A mindfulness student recently experienced her body as beautiful during a body scan in class. You may already have a positive self-
Your compassionate human desire to take good care of others is critical to the well-
You and I have two primary modes of mental activity: the doing mode and the being mode. Although we are called human beings, we spend the majority of our time in the doing mode rather than the being mode. Your “doing” mode is highly prized in our culture for schooling, work and career. It demonstrates your mastery and command of detail, data, thinking, intellect and your goal-
Most people say the gift of sight is their most valuable sense perception – and almost everyone experiences decline in visual function with aging. B One of the most common symptoms of aging is the decline in accommodation, the process by which the eye changes (accommodates) focus to maintain a clear image of objects at different distances. This decline often begins before age 50 years. Accommodation acts like an automatic reflex, but it can also be consciously controlled.
The holiday season is filled with emotion for most people. While this emotion is often happy, positive and loving, for many people it can be very unhappy and even depressing. Holiday music can trigger emotional associations with the absence of a loved one or unhappy memories from the past. The gap between the smiling faces of holiday ads and one’s unhappy emotional experience can actually lead to a deepening of the emotional darkness that often accompanies this season of lights.
As you approach the new year, you may be making resolutions for positive health behavior changes. Birthdays and other anniversaries also prompt us to take stock and vow to adopt healthy lifestyle habits. Two of the most common promises we make to ourselves are to increase our physical activity level and our stress management skills. Research is now showing that combining mindfulness meditation and physical activity can dramatically improve physical and emotional health.
Anger can be a healthy emotional response or a serious health risk. Managing anger appropriately does not require that we deny it, repress it or get completely rid of it. Brief, mild-
The Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) is the world’s premier nutrition education resource. Harvard Medical School and the Department of Nutrition at HSPH developed the Healthy Eating Plate to provide the general public with up-
Both my parents experienced the sudden change in life’s priorities associated with the diagnosis of inoperable cancer. Suddenly, things that have occupied our mind, time and energy are reappraised in light of a stark reminder of life’s uncertainty and our mortality. Hope is kept alive by modern medicine’s remarkable results with conventional treatments and the fact that some individuals do much better than expected, even with serious and advanced cancer.
Yoga can be fun and healthy for you and your kids – physically, mentally and emotionally.What is yoga? The word “yoga” means to yoke, unite, connect or join together. Yoga helps connect the body, mind, heart and emotions. It can also help connect you to other people, animals, trees and all of nature. We tend to think of physical movements and body postures when we think of yoga. Yoga looks like exercise, but its intent is very different. Physical hatha yoga is traditionally performed as a means of .....
Where is your attention when you eat? Do you love the pleasure of eating so much that you overeat from sheer enjoyment rather than from physiologic hunger cues? Do you overeat as a self-
Being disconnected from or being self-
For many people, there is a relationship between stress and oral health. The presence of oral disease and dental disorders can cause stress from low self-
The three primary domains of your overall fitness are physical activity, healthy eating and emotional well-
Surely one of the best things about modern science is the discovery that chocolate can actually be good medicine! Chocolate As Preventive Medicine? Cocoa contains phytonutrients (plant chemicals) called flavanols that may help protect you against coronary heart disease (heart attacks). Compared to milk chocolate, dark chocolate contains two to three times the amount of these beneficial plant chemicals. A possible mechanism by which flavanols protect the heart may be enhancing.....
A cancer survivor is anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer, from the time of diagnosis through the rest of his or her life. Modern medical, radiation and surgical treatments have led to a growing population of cancer survivors, who now number over 12 million, or one in 25 Americans. Lifestyle choices such as health-
Is it necessary, or even safe, to take an antibiotic for your next illness? This question is becoming a routine part of conversations between consumers and health providers. The way we answer this question has serious implications. Consumers and health care providers are both being urged to help achieve the goals of good medicine and public health: making a correct diagnosis, using antibiotics only if the diagnosis war-
I will never forget my patient who developed Type 1, insulin-
What to Eat? The world’s leading nutrition researchers are sending a very clear public health message based on the best scientific evidence available: To promote health, prevent disease and extend life, half your food servings should come from fruits and vegetables. For more than 70 years, the Department of Nutrition of the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) has conducted rigorous scientific research on the relationship between food and health.
