RealePink is a place for women with breast cancer and those at risk for the disease
to share their thoughts and experiences, especially those related to the mind body self-care practices

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

4 Steps to Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a state of focused attention to cultivate moment-to-moment nonjudgmental awareness, being present to the present. Simply observing the moment in which you find yourself mentally, emotionally, and physically. Not judging, reflecting, or thinking.

A practice of mindfulness offers inner stillness that can be relaxing and healing. It enables you to be fully awake to life. Relationships can become richer, connections more powerful. It may quiet the mind and reduce physical distress. Mindfulness may decrease anxiety and depression, and increase self-awareness and self-acceptance. It enhances gratitude and appreciation of self and others, and helps you respond rather than react to situations. It may increase concentration and focused thought, and mindfulness encourages acceptance of things that you cannot change and creates balance in life.

4 STEPS TO MINDFUL AWARENESS

1. Stop   -  Call a time out for yourself
2. Breathe  -  Take a few slow, cleansing breaths. Relax any tension in your body
3. Reflect  -  Relax your mind and diffuse racing thoughts.  Let go of negative thoughts. Try to view the situation with compassionate awareness.
4. Choose  -  Choose to respond after calm consideration. Decide mindfully how to best to deal with the source of the stress.

While there is much interest in positive thinking and the desire for happiness, some studies suggest that reducing or avoiding pessimism may be more important than increasing optimism. In short, being neutral is better than negative. Practicing mindful compassionate awareness can foster peaceful co-existence with yourself and others.

Looking for more information on a mindful approach to daily living? Download the Harvard Health Publications "Your Portable Guide to Stress Relief".

Marnie Blount-Gowan, Editor

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The Fruit of Generosity is a Sense of Connection

Practicing generosity not only makes you feel good but also connects you with the essence of who you really are.  Generosity is a core virtue in major spiritual and religious traditions.
There is a continual push-pull between our natural generosity, our genuine desire to share and the ego's feeling of lack and its desire to drive a bargain. That's why practicing generosity can be such a boundary-expanding thing to do. Every time we make a genuine offering or even think a generous thought, especially when we can do it for its own sake without thought of reward, it opens us to the loving, abundant, good-natured core of ourselves.
True generosity arises from a sense of rightness strong enough to take you past your ego's comfort zone. Pure generosity is balanced, free from compulsion, and appropriate. It neither bankrupts you nor weakens the recipient. Pure generosity contains no regret.
The practice of generosity confronts us on several levels. It tests our trust in abundance. It tests our ability to empathize with others. And it calls us on our sense of separation. The more "different" we feel from other people, the harder it will be to give freely. The more we recognize that we are one and that other people's happiness is as important as ours, the more easily we can offer what we have.
At the same time, acting generously strengthens our feeling of connectedness to the rest of the world. That is the true fruit of practicing generosity. 
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”  - John Wesley
                                                                                                                                                                 

Friday, September 16, 2011

The Healing Touch of Hugs and Hand Holding

From lowering blood pressure and heart rate to increasing immune functin and relieving pain, getting touched or doing some touching makes you healthier, not to mention happier and less anxious.

The act of embracing floods our bodies with oxytocin, a "bonding hormone" that makes people feel secure and trusting toward each other, lowers cortisol levels, and reduces stress. Women who get more hugs from their partners have higher levels of oxytocin and lower blood pressure and heart rates, according to research done at the University of North Carolina.
But a hug from anyone you are close to works, too. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin at Madison tested that when they analyzed stress levels among volunteers giving a presentation. Afterward, participants who got hugs from their moms saw decreases in cortisol levels an hour after the presentation. 

Twining your fingers together with your one-and-only is enormously calming. James Coan, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, discovered this when he administered functional MRIs to 16 married women while telling them they might experience a mild shock. The resulting anxiety caused the images of their brain activity to light up like Christmas trees. But when the women held hands with one of the experimenters, that stress response subsided -- and when they held hands with their husbands, it really quieted down. "There was a qualitative shift in the number of regions in the brain that just weren't reacting anymore to the threat cue," Coan says.

Even more intriguing: When you are in a happy relationship, clasping hands reduces stress-related activity in a brain area called the hypothalamus -- which lowers the levels of cortisol coursing through your system -- as well as in the part of the brain that registers pain, which actually helps keep you from feeling it as much.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Mindfulness Meditation and the Brain

A new study on mindfulness meditation shows that an 8-week program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy, and stress. The study team, led by Harvard-affiliated researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), documents meditation-produced changes over time in the brain’s gray matter.

