The Value of Meditation
Posted 4/11/2012
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Full disclosure: I am a zealot. In the proud tradition of recent converts to practically anything, I am a committed believer in meditation. My husband and I took a course in January, and, rather to our surprise, found it immediately helpful. Somehow we are each finding the time to meditate for 20 minutes twice a day and have been delighted by genuine differences in our general states of well-being.
The first piece of evidence for me was the return from a business trip to Dallas. As we were lined up to board the plane, they announced an indefinite delay. Rather than becoming frustrated or angry, I internally shrugged and sat back down with a book. Meditation turned out, as promised by our teacher, to be incredibly helpful during our recent trip to Asia. Although I certainly was tired and had some trouble adjusting my sleep patterns, I did not experience the kind of disabling jet lag that I well remember from other, similar trips.
Now there is this wonderful study that suggests that mindfulness meditation has proven value for breast cancer survivors. Here is a summary and then a link. Consider it.
Mindfulness' Stress Reduction Helps Breast Cancer Survivors: Improves mood, breast- and endocrine-related quality of life, and well-being
TUESDAY, March 20 (HealthDay News) -- A mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program provides significant and lasting improvements in mood, breast- and endocrine-related quality of life, and well-being, according to research published online March 19 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
In an effort to compare the effects of an eight-week MBSR program with standard care on mood, breast- and endocrine-specific quality of life, and well-being, Caroline J. Hoffman, Ph.D., of The Haven in London, and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial involving 229 women with stage 0 to III breast cancer who had undergone surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy treatments.
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