Program teaches techniques that empower individuals to lead healthier lives

		Emergency Medicine Center for Intergrative Medicine News Archive Featured in the Media JeffNEWS

Mindfulness Meditation, the popular course that helps participants learn to relieve pain, reduce stress and enhance wellness, is once again being offered by the Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

"Mindfulness meditation is a process that quiets the mind and releases physical distress. Through mindfulness, you can experience greater vitality and well-being,” explains Diane Reibel, Ph.D., research associate professor of Physiology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and director of the Stress Reduction Program. “Participants learn how to quiet the mind and relax the body. They learn to identify early signs of stress and how to respond in healthier ways to stressful situations.

“The only requirements for the program are that an individual has a strong commitment to making a healthy change,” Dr. Reibel, who is also a research associate professor of Emergency Medicine at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, explains.

The Mindfulness Meditation program has been especially helpful for individuals facing the challenges of illness such as chronic pain, headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, heart disease, cancer, HIV or other chronic conditions.

The next eight-week course schedule is as follows:

• Tuesday evenings from 6:30 - 9:00 p.m., running from January 31 - March 21.  Classes will be held at Thomas Jefferson University in Room 101 of the Bluemle Building, located on 10th and Locust Streets, Philadelphia.
• Wednesday mornings from 9:30 a.m. - noon, running from February 1 - March 22.  Classes will be held at Thomas Jefferson University in Room 218 of the Curtis Building, located at 1015 Walnut Street, Philadelphia.
• Wednesday evenings from 6:30 - 9:00 p.m., running from February 1 - March 22.  Classes will be held at Lankenau Hospital in Room 101A of the Annenberg Conference Center, located on 100 Lancaster Avenue, Wynnewood.

The Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine has a leading role in the evaluation and integration of promising complementary approaches to healing.  At its clinical site, Jefferson physicians incorporate nutritional, herbal and homeopathic therapies into a comprehensive patient care approach. Other Center therapists provide acupuncture, therapeutic massage, nutritional counseling, mindfulness meditation for

stress reduction, yoga, light therapy, wellness and prevention programs. At the Center’s academic office, researchers study health outcomes of all patients treated through the clinical program. Collaborative study protocols are developed with Jefferson clinical investigators and basic scientists.

To register or learn more about the stress reduction program, please call 215-955-1376 or 1-800-JEFF-NOW.