“Although the practice of meditation is associated with a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation, practitioners have long claimed that meditation also provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day,” says study senior author Sara Lazar of the MGH Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program and a Harvard Medical School instructor in psychology. “This study demonstrates that changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing.”

In addition to weekly meetings that included practice of mindfulness meditation — which focuses on nonjudgmental awareness of sensations, feelings, and state of mind — participants received audio recordings for guided meditation practice and were asked to keep track of how much time they practiced each day. A set of MR brain images was also taken of a control group of nonmeditators over a similar time interval.

Meditation group participants reported spending an average of 27 minutes each day practicing mindfulness exercises, and their responses to a mindfulness questionnaire indicated significant improvements compared with pre-participation responses. The analysis of MR images found increased gray-matter density in the hippocampus, known to be important for learning and memory, and in structures associated with self-awareness, compassion, and introspection. Participant-reported reductions in stress also were correlated with decreased gray-matter density in the amygdala, which is known to play an important role in anxiety and stress. None of these changes were seen in the control group.

“It is fascinating to see the brain’s plasticity and that, by practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of life,” says Britta Hölzel, first author of the paper and a research fellow at MGH and Giessen University in Germany.  
RealeWell Mindfulness meditations are available here. Each is about 10 minutes long. Try two a day or more and develop a routine that benefits mind/body wellness.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Exercise Prescribed to Help Relieve Depression


When Dr. Madhukar Trivdei, professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, noticed that several of his patient who suffered from serious depression reported that they felt better after a walk, he started to consider exercise as an additional therapy. These patients were taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors but were not responding fully. Dr. Trivedi and his colleagues wondered if prescribing a formal “dose” of exercise who aid their recovery. Instead of adding anther drugs to their regime, they focused on adding exercise.

Along with collaborators at Cooper Institute in Dallas, the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiano and other institutions, Dr. Trivedi recruited 126 people with depresseion who had used S.S.R.I’s for at least 2 months without a remission of depression. None of the patients in the study exercised. This group was then divided into two groups, one began a gentle aerobic exercise routine, the second group followed a more vigorous exercise program. After four months, 29.5 percent had achieved remission.

“I think that our results indicate that exercise is a very valid treatment option” for people whose depression hasn’t yielded to S.S.R.I.’s, he said. The study did not involve a control group and researchers feel more studies are needed. It is also expected that compliance with the prescribed “dose” of exercise will be a challenge.

Yet, Dr. Trivedi said that there is no reason for people with unyielding depression not to talk with their doctors about exercise as a treatment option. “Side effects are almost nonexistent,” he said, “while you get additional benefits, in terms of improvements in cardiovascular health and reductions in other disease risks.” Exercise is more cost efficient than pharmaceuticals and a natural wellness booster. (NY Times, Well)

Marnie Blount-Gowan, Editor

Monday, August 22, 2011

10 Ways Art Relieves Stress and Benefits Your Life

The act of creating art, crafts, and other things with your hands can be a great stress reliever. It keeps you in the moment and encourages sustained focus and heightened awareness on an object outside yourself.

One who creates has a chance to take a break from daily activities, turn away from current stressors and demands, and focus on making something new. Being engaged in this lifegiving process, you can develop clarity of thought and positive feelings about yourself and your place in the world. Artistic timeouts, both making and experiencing art, are good for individuals, families, and even groups.

The simple act of creating can…

1.     Free your mind to focus on something unique and nurturing
2.     Engage your senses in focused sight, sound, and touch
3.     Make you mindful of your own ability to create new things
4.     Foster contemplation, quiet reflection and immersion in the activity and object
5.     Develop your sense of self-worth, and give value and meaning to the day
6.     Reveal your thoughts and feelings to yourself and others
7.     Connect you with the world outside your mind and body
8.     Bring back a childlike wonder at colors, textures, shapes, etc.
9.     Be satisfying, meaningful, and fun!
10.   Encourage gratitude and hope

To create is to give life to something. It is a positive, life affirming action that gifts the creator and those who encounter the creation. While art therapy is a recognized form of health related intervention, creating art or crafts, on your own time, can have some of the same benefits. Creating or viewing art can also trigger a surge of the feel-good neurotransmitters.

Each of us is an integrated being. Everything we do with our minds affects our bodies and what we do with our bodies affects our minds. If you take out a pencil and draw what you feel on a sheet of paper, something will happen. If you take the family to the art museum and walk through the galleries, something will happen. Art benefits your body, mind, emotions, and interactions. The synergy is fascinating and fruitful.

