Meditation is a mind body practice that has long been used to help produce a sense of calm and relaxation. Meditation may help patients cope with illness and enhance overall health and well-being.
The practice of meditation involves finding quiet time and place free from distraction. You will need to sit comfortably. In the beginning of your practice, you learn to relax your body, concentrate on your breath, and quiet your mind. Quieting your mind is the challenge. The challenge during meditation is not to be caught in the mind's wandering, and not to judge your thoughts.
Mindfulness is the ability to bring present moment awareness into all the activities of daily living, while experiencing these same benefits. Cultivating a regular practice of meditation may bring you to a new level of mindfulness in everyday life. Mindful awareness helps us to understand the mind and its relationship to the body and spirit. Paying attention to everyday experiences like eating, or walking, or being in nature can provide us with great joy and satisfaction, if we can learn to practice this skill in a moment-to-moment way.
Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation virtual sessions are available on MyZakim a few times a week. Participants will be guided through a mindfulness meditation designed to help decrease negative or fearful thoughts and help lead to a more peaceful state of mind.
Mind Body Resilience Program
Mind Body Resilience is a virtual, eight-week group program designed to teach patients and families tools to manage the stress of the cancer experience and develop skills to enhance resilience. This group meets virtually over Zoom, and the course is available in a digital format on MyZakim. This program is open to Dana-Farber patients and caregivers. Topics that are covered in the program include:
- The science of stress physiology
- Creating a regular meditation practice
- Developing awareness with mindfulness
- Cognitive strategies to build positive emotions
All of our meditation programs are delivered virtually through MyZakim. To register, visit the MyZakim website and select "Sign Up" at the top of the page. Note: you must have a MyZakim account and be signed in to see our complete list of programs.
Meditation Resources
- Listen to recorded meditation sessions on MyZakim.
- Learn more about meditation as complementary therapy from the National Institutes of Health.
- View a video about the benefits of mindfulness and meditation from ABC correspondent and co-anchor Dan Harris, keynote speaker at the 13th annual Lenny Lecture.