The Global Wellness Institute
The Wellness Moonshot:
A World Free of Preventable Disease
The Wellness Moonshot Calendar’s monthly theme
for October 2022 is OUTCOME.
Authored by Renee Moorefield, CEO of Wisdom Works Group, and member of the GWI Advisory Board
WE LIVE IN A PANDEMIC OF TOXIC STRESS.
MEDITATION IS AN ANTIDOTE.
At a time when stress-related illnesses are on the rise, caused in part by COVID-19 and its aftershocks, our role as wellness leaders is to help people, organizations, and communities prioritize mental, emotional, physical, and social wellbeing. Meditation is proving to be an effective antidote to our over-stress, with many positive outcomes that can benefit us all.
It was illuminating for me to explore this topic with Bob Roth for The Wellness Moonshot: A World Free of Preventable Disease initiative. Bob is CEO of the David Lynch Foundation, a nonprofit scaling meditation by delivering educational programs in healthcare systems, stewarding large scale clinical trials about the effects of meditation on mental and physical health challenges, and implementing national campaigns such as Meditate America.
Bob emphasizes that, as a wellness solution, meditation is uniquely affordable, accessible, and sustainable—plus it gets measurable results. Varying types of meditations have been linked to greater life satisfaction; less anxiety, depression, and burnout; decreased blood pressure and heart disease; and better sleep. And while all of us rely on our body’s internal circadian rhythm of cortisol to help our brains, hearts, and bodies for function optimally, a meditation practice can prevent us from experiencing the chronically high cortisol (read: hyper-aroused nervous systems) that tend to make us more reactive, aggressive, and irritable.
Listen to Bob share the three biggest blocks to starting and maintaining a meditation practice—and find out if these blocks apply to you and the people you support.
MEDITATION IS ADDITIVE
Just pushing through or enduring each day is not a wellness strategy. Nor is it a pathway for thriving. Yet, with the pace and complexity of life and work, it’s easy to think, “I’m too busy to meditate.” Bob explains that through a regular practice of meditation, you don’t just build new mindfulness behaviors; you create and reinforce neural pathways in the brain that allow you to access a sense of restful alertness.
Fortunately, just as your body is hardwired to be alert, it is hardwired to relax. As wellness leaders, we can help people discover the type of meditation that suits them, plus integrate meditation into their daily routines. When it comes to health and wellness, from Bob’s perspective, meditation is not a replacement for medication, movement, eating well, healthy connections, and other choices we make to improve our health and wellbeing—it adds power to these wellness strategies. Meditation is part of your foundation for creating a world free of preventable disease.
Hear Renee and Bob explore how meditation is producing positive health and wellbeing outcomes for veterans, children, and healthcare workers.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PLANS
Do you have a #WellnessMoonshot story you want us to feature in our monthly articles or Wellness Moonshot celebrations?
Next month, we’ll touch on what the topic REVIEW means to leading wellness. Until then, check out each of these Wellness Moonshot articles from past years with science insights and strategies to support you on your wellness leadership journey.
RESOURCES TO SUPPORT YOUR WELLNESS LEADERSHIP
- Get involved in Meditate America, a meditation movement sponsored by the David Lynch Foundation.
- Incorporate these three mindful breath practices for a brief wellness break during your day.
- Check out these Global Wellness Institute initiatives: Breathe, Hormonal Wellness, Mental Wellness, Wellness for Cancer, Wellness for Children, and Yoga Therapy.
- Dive into the latest meditation research at Wellnessevidence.com.
- Read about meditation as a key pathway to wellness in this Mental Wellness whitepaper.
- Measure how your mindfulness links to your wellbeing and stress resilience via the online assessment Be Well Lead Well Pulse®.
- Get involved in the 2022 Global Wellness Summit, October 31-November 3, in beautiful Tel Aviv.
- Customize The Wellness Moonshot branding assets and educational materials to meet the needs and aspirations of your company, community, or country.