When faced with difficult circumstances or simply the challenges of living, art therapy can allow people to create art in a safe setting that can be tailored to address particular issues and concerns. Art therapy is defined as the therapeutic use of art making, within a professional relationship, by people who experience illness, trauma, or challenges, and by people who seek personal development. Through creating art and reflecting on the art products and processes, one can increase awareness of self and others, cope with symptoms, stress, and traumatic experiences; enhance cognitive abilities; and enjoy the life-affirming pleasures of making art. 

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Spring Greens - Adding Nutrients to Your Diet

After a long winter of grey skies, white snow, and brown grass, we long for the fresh colors and tastes of spring!  Our ancestors tired of stored potatoes, onions, and apples over the winter and cooked many wild greens as soon as they appeared.  This added not only vital nutrients but also variety to their limited diet.  While modern grocery stores sell produce from around the world and we are not quite so restricted, the price, taste, and quality of these imported foods often leave something to be desired.

In Central New York where I live (and earlier in warmer climates), the month of May brings fresh asparagus, rhubarb, spinach, and broccoli to the market.  Now is the time when they will have the best value, taste and texture.  No need to resist their perky, colorful allure!  These vegetables are packed with nutrients and phytochemicals.  For example, asparagus is high in folic acid and potassium, rhubarb is a good source of calcium, spinach is sky-high in vitamin A and provides vitamin C, and broccoli is a great source of vitamin C and good source of vitamin A.

Most vegetables are best enjoyed with limited heat and water, such as steaming and microwaving. However asparagus keeps its texture better when quickly roasted over high heat in a dry pan.  Leftover vegetables (if there are any!) are great when tossed into a frittata, added to a cold salad, or stirred into soup.  Enjoy each fresh vegetable frequently while it is in season and, when the next crop comes in, you will be ready for a change!
Darlene Endy, MS, RD, CDN

Friday, April 1, 2011

Are You Mindfully Eating? How to Tell


When learning how to eat mindfully, often we begin by focusing on obvious behaviors such as not watching television or driving while eating.  The more subtle aspects come later when we have mastered these and are more in tune with our own bodies and our environment.  However, suggestions to “focus on your food” may seem too vague to be sure we are eating mindfully.  What is most helpful is a checklist to evaluate our own eating awareness.

The acronym A.F.T.E.R.  is a checklist developed by K. Katrina, N. King, and D. Hayes in their book, “Moving Away From Diets”.  Although the acronym suggests its use when you finish your meal, it is actually more useful during the meal.  Keep this checklist handy wherever you eat so that you can be sure to get the full enjoyment from your meal.  Achieving most of the characteristics of A.F.T.E.R. will help insure that you are satisfied with your meal emotionally, as well as physically.  But don’t worry if EVERY meal does not measure up.  Sometimes we eat just to meet our hunger need even if the food isn’t as appealing as we would prefer.

A stands for appearance of your food.  You are encouraged to notice the color, shape, and design of the foods.  Pay attention to how it is served—attractively on a plate?  With a garnish?  With a tablecloth or placemat? It isn’t hard to make your food look good enough to eat!
F is for flavor.  Notice if there is one dominant flavor or do they all meld together?  How does it smell?  Are there certain spices or herbs that you can identify?
T is for temperature and texture.  Is the food warm or cold enough?  If not, you should correct the temperature before you eat it.  What about the texture?  Can you think of four adjectives to describe it?  How about crunchy, smooth, tender, chewy?  Is there a nice balance or contrast in textures?
E is for the overall experience.  Was it pleasant?  If so, what made it so?  Was the background noise conducive to enjoying your food?  How about the lighting, company, etc.?  Make a note of what improved your experience and be sure to repeat it.
R is for results.  When the meal ends, do you feel satisfied?  What other feelings do you experience?  Relaxed?  Pleased? Nurtured?  Did the food sustain you until the next time you ate?

Use the A.F.T.E.R. acronym checklist for your next meal and see if it improves your enjoyment and ultimate satisfaction with the experience.  Learning to respond to our own needs is a journey that takes many steps but is worth it!
Darlene Endy, MS, RD, CDN

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Religion and Mental Health - Do they belong together?

Where does faith fit into therapy? A recent post on the NY Times blog Well, reports that a growing number of counselors and patients think it that religion belongs in therapy. According to Psychology Today, more patients look for conselors who can discuss their problems and goals from a religious frame of reference.

