Mindful walking

Mindfulness-based stress reduction
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) arms people with the tools to help them relax, handle stress and cope with pain, according to Jim Bean, clinic director of the MBSR program at St. Joseph's Health Centre in Toronto.

Using a variety of techniques, including gentle yoga, mindfulness meditation and breathing exercises, MBSR can also lighten the impact that a chronic condition, such as arthritis, heart disease or diabetes, can have on your life. You learn to work around the illness instead of letting the stress it causes overwhelm you, explains Dr. Susan Abbey, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto.

With mindfulness meditation you learn to live at peace with what ails you. MBSR teaches you to overcome the focus you put on your chronic condition and the resentment you have for it. Pain on its own, without the resentment of it and constant focus on how much it bothers you, is much easier to deal with day to day, says Abbey.

Decrease the need for medication
Bean even suggests that since the condition is no longer magnified by mental anguish, the need for medication and other treatments can sometimes be lowered with MBSR training. "People will have a lot more freedom in their lives because their sole focus is no longer the pain," he says.

The nine-week MBSR program at St. Joseph's Health Centre is $150 plus the cost of course materials, including two audiotapes and a workbook. To locate a program in your area, visit www.umassmed.edu/cfm and click on Other MBSR Programs.

For more information on the program at St. Joseph's Health Centre, call (416) 530-6620.