UVa Basketball: Lessons from Dealing with Adversity
8/28/2019
By John Schorling Last year, I wrote a Monthly Musing about the UVa men’s basketball team and the disappointment they and many others felt as a result of their loss in the first round of the 2018 NCAA tournament. I did end it by saying that this year “might even end with UVa finally winning a national championship”. Things are very different now as the team has gone from the first number 1 seed to ever lose to a number 16 seed to winning the tournament and yes, becoming national champions. This is considered by many to be one of the most remarkable turn-arounds in sports history. Yet it didn’t just happen. A big part of what made it possible were the choices the coaches and the players made in how they dealt with this historic loss. Their story has become an inspiring lesson in how it is possible to grow through adversity.
8/27/2019
This study, which was a collaboration between the UVa Mindfulness Center, the Charlottesville Albemarle Rescue Squad and the UVa Departments of Surgery and Psychiatry, investigated whether a Mindfulness for Healthcare Providers (MHP) course can reduce distress and promote wellbeing among emergency medical services (EMS) providers. The MHP course is a modified version of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction taught in eight 2.5 hour weekly sessions with an all day retreat. A total of 15 EMS providers enrolled in the course and 11 completed it. After the course, EMS providers endorsed statistically significant increases in compassion satisfaction, trait mindfulness, and decreases in burnout compared to the beginning of the program.
7/29/2019
If you’d like to renew a personal practice of mindfulness, this four-week course is designed to support your intention to begin again or to deepen your current practice. With the…
7/29/2019
Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Training in Surgery This pilot study evaluated the impact of a modified mindfulness-based stress reduction program on first-year surgery residents at the University of California- San Francisco. At total of 21 residents were randomly assigned to either MBSR or an active control group.
7/29/2019
By Teresa Miller What’s true about the nature of mindfulness? How does it resemble the summer season? Like the fireflies of June whose lights flicker on and off in random, moving patterns, steady unceasing mindfulness is elusive. We may be meditating with attention on the breath, only to realize that suddenly we’re miles away from our bodies, lost in a movie trailer about our life – as it was 15 minutes ago or 15 years ago. Like the fireworks of July whose sounds, colors and shapes entertain and distract us, mindful concentration may be punctuated by sudden strident thoughts or emotions that sidetrack us.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
6/26/2019
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a practice-based, interactive learning program. Research shows MBSR to be an effective complement to a wide variety of medical and psychological conditions. These include…
Brief Mindfulness-Based Interventions Can Improve Health Related Outcomes
6/26/2019
Researchers from the UK reviewed 85 randomized controlled trials of brief mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) and found that 79 of them positively impacted at least one health related outcome. Most of…
Dorrie Fontaine, Dean of the School of Nursing, to Retire on July 31
6/26/2019
Dorrie Fontaine, who has been Dean of the School of Nursing since 2008, is retiring on July 31. She has been a strong proponent of mindfulness, compassion and promoting healthy…
6/26/2019
Summer is the time many of us take vacations, often with our extended families or friends. While these events can be very enjoyable and rewarding, they can also be challenging- and they often provide great opportunities to practice mindfulness. When things don’t go the way we had hoped they would, or someone pushes our buttons, it’s easy to get caught up in wishing things were different than they are. Before we know it, we can be caught up in judging other people or our situation, and wanting other people to act differently or the circumstances to be more to our liking.
Local Meditation Retreat Opportunity
5/30/2019
This four day retreat is being held from October 10-13 at Serenity Ridge in Nelson County. Participants will engage with a variety of mindfulness practices (sitting, walking, mindful movement, inquiry, chanting, mindful speaking and listening) to reveal the stillness that is already present.