A Spiritual Director, or clergy of any religion, who is also trained in counseling would be best suited to incorporate a client’s religious beliefs into therapy. Yet how many people will actually seek out or find such a situation?
What is unfortunate is that our culture has separated religion and science is such a way that, even for those who desire it, any attempt at a hybrid approach is shunned as not being evidence based. However, the lack of interest and funding for research that seeks to bridge faith and health perpetuates this lack of evidence. While meditation has been shown to be effective in mitigating some psychological or physiological symptoms, only recently has contemplative prayer been of interest to a few researchers. 

Beliefs, including religious ones, can provide motivation for our actions. They can encourage us to pursue contemplative practices, positive social encounters and a healthy active lifestyle. If therapists and other healthcare providers are to consider the whole person, shouldn't they be better prepared to consider how one’s faith might be incorporated into the healing process?
With faith-filled intentions, all daily activities can become acts of prayer, praise, and connection to a divine power. Nourishing your body and exercise can be considered taking care of the gift of life. Reaching out to others to give or receive acts of kindness, compassion and social support can be considered acts of faithful service. Every thought and actions can become a prayer form by your intentions and desire. Self-care becomes an at of faith if that is your intention. Meditation, mindfulness, positive thinking, nutrition, exercise, and interactions with others and nature can resonant with your beliefs, by the transforming power of holy desire.
See Faith View for more information on relating faith and compassionate self-care.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Eat Right with Color - March is National Nutrition Month

Color your meals nutritous when you Eat Right with Color! March is National Nutrition Month and a great time to practice mindful eating, RealeWell style.
This month dietitions are encouraging you to add color and nutrients to meals, "Adding a splash of colorful seasonal foods to your plate makes for more than just a festive meal. A rainbow of foods creates a palette of nutrients, each with a different bundle of potential benefits for a healthful eating plan," says registered dietician, Karen Ansel (ADA).
Make your grocery list from the choices below and brighten up your plate in every season.
Green produce indicates antioxidant potential and may help promote healthy vision and reduce cancer risks.
  • Fruits: avocado, apples, grapes, honeydew, kiwi and lime
  • Vegetables: artichoke, asparagus, broccoli, green beans, green peppers and leafy greens such as spinach
Orange and deep yellow fruits and vegetables contain nutrients that promote healthy vision and immunity, and reduce the risk of some cancers.
  • Fruits: apricot, cantaloupe, grapefruit, mango, papaya, peach and pineapple
  • Vegetables: carrots, yellow pepper, yellow corn and sweet potatoes
Purple and Blue options may have antioxidant and anti-aging benefits and may help with memory, urinary tract health and reduced cancer risks.
  • Fruits: blackberries, blueberries, plums, raisins
  • Vegetables: eggplant, purple cabbage, purple-fleshed potato
Red indicates produce that may help maintain a healthy heart, vision, immunity and may reduce cancer risks.
  • Fruits: cherries, cranberries, pomegranate, red/pink grape fruit, red grapes and watermelon
  • Vegetables: beets, red onions, red peppers, red potatoes, rhubarb and tomatoes
WhiteTan and Brown foods sometimes contain nutrients that may promote heart health and reduce cancer risks.
  • Fruits: banana, brown pear, dates and white peaches
  • Vegetables: cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, parsnips, turnips, white-fleshed potato and white corn
Half Plate Rule
Fill half your plate with a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables. For additional options in the color palette, choose frozen or dried fruits and vegetables available throughout the year.

You can nurture your body and mind just by adjusting your attitude towards food and how you interact with it. Consider the what, when, where, and why of eating, plus emotional eating and nonjudgmental eating. Enjoy your meals, guilt free! Find out about 4 Simple Steps to start eating RealeWell. 
If you wish to explore how mindful eating can become a form of prayer, RealeWell also offers an optional faith perspective.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Upcoming Program and Events

If you know of an upcoming event related to breast cancer survivors or wellness that you would like to share with the community, please send information to realewell@gmail.com at least 2 weeks prior to the event. You can also use the RealePink Forum to post a notice about a program or event and encourage participates to post related comments before and after the program/event. The RealePink Forum is designed to provide an open forum for breast cancer survivors and their families and friends. 

Monday, February 14, 2011

Research Suggests…Love More, Feel Better

How relationships can affect your health is the subject of new research at Stanford University. A new study suggests that feelings of love can relieve pain. The notion of lovesick may turn out to be more like love-well. Research shows that even looking at a photo of a loved one can release dopamine and natural painkillers.          


