Sally Charalambous worked for years in New York City as a trauma nurse, a demanding job loaded with stress. She discovered that meditation dramatically helped ease not just job-related stress, but also the stress in her life.
“It helped me mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually,” she says.
Retired and living in Arizona, Charalambous now teaches group meditation classes twice a month at Sun Health.
“Everyone can learn to meditate. It’s about practicing mindfulness and learning to stay in the moment,” says Charalambous.
Hundreds of research studies conducted over the past decade have shown that meditation is beneficial in addressing chronic pain, high blood pressure, loneliness, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and just plain stress.
“Practicing meditation regularly normalizes blood pressure and creates a deep sense of calm and control that counteracts stress. You can’t be stressed and relaxed at the same time,” she says.
