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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Hannah Jane Parkinson

Mind over matter: can meditation soothe my troubled insides?

Healthy mind, healthy tummy.
Healthy mind, healthy tummy. Illustration: Sally Caulwell/The Guardian

I am two weeks into my journey of improving holistic health via the means of meditation when my neighbour texts me to say she spotted me through my window, and am I OK because I “looked a bit dead”. These are not the glowing Gwyneth Paltrow vibes I was aiming for. But I had headphones in, I tell her. People can die with headphones in, she says.

At least it meant I had remained still for a length of time. After the latest remarkable study connecting meditation to improved gut health – itself a marker for overall positive health outcomes – I am attempting enlightenment of both the mind and bowels.

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