Education / Orientation Session is held monthly as part of the consultation process and sets the stage for all further training programs. The program consists of a 3 hour, group psychoeducation session to introduce you, through both didactic and experiential approaches, to the concepts and practices of MindBody-Lifestyle Medicine and get you started on a potentially different path than you are currently on or if you are already practicing self-regulation to help you deepen your practice. Talk with your Doctor &/or Call 452-7116 to register for this session or arrange an appointment. Follow this link to view the Orientation Presentation (under development).
Introduction to core MBM self-care practices is offered monthly on Tuesday evenings in 2 , two hour long, sessions. Like every building, the “house of well-being” we wish to build for ourselves requires a solid foundation. Along with physical exercise and healthy nutrition, relaxed breathing, focused attention practice and relaxation practice are foundational to our capacity for self-regulation. Based in the biopsychosocial medical model, the program invites patients to learn these specific practices that make use of the mind-body-spirit and body-mind-spirit connections. Training modalities you will learn, include various combinations of: breathing exercises, relaxation exercises, guided imagery and visualization, meditation, cognitive-behavior therapy, self-inquiry and reflection, conversation and listening all of which can be integrated into every day life activities. Talk with your Doctor &/or Call 452-7116 to register for these sessions and arrange an appointment.
Mindfulness and Conscious Living, BodyMind Awareness Training is a self-care, self-management oriented program for people dealing with chronic health conditions and for those wishing to learn more about caring for themselves even when well. This program helps you learn, understand and experience new ways to cope and suffer less in the face of whatever life brings. This program is meant for people who wish to take charge of their life and health and to do something specific about it for themselves. This is hard work but with intention, discipline and lots of patience, positivity, and perseverance with the practice (The 4 Ps) and a willingness to explore new possibilities you can do it! The program consists of 8 group sessions of 3 hours each with a primary focus on self-exploration and self-regulation through mindfulness and CBT training to provide you the means to modify your suffering, cope more effectively and bring a sense of joy and wholeness to your life regardless of your circumstances. Awareness training modalities include various combinations of body awareness & physical movement, mindfulness meditation, conversation and listening, self-inquiry and reflection, lifestyle considerations and cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT). During the physical movement component of the program you are invited to pay attention to your body, proceed slowly with awareness, and make modifications as necessary. Training Cycles every Fall, Winter & Spring. Talk with your Doctor &/or Call 452-7116 to arrange an appointment and /or to register. Please view the MCL Registration Memo here.
Since each person is unique, the practices you choose to use for yourself, by the completion of the program, may vary somewhat depending upon your needs, receptiveness and depth of exploration. Like an athlete in training, daily practice is critical and the outcome of the training depends to a large extent upon how you participate, self-reflect, and integrate the practices into your life. Ultimately, this is a life long endeavour.
Confidentiality, as in any medical practice, is strictly respected and all participants in the group are reminded of this value. Various assessment tools may be used to help define your needs and outcomes, please be patient with these. The data from these may also, on occasion, be used to assess the program itself, in which case all identifiers will be removed so your data will be anonymous, unless otherwise agreed upon.
Mindfulness and Conscious Living, A Program for Persons living with cancer and their Families is a self-care oriented mindfulness-based program to help those dealing with cancer directly or indirectly to live well and suffer less in the face of the experience. The diagnosis of cancer is a double edged sword. At once it is a shock that turns the world and your life upside down and the light at the end of the tunnel is lost or seen as an oncoming train. One sharp edge of the sword of fear and resistance, the experience of suffering. However, quite paradoxically, built into this new experience is the opportunity to learn something that many people don’t even take time to consider. That is, to “to see into the life of things” (William Wordsworth), especially our own life and nature, and get to really know yourself and how you might live well and suffer less in the face of whatever it is that life brings you. That is, the other sharp edge of the sword, the processes of self-exploration and self-regulation that can free us from the stress, fear and suffering.
This program is designed to help you look and see deeply into the nature of things, the experiences you are having and how you might use the sharp edge of mindful self-reflection to blunt the edge of suffering and open to the world of healing.
This program is offered with the support and participation of the Oncology Service and is adapted from Dr. Cook’s Mindfulness and Conscious Living Program and Healing and Cancer Program of Dr. R Rutledge and T. Walker www.healingandcancer.org/healing-program.
Follow this link to view the Introductory Presentation (underdevelopment)
Self-care Maintenance Program (SCMP) is offered to patients who have participated in and completed Dr. Cook’s Mindfulness and Conscious Living Program or Dr. S. McIntosh’s Mindfulness Program to help maintain ongoing practice, to integrate it into your way of living and to deepen your practice experience. Sessions take place the second (2nd) and fourth (4th) Monday’s of every month from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. with Dr. Cook.