Study researcher and senior author Dr. Sean Mackey, chief of the division of pain management at Stanford, said findings support the theory that pain patients who seek out pleasurable activities may find some relief.


“Find things to give you pleasure in life, whether it be through the one you love or going and listening to great music or reading a good book,” Dr. Mackey said. “It suggests that activating this intrinsic reward system ultimately can reduce your pain.”


This research should also help doctors with ways to help patients with care that doesn’t involve drugs or a procedure. “It’s caused me to change the education and how I talk with my patients and how they understand it,” Dr. Mackey said.  “When patients are doing markedly better and I find out they are in a new passionate relationship, I may be less likely to think it’s the new medication I put them on,” he said. “I realize that maybe it has nothing to do with me.”

A recent study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill suggests that hugging and hand-holding can also release feel-good chemical hormone oxytocin that reduces stress hormones, lowers blood pressure, improves mood, and increases pain tolerance.

According to Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Associate Professor of Psychology at Brigham Young University, "Our relationships help us cope with stress so if we have someone we can turn to for emotional support or advice that can buffer the negative effects of stress." She also suggests that romantic relationships can provide a sense of meaning and purpose in life that can encourage self-care and less risk taking.

Whether or not you are in a romantic relationship, strong connections with friends, neighbors or coworkers can improve your resilience and benefit your health. This Valentine's Day, celebrate your connections. Give a  little love and receive a whole lot more.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Stressed Out? Go "Offline"

Feeling stressed? Burned out? Do you have trouble thinking clearly, remembering things, dealing calmly with stressful situations? Maybe you need to take a personal timeout. According to Esther Sterberg, M.D at the National Institute of Mental Health, "If you feel stressed all the time, you need to take yourself 'offline'."

Can you consider taking a short vacation, a day off, or even a few minutes to nurture yourself? Maybe you can do it right now. Read this then shut down your computer. Turn off all tech gadgets that divert your attention and focus on something that you love to do, brings you joy, focuses your attention outside yourself and your current situations, or moves your body. For example, a walking meditation can offer relaxing/energy building relief for mind and body. Remember that while a personal timeout may seem to be just for yourself, it will also benefit your family and friends, maybe even people beyond your immediate circle. Because whatever is healthy for you can also be healthy for your relationships. If you feel you're on a treadmill, get off! Whether for a week or a few minutes. Anything can help and heal.
Dr. Sterberg says, "We reboot our computers when they are overworked, but we don't seem to do it with our bodies.If you're exhausted from constantly working on deadline or caregiving, take a vacation—they're not luxuries, they're physical necessities. Find a place of peace where you can stop, look, and listen." 
If you can't get physically away from your situation, try meditation to rest body and mind. "Evidence shows that meditation bolsters immune function by reducing stress hormones that dampen immune cells' ability to fight infection."
Exercise is also key to improved mood and developing the body's stress response. You can join a group program or take it slowly on your own but making movement a daily practice matters. Developing a routine of physical activity can boost resilience, strengthen your physical and mental health, and foster a more positive outlook and sense of self-control.  
"(Even) a few minutes are better than no minutes—you can gradually increase how much you exercise every day. You don't need to go jogging—walking has significant health benefits," states Dr. Sterberg.

Relaxation is also important to combating stress and encouraging a peaceful journey through life. There are many paths including yoga, meditation and prayer, music, reading, or art. "We need to find our place of peace and try to go there every day," she says.
The key phrase here is "every day". What can you do every day to move your body and find peace of mind? If you miss a day, react to it mindfully without judgement and just start again. Every moment of every day is an opportunity for renewed wellness, a stronger body and more peaceful mind.

You can take a mental vacation right now. Follow these simple steps for a meditation time-out:
3 MINUTE TIME OUT
You are invited to take a 3 minute timeout to give your mind and body a healthy break in the day, a taste of silence, and a chance to regroup before continuing your introduction to RealeWell.


1) Sit in a comfortable position.
2) Take a slow, deep, cleansing breath.
3) Let a wave of relaxation flow through your body, from your head, down your arms, and torso, and legs.
4) Rest in this moment and focus on your breath
5) Close your eyes, feet on the floor, hands in your lap.
6) With every breath you can calm your body and your mind.
7) If you have distracting thoughts, just let them pass by
and refocus on your breath.
8) Breathing in you calm your body.
9) Breathing out you rest and relax. This is a beautiful moment. 



Continue to focus on your breath for 3 minutes then read on.
“All things will be well and all manner of things will be well.” - Julian of Norwich