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Navigating grief and trauma with practical tools and resources
Meditation
Why consider meditation?
Participating in some form of meditation practice to calm a stressed and ruminating mind promotes overall health and well-being. And since meditation practices are so varied, anyone can reap the benefits. Meditation can be done alone or in a group setting, and practice can be self-led or teacher guided. There are hundreds of types of meditations to choose from, including practices that focus on mindfulness, compassion, healing grief, healing trauma, and restful sleep as well as traditional teachings from Hindu, Chinese, Buddhist, and Christian cultures.
How does meditation promote healing?
By relieving emotional and physical stress
By improving brain functioning
By reducing pain and anxiety
By strengthening the immune system
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
The MBSR program is an 8 week program offered in more than 200 medical centers around the world. MBSR was developed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn and combines mindfulness (moment-to-moment living), education, meditation, yoga, and mindful breathing techniques in order to alleviate symptoms of stress such as headaches, anxiety, physical pain, high blood pressure, and insomnia. See also Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Kinetic Sand
Kinetic sand is made of 98% sand and 2% polydimethylsiloxane. It looks and feels like wet sand. It sticks to itself, can be molded, and it does not dry out. Playing with kinetic sand can be used as a meditative form of relaxation. It helps to slow breathing, decrease stress, and rest the mind.
Resources
Audio
- A Meditation to Ease Grief by Belleruth Naparstek
- Guided Meditations for Difficult Times: A Lamp in the Darkness by Jack Kornfield
- Mindfulness Meditations for Teens by Bodhipaksa
- The Grief Process: Meditations for Healing by Stephen and Ondrea Levine
People
- Dr. Dan Siegel – Discover the mindsight approach and the latest science as it emerges in the exciting field of interpersonal neurobiology.
- Karen Sothers – Karen teaches Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Stress Resiliency classes at Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine with a down-to-earth teaching style that makes relaxation accessible to anyone. Karen’s popular Sacred Pause and Invitation to Relax CDs are widely used by corporations and hospitals, as well as grateful individuals who are now able to live with greater ease, balance and inner peace.
- Deepak Chopra – From life-changing live events and online courses, to eye-opening teacher trainings and unique products, The Chopra Center brings the timeless wisdom of meditation, yoga, and Ayurveda into the modern world. Discover self-awareness and why it is the key to closing the gap between who you are and who you want to be.
Organizations
- Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at University of Massachusetts – History of and classes for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
Testimonials
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