulinemia vasculitis
- Her advice to her 20-year-old self 48:49 Importance of adaptability
- Rapid round of questions
Quotes from Steph Lee
“This is my life and I have a choice on what I can do with it.”
“I was so exhausted by my body, but neurologically, I felt super fired up.”
“Make sure as you are living your life, that you are not working to make other people’s dreams come true instead of making your own.”
“I listened to Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Meditation for Pain Relief book. And it was life-changing. For me, I was like this man knows exactly what I’m going through.”
“I would say be kind to yourself along the way, but also look at things that the bigger picture and is this worth your energy and the stress?”
“And my big tip is that meditation was the big changer for me seeing things differently and letting things go.”
Quotes from Steph Lee on the Passion Struck Podcast
ENGAGE WITH OUR GUEST STEPH LEE
Steph Lee is the founder of Host Agency Reviews (HAR), a website that connects over 70k travel advisors a month to travel industry resources. HAR helps people join the travel industry with the roadmap to start and grow their travel agencies successfully. Described as the Match.com or Yelp for travel agents looking for a larger travel agency to align with, HAR’s resources also include a popular travel events calendar, podcast, in-depth blog, and more. You can usually find Steph gardening, meditating, exploring with her two adorable pups, or eating warm, delicious chocolate chip cookies in her free time.
Website: https://hostagencyreviews.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamstephly
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamstephly/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamstephly/
Jon Kabat-Zinn resource: https://www.mindfulnesscds.com/
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