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October 2010
Greetings!

Crisp days and cool nights are becoming more frequent.  Each season brings an opportunity for mindfulness: the vibrant red and orange of the maple trees, the bright yellow of the aspens and birch, the earthy smell of fallen leaves, and the call of the migrating geese above.  Last week I found myself stopping, and simply watching as the V-formation flew high above me -- each goose flying on its own but calling out and assuring the others in formation that "I am here, I am here...You are not alone".  A powerful message from the wild geese.  

 

Wild Geese

by Mary Oliver

 

You do not have to be good. Wild Geese
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
call to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

 
Wishing you a mindful month,
Pam
In This Issue
Meditation Maintenance
Flexible MBSR: Individual Training Option
Jazz2Cure Night Benefit
Mindfulness for Moms: An Introduction
Sending a Care Package to a College Student?
Yoga Workshop for Moms and Family Concert
Harvard HealthBeat: The Gut-Brain Connection
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 Monthly Meditation Maintenance
Wed. Evenings & Fri. Afternoons 
 Fall leaves

Meditation Maintenance Sessions are a great way to give yourself a monthly self-care "tune-up" by joining with fellow meditators to discuss insights and challenges of your practice. You are welcome to attend each month or simply on an occasional basis. You will find a supportive and welcoming respite in the midst of your busyness. Note that evening sessions are now held on the 2nd WEDNESDAY of each month.
 
Fall 2010 Schedule

Evening sessions meet 7-9 PM
 
Wednesday, Oct 13 
Daytime sessions meet 12:30-2:30
 
Friday, Oct 8 
Nov 12
Dec 10 

Both evening and daytime sessions are held at Stress Resources' office (97 Lowell Rd, Concord, MA). Please pre-register for sessions as space is limited. Meditation Maintenance sessions are $15 per session. Register by e-mail or by phone (978-369-5243).  
Nov 10
Dec 8

Flexible MBSR: Individual Training

MBSR Individual TrainingHave you been wanting to explore Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Training (MBSR) but find the group structure or timing do not meet your needs?  You may be interested in the Flexible MBSR: Individual Training option that Stress Resources offers. 

Flexible MBSR:Individual Training covers the material offered in the group sessions and takes place over 8-12 weeks to allow for integration of learning.  Four individual sessions (one hour each) are scheduled at the participant's convenience with morning, afternoon and evening sessions available.  Additional training sessions may be added as needed.

For more information about Flexible MBSR: Individual Training, click here.
Jazz2Cure: A Night of Jazz
Jazz2Cure Night to benefit the HOPES program at the Massachusetts General Hospital. The HOPES program provides music and art therapy to both children and adJazz2Cureults living with cancer, supporting their body, mind and spirit. Come out for a great night of music, coffee and dessert while supporting a wonderful cause. 

The event will take place at the First Parish Church in Framingham, MA, located at 24 Vernon Street, on Saturday, October 30 at 7:30 PM

Click here for more info about Jazz2Cure Night
NEW 5 Week Program: Mindfulness for Moms: An Introduction
Mindfulness for Moms

Offered for the first time this October/November, with my colleague, Patricia Marquis, LICSW, a program for mothers of elementary school-aged children entitled:  
Mindfulness for Moms: An Introduction 

The program, Mindfulness for Moms: An Introduction, is an interactive 5-week course, meeting on Wednesday mornings. Focus will be on enhancing resiliency for moms during the busy elementary school years.
  • Learn to be more responsive and less reactive in your parenting
  • Increase awareness of the present moment
  • Become less judgmental and kinder to self
Click here for more information
 Looking for a Great Care Package Idea for a College Student?
College StudentI have heard from several parents and grandparents that they have ordered copies of Opening the Door to Meditation for the college students in their lives and included them in care packages from home. 

Mid-term exams are coming up soon. What a great idea to tuck a copy of Opening the Door to Meditation into a care package from home. Not as tasty as chocolate chip cookies, but more effective in reducing mid-term stress! The CD can be played on a laptop computer or easily loaded on an MP3 player. 
Opening the Door to Meditation incorporates both spoken meditation andCD cover music to draw you effectively into relaxation and meditation.  Studies have shown a positive effect on attention and focused tasks by individuals who incorporate mindfulness meditation into their daily routines.   

