has anyone tried mindfulness-based stress reduction?

Meditation, grounding, and self-exploration can be a powerful tool in understanding the root cause of your stress.

Resolution must not involve control of mind. This is impossible. Must update the memory patterns locked in the neurology of the brain that is giving rise to these symptoms. Symptoms are an effect of the body adopting to survive a past experience that is now unnecessary for present need. See Morter.com or Neurolinkglobal.com. Find a qualified practitioner in your area in either or both systems and you should be able to resolve this issue along with many health related issues. Good luck. Dennis Pick, DC. Westlake Village, CA

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Hello, I think the MBSR program can be very helpful, but it may not be for everyone. I've been through the program as a participant, and I'm considering being certified as an instructor.

Some questions to ask yourself. Are you ready for the commitment? You'll be asked to engage in at least 45 minutes of home practice per day. If you don't believe you can realistically do this, then I would consider that now is not the right time. Personally, I was at a point in my meditation practice where I needed this level of structure commitment.

How do you feel about a group setting? It can be wonderful to hear about the experience of others while sharing what you are experiencing. Do you have to share to get the most out of it? Maybe not. It's also worth being realistic about the personal gains you can make in a group setting.

What's your level of interest and openness to mindfulness and meditation? This can be a radical shift for the uninitiated, especially with the home practice commitment. If you haven't had some prior exposure to mindfulness meditation, I would recommend finding a one-off meditation class you can drop in on. Many MBSR practitioners will already have this type of offering.

Finally, I would consider MBSR as a great complement to other health and wellness activities, particularly coaching and counseling. Being able to balance the MBSR experience with other one-on-one treatment can add value to both.

All disease is (dis) (ease), lack of ease or stress. We manifest our stressful emotions into form. Ever seen a stress-o-meter? That's because doctors cannot measure emotions. Thoughts, feelings, beliefs are only measurable as "waves" scientifically and not distinctly was a disease process. The entire body is spirit manifesting emotions. Using your mind to control your body s really the only true control. Physical attempts to control the physical are all temporary. This is reason all physical treatments fail over time. Go for it! The reason meditation and prayer work is because the invisible energy control the energy we can see. Einstein told us that but we are still mostly in Newton's worldview.

I agree with all the previous advice. Just do it! There is also HeartMath training. You can HeartMath.org and learn how to do a quick coherence - I use it all the time - even when I am sitting in traffic - it is easy, quick and science has shown that it resets your nervous system and helps to reduce the cortisol being released into your body.

I won't add to the great comments you've received except to say DO IT!! I developed a mindfulness practice over 20 years ago. Saves my life every day.

I know for me mindfulness practice is an essential component in working with my clients on healing depression, anxiety, and trauma. I believe in it so much that I teach mindfulness meditation routinely to my clients struggling with these issues. The reason why I believe mindfulness is so vital in working with these issues is that a regular mindfulness meditation practice helps you to become profoundly aware of your own thought processes. It helps you to create that space between who you truly are (your inner observer) and the person you are showing up as in life. Once you are aware of this dynamic, how your thoughts create your feelings and your beliefs, it becomes easier to work with depression and trauma, because we start understanding just how much control we have over these things. There is so much more to say on that topic, but yes, I believe that the way out of depression, anxiety, and trauma is to go inward. The best way I know how to get there is through mindfulness meditation.

I guess it depends on what "mindfulness-based" means, but there are plenty of studies out there showing the profound effect of parasympathetic activities (the opposite of fight-or-flight) on health. These things are meditation, non-strenuous exercise, a walk, breathing exercises, yoga, sex :), etc. My sister in law practices energy work that helps with unresolved trauma and I have seen some pretty amazing things from that even though I'm not necessarily a "believer".

Everyone needs to incorporate regular parasympathetic breaks in their day because we are all running around in fight-or-flight mode all day long and this basically reduces the amount of time and "resources" (nutrients) our body thinks it should be spending on parasympathetic-driven activities in the body like digestion, fighting illness, making good moods, making sexy-time hormones so you feel all frisky, building new tissues, etc.

If anything, this course will teach you a bunch of tools you can use to accomplish that, and you can find ones you like, and then hopefully it will help you build the habit of using them throughout your day and when you are feeling stressed.