Meditation & Crohn's: Calm Your Mind, Calm Your Colon?

Many years ago, before I even knew what Crohn's disease was, I took my first yoga class at a YWCA. The teacher was wonderful, and hooked me on yoga, which I still practice. When she offered a meditation class, I was one of the first to sign up for it. What I learned was not the kind of meditation in which one contemplates a Bible passage or a wise quote, but a Zen meditation. I slowly learned to empty my mind, clear worries away, and slow my heart-rate and my breathing.

It was hard for me because I'm blessed - or cursed - with a vivid imagination. I also had, at that time, a sort of mental ADD; my mind jumped around from one idea to another. I spent a lot of time learning to meditate: to push thoughts away, breathe, and simple be. The result of meditation is a renewed energy and a refreshed mind.

A couple of years after that class I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. It didn't occur to me at first that my daily meditation might help me cope with the illness. But I found that between flares I could meditate much as I had before I had Crohn's, and it gave - and still gives - a feeling of well-being that no medication can match.

During a Crohn's flare, meditation, like everything else, becomes much more difficult. If I'm running to the bathroom every ten minutes and my intestines are painfully cramping, it's very hard to become still and to empty my mind.

I do the best I can. I grab a few minutes between bathroom trips, close my eyes, and try to go to that still place for as long as I can. Even a few minutes of mindfulness, which for me is the opposite of what it sounds like, can help to ease the pain and stress of a Crohn's flare.

It works for me because it takes my attention away from my illness. For me, paying attention to Crohn's disease, thinking about it and griping about the pain, worrying about my future health, and avoiding food because everything hurts, gives power to Crohn's and takes it from me. Even a few minutes of meditation can help me feel stronger and more empowered.

I'm not saying that meditation is a cure for Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, nor am I certain that it will work for everyone. I am certain that anything that makes someone feel less helpless in the face of an illness that's difficult to control is a good thing. Meditation costs you nothing but some time. The more you practice, the easier it is to clear your mind, and the faster you'll be able to do it.

So what are you waiting for?