Dr. Sanjay Gupta

And I don't want to over- or under-emphasize the value of true brain training, whether it be meditation, whether it be virtual reality.

I would say, look at the data.

I mean, I'm not just telling you this, and I was a skeptic of this.

You know, I'm a neurosurgeon.

I'm the guy who opens the head and, you know, does things to the brain.

The idea that meditation could cause these changes.

We now know meditation objectively and measurably changes your brain.

It causes thickening in certain areas of the brain that help reduce chronic pain.

Okay.

So there is really active brain training that can help you in the moment and help decrease your pain long-term as well.

And these are all within your reach.

I mean, you don't have to go to some fancy clinic to be able to do a lot of this.

If you've, you know, again, get it checked out.

I mean, I evaluate a lot of back pain, make sure there's not a structural problem like our friend Rich Roll had, something like that.

Let's say you've looked at everything and they say, hey, all your scans and everything are normal, which is what happens 90% of the time when I see a patient, x-rays, MRIs, all that sort of stuff.

Then I think, you know, really understanding that the back is something that I think a lot of people will rest in response to pain.

They sit a lot.

And when you're sitting, you're basically axial loading that part of your spine a great deal.

So despite the fact that you told the rest, I'm going to sit down instead of stand, that's probably making it worse.

And I think as a general rule, sort of applying the same meat protocol for this, the mobilization, the exercise, and reminding yourself that there's nothing toxic happening in my body.