11/22/2024
Space Is Still Available in the Mindful Eating Course Beginning in January The Mindful Eating course will be offered again on Mondays from January 13 – March 3 from 5:30…
11/22/2024
Mindfulness Apps for College Students Can Improve Mental Health Stress, anxiety and depression among college students are important mental health issues. These investigators conducted a literature review and metanalysis of…
11/22/2024
Next Thursday is Thanksgiving, an opportunity to express thanks for all that we have. Often it is easy to do this. At other times, especially if we are dealing with disappointment or hardship, it may be more difficult. Our minds inherently focus more on what is not going well rather than what is, an attribute that is often referred to as negativity bias. This may well be an evolutionary adaptation from our ancestors who needed to be vigilant and anticipate the worst in order to survive. Although most of the time now we are not actually in danger, our minds can hold on to thoughts about negative events as if we are. In response, we can both acknowledge our circumstances and still choose to focus on something positive, something we are thankful or grateful for instead. One way to do this is by practicing brief gratitude meditation. We can start by closing our eyes and bringing attention to the region of the heart, on the center left side of the chest, then breathing in a little deeper and longer than usual, noticing the flow of air into and out of the lungs. We can then bring to mind someone or something or some place that we really appreciate or are grateful for, holding this image in the mind while we continue to breath in and out slowly and deeply.
11/22/2024
In-Person Silent Retreat for Current and Past Mindfulness Course Participants All current and past participants in Mindfulness Center courses are invited to attend an in-person silent retreat that will be…
11/22/2024
Telehealth Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Chronic Pain Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are evidence-based treatments for chronic pain but implementing them on a large scale is challenging. These investigators conducted a randomized trial…
The Difference Between Pain and Suffering
11/22/2024
This does not mean we can’t act to change things that are painful. Rather, we can notice discomfort, evaluate options that might make it better, and choose a response, all without getting caught up in continuing to want things to be different than they are. In situations where we experience pain or discomfort, it is easy to start thinking about how bad our situation is, how it may be unfair, or how it might not get better. If we are not paying attention, we may just go over and over these thoughts, increasing our suffering. However, when we do notice these thoughts, we can acknowledge them and then let them go. This is what we practice over and over again while meditating- choosing an anchor for the attention such as the breath, noticing when thoughts arise, as soon as we notice them arising, letting them go, returning the attention to our anchor. I had the opportunity to practice this recently. On a routine visit to my dermatologist, I was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma. I was scheduled for an excision with a skin flap to close the wound. If the melanoma could be completely removed and there was no spread to lymph nodes the likelihood of cure would be high.
11/22/2024
Registration is currently open for two fall Mindfulness Center courses. The six-week virtual Introduction to Mindfulness for Healthcare Employees course begins next week, with the first class on Wednesday, September…
11/22/2024
Telehealth Mindfulness-Based Interventions Improve Pain and Function among Veterans with Chronic Pain Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are considered to be evidence-based treatments for chronic pain. The purpose of this study was…
11/22/2024
Meditation can help us increase our capacity to choose what thoughts we pay attention to. The mind is a thought generator and, if it is not actively engaged in a task, will nearly continuously produce thoughts. These aren’t thoughts we actively choose to think, they just arise, and we may spend much or our time caught up in them, even if we would prefer not to. In attention-focused meditation, we select an object to pay attention to, such as the breath, and then notice when the mind wanders, including when thoughts arise. As soon as we become aware of a thought we have a choice. We can either stay lost in the thinking or we can let it go and bring our attention back to our breathing. As we do this over and over again, we may find that there are longer periods of time between thoughts. We also may notice thoughts more quickly when they do arise, and we may be able to let them go more easily. One of the outcomes of doing this is that, as we let thoughts go, we may feel less stressed and more relaxed. Engaging in attention focused meditation is also practice for dealing with thoughts that arise when we are not meditating.
9/4/2024
University of Virginia Compassionate Care Initiative (CCI) Learning Series Lecture with Dr. Courtney McCluney, EquiWell Partners "Making Room for Rest and Recovery in Healthcare" Tuesday, September 10, 12-1 PM McLeod…