Monthly Archives: October 2015
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Posted: October 30, 2015
Read more »Lori Alviso Alvord MD, the first Navajo woman to be board certified in surgery, according to a recent article in the East Valley Tribune, is Chief of Surgery at Banner Health Page Hospital in Page, Arizona, and associate faculty at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.
She speaks about the importance of ceremony, which she frames as an elaborate form of mind-body medicine, that works at many levels and coheres mind, body and spirit. She says that ceremony mainly heals the mind, which then helps to heal the body. Critical elements in ceremony are chanting, prayer, song, dance and guided imagery.
And also critical element in her thinking and culture is that ceremony doesn't just heal individuals, but also heals the community and the planet, because it emphasizes interconnectivity of all things, and we can't heal in a vacuum.
Hats off to Dr. Alviso Alvord! You can learn more about her in the East Valley Tribune.
p.s. If you liked this post, you might enjoy getting our weekly e-news with other articles just like it. If so, sign up here!
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Posted: October 29, 2015
Read more »Researchers from Harvard and McGill Universities performed a systematic review of studies investigating the impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on stress and anxiety in healthy, nonclinical adults.
A total of 29 studies (n=2668) were included. Effect-size estimates suggested that MBSR is moderately effective in pre-post analyses (n=26; Hedge's g=.55; 95% CI [.44, .66], p<.00001) and in between-group analyses (n=18; Hedge's g=.53; 95% CI [.41, .64], p<.00001).
Outcomes were maintained at an average of 19 weeks of follow-up and the results suggest large effects on stress, moderate effects on anxiety, depression, distress, and quality of life, and small effects on burnout.
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Posted: October 28, 2015Categories: News
Read more »Are you a lark, who prefers an early-morning schedule; an owl who likes to stay up late and sleep in or a hummingbird, who can more easily adapt to either situation?
"One in ten of us is an up-at-dawn, raring-to-go early bird, or lark. About two in ten are owls, who enjoy staying up long past midnight. The rest of us, those in the middle, whom we call hummingbirds, may be ready for action both early and late. Some hummingbirds are more larkish, and others, more owlish," according to The Body Clock Guide to Better Health: How to Use Your Body's Natural Clock to Fight Illness and Achieve Maximum Health by Michael Smolensky and Lynne Lamberg.
To find out more about determining which bird you are, read an excerpt from the book: Are You a Lark, an Owl or a Hummingbird?
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Dear Belleruth,
Two questions: Do you use binaural beats in your background music?
And, aside from your sleeping aid recordings, can a person multi-task while listening to, say, the weight loss recordings and still gain benefit? Or, does the listening require total immersion while playing the recordings?
Thanks....
Penny
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Posted: October 26, 2015Categories: Update from Health Journeys
Read more »I was stunned and saddened to learn that the sweet-natured, kind-hearted and very brilliant health writer and cancer guide, Henry Dreher, died last week.
I so liked knowing he was out there in the world somewhere, even when I couldn't always find him. (I think sometimes he had to hide from all of us, because his oversized generosity and world class empathy would bury him under way too much work and care.)
He helped my husband, my brother and countless friends and clients, not to mention all the people who asked for help on this blog, to sort through all the confusing options of cancer treatment and care. I got scores of thank you's from so many of you for recommending him.
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Posted: October 23, 2015Categories: Inspiring Stories
Read more »This rivetingTed X Talk video is Leslie Morgan Steiner telling her story of how and why it took some time for her to leave her abuser.
It has a very happy ending.
Nearly 3 million people have watched it. I have no doubt it's educated a lot of people and saved many lives. Check it out. And pass it along to someone who needs to watch it.
p.s. If you liked this post, you might enjoy getting our weekly e-news with other articles just like it. If so, sign up here!
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Read more »In this pre-test/ post-test pilot study, researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's College in London, UK, compared the short term impact of a brief mindfulness training (n=19) to guided imagery relaxation (n=18) with patients suffering from acute depression.
Participants were introduced to either mindfulness or guided imagery/relaxation in a single session, and practiced daily over one week.
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Posted: October 21, 2015Categories: News
Read more »October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. To find out more, go to How the American Cancer Society Fights Breast Cancer.
To learn more about prevention of breast cancer, read Andrew Weil's Six Ways to Minimize Your Risk of Breast Cancer.
Here at Health Journeys, we often hear from cancer patients who ask for assistance in choosing the resources that would work best for their situations. We also hear from people who tell us how guided imagery helped them through their surgery or assisted them during treatment and are seeking resources for other issues, such as self-confidence, weight loss or sports performance.
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Posted: October 20, 2015
Read more »Dear Br,
I volunteer at a battered women's shelter. I have been doing this work for nearly 4 years, ever since my daughter escaped a violent marriage and found refuge here.
Last month, a board member donated 3 of your Domestic Violence Recovery Packs to the house. What would you suggest is the most effective way to use them with the women here?
Thanks in advance.
Rosemary P.
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Posted: October 19, 2015Categories: Update from Health Journeys
Read more »As I mentioned last week, the most dangerous time for the abused partner is once she (or he) actually hits the road. That's when the offender has nothing to lose. Over 70% of the murders that happen in these relationships, happen then.
That's why it's imperative that this exit be carefully planned, highly tactical and very secret. So that's the general thrust here: be sneaky, crafty and wily – your life may depend on it.
So, this list may look totally paranoid to you – but it's not paranoia when your partner thinks they own you and feels that they have the right to retrieve you.... or worse, destroy you for committing the outrageous act of leaving them.
