| More than 14 million Americans who suffer from | | | | emotional and spiritual selves -- involved in finding |
| painful arthritis, one of the most common, persistent | | | | relief. Think about it this way: with arthritis, your |
| and baffling diseases known to humankind. | | | | body got sick on its own, so why can't it get better |
| Archeologists who study the bones of our ancient | | | | on its own? |
| ancestors have discovered that the fossilized bones | | | | Many are finding that deep meditation, and a frank |
| of "Lucy", a half-ape, half-human ancestor of humans, | | | | exploration of past emotional lives can have a great |
| were afflicted with arthritis! | | | | effect on their physical condition. Many people have |
| Now, after hundreds of years of scientific and | | | | discovered that deeply held anger, old resentments, |
| technical advancement, a sure cure has yet to be | | | | lost love and other strong emotions can manifest |
| found for this crippling disease. | | | | themselves as physical pain -- namely arthritis. |
| It's Not Hopeless | | | | Painful swollen joints may be your body's way of |
| Take heart. The truth is, thousands of arthritis | | | | saying: |
| sufferers claim not only to have effectively eased | | | | "I'm deeply hurt and in pain! Pay attention to me! Do |
| their illness -- but actually cured it. Can arthritis really | | | | something about it!" |
| be cured? Thousands of people say yes! Let's | | | | Doing something means going back into your life and |
| explore the possibilities. | | | | taking a personal inventory of your history of |
| Modern Medicine | | | | emotional pain and scarring. Where you an abused |
| Medical researchers have struck many mighty blows | | | | child? Did you suffer a great loss or emotional trauma |
| against this tough adversary. Treatment of arthritis | | | | which you never dealt with? Did a lover cheat on you |
| consists of a battery of drugs -- from various | | | | and abandon you years ago... and did it open a wound |
| steroids, especially prednisone, to non-steroidal, | | | | that never healed? |
| anti-inflammatory agents, from ibuprofen to | | | | Many people find that once they go back and |
| indomethicin. Other treatments include gold salts, sulfa | | | | uncover such sources of emotional trauma and deal |
| drugs and others. | | | | with them, their symptoms of arthritis tend to lessen |
| If you are seeing a doctor for your arthritis, it's likely | | | | or disappear. |
| you are taking one of the above. The problem with | | | | Meditation |
| all of the above, of course, is side effects. Steroids | | | | There's no doubt that daily meditation can ease or |
| can cause a whole host of problems -- weight gain, | | | | even heal arthritis. Why? That's tough to know, but |
| hair loss, bone thinning, increased susceptibility to | | | | part of the answer is reduction of stress. Physical |
| other diseases and more. Anti inflammatory drugs can | | | | and emotional stress is one of the primary and worst |
| cause stomach ulcers and extreme fatigue, among | | | | aggravators of arthritis pain. Stress actually produced |
| other problems. While these drugs are generally | | | | harmful chemicals in your body that can make you |
| worth their risks, it only makes sense to look toward | | | | sick. Deep meditation drains away stress by calming |
| safer alternative treatments for arthritis. | | | | your mind and tuning the body. It also enables your |
| Alternative Approaches | | | | body to release natural healing hormones within itself |
| (1) Deal With Past Emotional Pain | | | | -- and those hormones can shrink swollen joints down |
| Thousands of arthritis suffers have taken a new | | | | to normal! Take up a regular routine of meditation or |
| positive approach to battling their diseases. They | | | | yogic exercises, and you may find your arthritis is not |
| have chosen to get their mind -- including their | | | | so unstoppable as you once thought. |