By Emily Hellewell
Students at BYU can be as healthy as Tibetan monks, said Dr. Patrick Steffen, assistant professor of clinical psychology, in a presentation Thursday, Oct. 26.
Tibetan monks are so much in control of their body that they can actually regulate their body temperature, Steffen said.
The monks believe that religious traditions, such as meditation, are closely related to physical bodies, he said.
Steffen said in the Tibetan culture there is no separation between religion and life.
The prominence of religion in Tibetan everyday life is similar to Utah and the BYU culture, Steffen said. There are churches on every corner and several temples in each valley.
Meditation is a major part in the healthy lives of Tibetan monks because it can change perceptions, Steffen said.
“Meditation is the key to how we perceive events,” he said. If people can see how small trails fit into the larger picture, they will have a greater understanding of the purpose.
Steffen quoted R.M. Novick, a filmmaker and writer focusing on eastern cultures, who said, “meditation is a technique used to calm and develop the mind.”
Prayer in the LDS religion can have the same effects as meditation for Tibetan monks, Steffen said.
“Prayer helps us to be in touch with the divine,” Steffen said.
One hundred years ago most deaths were caused by infectious diseases, now most people die from stress-related diseases, Steffen said.
In the 1970s meditation and prayer became more popular in United States culture because of their ability to counteract the negative effects of stress, he said.
The health of the Tibetan monks is not related to meditation alone, Steffen said. Their whole life is spiritually centered.
Steffen said, in addition to spirituality, the monks avoid addictions and surround themselves with social support.
Addictions come in many forms, Steffen said. Food can be an addiction and often it is hard to eat a balanced diet because it is so easy to eat food that is not healthy.
“There is the food court behind us filled with high fat and high sugar foods,” he said.
One way to improve health is to create a healthy environment, Steffen said.
“If you have a weakness for junk food, remove the junk food from your house, but be sure to replace it with something positive,” he said.
Good friends also help to create a healthy environment, he said.
Steffen said if students choose to surround themselves with healthy friends they are more likely to pick up their friends’ healthy habits.
Brenda Welker, 19, a freshman from Fort Morgan, Colo., with an undeclared major, agreed that it is important not to forget friends while in college.
“When I go out with my friends, I am much more relaxed,” Welker said.
Richard Fry, 18, a freshman from Hillsboro, Ore., marjoing in physics teaching, said he thought it was important to take care of the whole body.
The body, mind, spirit, and soul are related and it makes sense to take care of each part because of this reason, he said.
