Medicating with Meditation? The Power of Mind Body Medicine, featuring Darshan Mehta, MD, MPH - Shrinking It Down

Medicating with Meditation? The Power of Mind Body Medicine, featuring Darshan Mehta, MD, MPH – Shrinking It Down

By Darshan Mehta, MD, MPH, Khadijah Booth Watkins, Associate Director and Gene Beresin, Executive Director

On today’s episode of Shrinking It Down, Gene and Khadijah welcome special guest Dr. Darshan Mehta, Medical Director of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine of Massachusetts General Hospital, to talk about something we could all use more of: Meditation. This past year has brought on new stressors and anxieties for families, on top of those they were already managing. So, what about treating this stress with a healthy dose of meditation?

Meditation is a practice that can help to decrease stress levels, increase calmness and clarity, and improve our physical health. Whether you’ve tried meditation before and are interested in the science behind how it works, or you’re looking for tips on how to start, Dr. Mehta walks through it all. Plus, he guides Gene and Khadijah through a “mini” meditation to demonstrate how even just a few minutes of focus can make a big difference.

Thank you for joining in this meditation! Do you have a question about mind body practices, or something you’d like to share? We’d love to know. Write to us!

Media List

Follow along with the conversation.

Darshan Mehta, MD, MPH (Massachusetts General Hospital)
Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine (Massachusetts General Hospital)
Office for Well-Being (Massachusetts General Hospital)
I Am Not Your Negro (IMDB)
Study: Relaxation Response Therapy Reduces Blood Pressure in Hypertension (Benson-Henry Institute)
Using the relaxation response to reduce stress (Harvard Health Publishing)
Mindfulness: A Practical Guide Toward Personal Peace and Resilience (MGH Clay Center)
Mind and Body Practices (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
What Mindfulness Does to Your Brain: The Science of Neuroplasticity (Real Simple)
Can Meditation Change Your Genes? (Mindful)
Mental Imaging (The Musicians Way)
Your Smartwatch Is About to Become Your New Therapist (Best Health)
Guided Relaxation Exercises (Benson-Henry Institute)
Four Mini Relaxation Exercises (Massachusetts General Hospital)
Psychosocial Vulnerabilities to Upper Respiratory Infectious Illness: Implications for Susceptibility to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (Perspectives on Psychological Science)
Psychological and Behavioral Predictors of Vaccine Efficacy: Considerations for COVID-19 (Perspectives on Psychological Science)
CDC guidelines update: Face masks and fully-vaccinated people (NBC News)
Missed Meghan and Harry’s Oprah interview? How to rewatch the whole thing (CNET)
H.R.7120 – George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020 (Congress.gov)
The Positive Value of Conflict: There’s Great Power in Resolution (MGH Clay Center)

Tune in wherever you get your podcasts – just search for “Shrinking It Down.”

Music by Gene Beresin

Episode produced by Sara Rattigan

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Darshan Mehta, MD, MPH

Dr. Mehta is Medical Director and Director of Medical Education for the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (BHI-MGH) and Director of Education at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Harvard Medical ...

To read full bio click here.

Khadijah Booth Watkins, Associate Director

Khadijah Booth Watkins, MD, MPH, is associate director of the Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and the Associate Director of the Child and...

To learn more about Khadijah, or to contact her directly, please see Our Team.

Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Gene Beresin, MD, MA is executive director of The MGH Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, and a staff child and adolescent psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also...

To learn more about Gene, or to contact him directly, please see Our Team.