How can you order Opening the Door to Meditation?
  • Stress Resources' secure online shopping cart by clicking here
  • Downloadable mail-in order form by clicking here 
  • Amazon.com and entering "opening the door to meditation" in the search box
Do you already have a copy of Opening the Door to Meditation?  First, thank you for purchasing a copy and secondly, we would love to hear your comments!  You can post them directly on the Stress Resources Facebook Page Find us on Facebook or to the Amazon.com review area. 
Yoga Workshop for Moms and Family Concert with Bari Koral

New York City based yoga teacher and children's musician, Bari Barai KoralKoral, will be leading a one-day yoga and meditation workshop for moms at On the Mat Yoga in Concord MA on Sunday, Oct. 17 from 1:00-3:30 PM. 

 

Bari will also be performing a family concert on Saturday, Oct 16 from 4:00-5:00 PM to benefit the Northborough Mom and Tots Holiday Fundraiser at the First Parish Church in Northborough MA. 

 

Click here for more info about either event 

The Gut-Brain Connection

MeditationThe article below, The Gut-Brain Connection, appeared in a recent Harvard Medical School HealthBeat publication.  We often do not realize how the direct and strong the connection is between the brain and the gastrointestinal system.  Studies have suggested that stress management, especially meditation techniques such as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, may play a significant role in effectively treating gastrointestinal conditions. 

To order a copy of the Harvard Health Publication, The Sensitive Gut, click here.

The Gut-Brain Connection (from Harvard Health Publications)

"Have you ever had a "gut-wrenching" experience? Do certain situations make you "feel nauseous"? Have you ever felt "butterflies" in your stomach? We use these expressions for a reason. The gastrointestinal tract is sensitive to emotion. Anger, anxiety, sadness, elation-all of these feelings (and others) can trigger symptoms in the gut.

The brain has a direct effect on the stomach. For example, the very thought of eating can release the stomach's juices before food gets

there. This connection goes both ways. A troubled intestine can send signals to the brain, just as a troubled brain can send signals to the gut. Therefore, a patient's distressed gut can be as much the cause as the product of anxiety, stress, or depression. That's because the brain and the gastrointestinal (GI) system are intimately connected - so intimately that they should be viewed as one system, rather than two.

This is especially true in cases where a person experiences gastrointestinal upset with no obvious physical cause. For such functional GI disorders, trying to heal a distressed gut without considering the impact of stress and emotion is like trying to improve an employee's poor job performance without considering his manager and work environment.

Stress and the functional GI disorders

Given how closely the gut and brain interact, it becomes easier to understand why you might feel nauseated before giving a presentation, or feel intestinal pain during times of stress. That doesn't mean, however, that functional gastrointestinal illnesses are imagined or "all in your head." Psychology combines with physical factors to cause pain and other bowel symptoms. Psychosocial factors influence the actual physiology of the gut, as well as the modulation of symptoms. In other words, stress (or depression or other psychological factors) can affect movement and contractions of the GI tract, cause inflammation, or make you more susceptible to infection.

In addition, research suggests that some people with functional GI disorders perceive pain more acutely than other people do because their brains do not properly regulate pain signals from the GI tract. Stress can make the existing pain seem even worse.

These observations suggest that at least some patients with functional GI conditions might find relief with therapy to reduce stress or treat anxiety or depression. And sure enough, a review of 13 studies showed that patients who tried psychologically based approaches had greater improvement in their symptoms compared with patients who received conventional medical treatment.

Is stress causing your symptoms?

When evaluating whether your gastrointestinal symptoms - such as heartburn, abdominal cramps, or loose stools - are related to stress, watch for these other common symptoms of stress and report them to your clinician as well.

Physical symptoms

  • Stiff or tense muscles, especially in the neck and shoulders
  • Sleep problemsShakiness or tremors
  • Recent loss of interest in sex
  • Weight loss or gain
  • Restlessness

Behavioral symptoms

  • Procrastination
  • Grinding teeth
  • Difficulty completing work assignments
  • Changes in the amount of alcohol or food you consume
  • Taking up smoking, or smoking more than usual
  • Increased desire to be with or withdraw from others
  • Rumination (frequent talking or brooding about stressful situations)

Emotional symptoms

  • Crying
  • Overwhelming sense of tension or pressure
  • Trouble relaxing
  • Nervousness
  • Quick temper
  • Depression
  • Poor concentration
  • Trouble remembering things
  • Loss of sense of humor"