In addition to cold weather, winter sometimes brings sadness and depression. Some people experience depression only during the winter. Others with year-
The fast pace of modern life is taking its toll on our mental and physical health. Multiple surveys in the past year have documented an alarming increase in perceived stress, anxiety, depression and suicide. Our health – our very lives – depend on our ability to manage stress in healthy ways at home, at work, in traffic, in relationships – and simply inside our own skin. We need simple tools to bring some calm to the chaos – some peace to the frenzy – some kindness to the aggression and competition.
A recent American Psychiatric Association poll found anxiety in Americans has increased sharply over the past year, up five points since 2017. Also in the past year, a Blue Cross Blue Shield report found major depression has risen by 33 percent since 2013. This rate is rising even faster among millennials (up 47 percent) and adolescents (up 47 percent for boys and 65 percent for girls).
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MINDFUL SELF-COMPASSION
Your compassionate human desire to take good care of others is critical to the well-
However, it is sadly true that we often take better care of others than we do of ourselves. It’s as if we need a new Golden Rule: Do unto yourself as you do unto others. We would never say or do to someone else some of the things we say and do to ourselves. Some of our actions toward ourselves are hurtful, negative, critical, judgmental, demeaning and harmful, even to the point of injury, self-
Here are three practices to consider as part of your compassionate self-
Heart Awareness
Your heart is much more than a muscle and a pump. We all feel emotions in the center of the chest, an energy center that Eastern philosophies refer to as the mind or soul as well as the heart. Recall your own experience of loss and grief, love and romance, fear and anxiety. You may recall that much of that experience involved the energy center in the middle of the chest.
In his poem Two kinds of intelligence, the Sufi poet Rumi (1207-
Although you can be aware of your heart anywhere, anytime, it is helpful to begin an intentional, dedicated heart-
physically, weaving awe and gratitude for the heart into your exercise routine. You may include a few minutes of heart awareness in your contemplative practice of prayer, yoga or meditation.
You can practice sitting, reclining or lying down. Adjust your body so you are as comfortable as the position permits. Without any expectation of results or particular experience, simply let your attention rest in the heart center. You may find it helpful to feel physically the sensation of the breath moving into and out of the lungs, oxygenating the blood and flowing into and out of every cell in the body.
Some people easily feel their heart beating in their chest and all over the body. Those who find this initially challenging can access this interior sense by first feeling the pulse at the wrist or neck or abdomen. However, it is not necessary to feel the pulse in the body in order to practice mindful, heart-
Mindful Self-
Intentionally connecting with your body is a powerful antidote to stress. Bringing an attitude of openness, inquiry, discovery, kindness and compassion to your mind, body and heart can help you live mindfully at home, at work, alone and with others. The first foundation of mindfulness is mindfulness of the body. While rubbing or gently pressing with the fingertips, bring an attitude of kindness and friendliness to the act of touching your body as you move either from head to feet or from feet to head. Feel your body touching your body. Feel your body being touched by your body. Let thoughts come (without following them and thinking them) and let them go (without rejecting them or pushing them away), simply returning your attention to the physical sensations in the body and the very clear intention to be kind and friendly toward your self.
Loving Kindness
The compassion practice of loving kindness can be a particularly warm and soothing antidote to the stress of life, isolation and unhappiness. My mindfulness classes always end with a brief loving-
Begin by sitting or lying down with eyes open or partially closed, then repeat these phrases once or twice silently to yourself.
May I be safe.
May I be happy.
May I be well.
May I be peacefully at ease.
After performing any of the three practices above, you may find it helpful to journal about your experience. The mindful self-
Resources:
I have recorded two versions of Loving Kindness practice at the Mind Body Studio Web site. They can be listened to or downloaded at www.mindbodystudio.org/?page_id=1594
DR. JOHN PATTERSON
Dr. John Patterson is past president of the Kentucky Academy of Family Physicians and is board certified in family medicine and integrative holistic medicine. He is on the family practice faculty at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and the University of Louisville School of Medicine, Saybrook University’s School of Mind Body Medicine (San Francisco) and the Center for Mind Body Medicine (Washington, D.C.). He operates the Mind Body Studio in Lexington, where he offers integrative medicine consultations
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