The Meditation Doctor: A Practical Approach to Healing Common Ailments Through Meditation

"Stylistically the book seems to surf the wave of success of The Food Doctor (except in this case, Martina is not a doctor). It has very clear layout with a reliance on insipid stock-photo imagery. In fact, the prescriptive meditations following the general instructions seem to take on a recipe-like format: each begins with a simple summary, and then a table of distinguishing factors such as duration in minutes, difficulty level, frequency, etc. is shown next to their corresponding colour icon, ending with the numbered instructions. This structured format will be of use and appeal to those who appreciate clear, visual information (like myself) and dislike `extraneous' narrative verbiage - most of the techniques are succinctly covered in one page.

Some of the writing does fall into the worn groove of new-age thinking such as "Enlightened individuals, such as Buddha or Christ, can activate the light of all one thousand petals, thereby creating a halo of light around their head." Joseph Campbell said that many religious-minded people make the mistake of confusing metaphor for literal truth.

For those sincerely interested in meditation, possibly the best gift you could give to yourself is an understanding of posture. After all, sitting still is essentially maintaining a stress-posture and understanding it will keep you free from years of pain. Its importance is understood by all the major traditions, hathayoga is a preparation of the body for meditation, in the Fukanzazengi Dôgen Zenji said, "Thus sit upright in correct bodily posture, neither inclining to the left nor to the right, neither leaning forward or backward. Be sure your ears are on a plane with your shoulders and your nose in line with your navel." In the Alexander Technique the Primary Control of the body is the position of the head and neck - the balancing of the heavy head upon the tip of the spine is essentially achieved by releasing held tension in neck and back and allowing the chin to tuck back in place. In Robin McKenzie's (highly recommended for treatment and prevention) books on neck and back posture, there is a similar message, that we have become a nation of neck-craners and back-slumpers and what to do about it. Physiotherapists up and down the country would tell you the same.


I write the preceding because here Martina, whilst certainly paying lipservice to its importance, either disagrees or plain misunderstands what it is. In her fundamental instructions on basic sitting postures she advises to "Keep your head upright while tilting your chin slightly forward (!) to create a clear air passage." And this is shown throughout in the accompanying photos (e.g. see the back slumped and neck craned on page 24). Jutting out the chin - even slightly - causes all the weight of the head to be distributed right to the back of the neck and will cause all kinds of problems. If this is done only "to create a clear air passage" you can rest assured that anatomically you do not need to push out your chin at all to breathe freely.

For a little more depth and substance but equally as accessible, I'd recommend Meditation: Buddhist Way of Tranquillity and Insight by Dharmachari Kamalashila which although Buddhist is non-partisan; the Barefoot Doctor also offers modern hybrid techniques from a range of traditions but, similar to this title, is more superficial in approach to their comparative richness and depth.
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~ Written on 2007-11-30

"The meditation doctor is a beautifully illustrated and intellegently written book on meditation and healing. It is easy to understand and interesting to read. The introduction and first few chapters do an excellent job of laying down the framework for the rest of the book.

What I love about this book is that there are so many meditations to choose from and that they are simple to follow. I have chosen a few to practice with and each time I do one of the meditations, it becomes more and more "mine."

I love to do the yogic and movement meditations in the morning. I feel like I am doing more than just stretching. The descriptions of the stretches that the book gives makes them meaningful.

If you are new to meditation, this book is a great place to begin, especially if you do not know where to begin. If you are a practiced meditator, this book is a great way to inspire new types of meditations and different experiences in your meditations.

This book is not just for those who need a "meditation doctor." It is for all of us who are conciously choosing to be well.

Thank you Martina Glasscock Barnes for the beauty with which you have written this book.


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~ Written on 2006-05-18