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Happiness Isn’t Brain Surgery: Mindfulness and Relaxation For the Family
Presented by: Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes
Executive Director, AllCEUs

Continuing Education (CE) credits can be earned for this presentation at https://allceus.com/member/cart/index/product/id/577/c/

Objectives
~    Review the concept of mindfulness, and how to incorporate it into daily life
~    Learn about the history, benefits, cautions and methods of incorporation into practice of
~    Aromatherapy
~    Meditation
~    Guided Imagery

Mindfulness
~    Being aware of your current state
~    Emotionally
~    Mentally
~    Physically
~    Spiritually
~    MindLESSness allows people to ignore “minor” stress until it adds up to a meltdown
~    What discriminative stimuli can you put in the environment to remind you to do a mindfulness scan?
Mindfulness Activities
~    Body scan
~    Mindful Breathing
~    Mindful Observation
~    Mindful awareness – Think before you act
~    Mindful appreciation: Random Acts of Kindness
Aromatherapy
~    History
~    Hippocrates, known as the father of modern medicine, maintained 2,500 years ago that “the key to good health rests on having a daily aromatic bath and scented massage’.
~    Some of the plant materials Discorides wrote about in his Materia Medica 100 AD include many of the herbs and essential oils we use today including cardamon, cinnamon, myrrh, basil, fennel, frankincense, juniper, pine, rose, rosemary, and thyme.
~    Scented ointments and oils were recognized as having great benefit on both the physical and psychological level.
~    One of the principle aspects of ayurvedic medicine is massage with aromatic oils.
~    Distillation of essential oils is credited to the Persians in the 10th century
~    1887 French physicians first recorded laboratory tests on the anti-bacterial properties of essential oils.

Aromatherapy
~    History
~    In 1910, Rene Gattefosse discovered the healing properties of lavender after severely burning his hands in a laboratory explosion. He later used the wound healing and antiseptic properties of essential oils in the care of soldiers in military hospitals during WWI.
~    Gattefosse coined the term “aromatherapy” with the 1937 publication of his book, of the same name. Translated into English as Gattefosse’s Aromatherapy (1993).
~    Dr. Jean Valnet, a French army surgeon used essential oils in the treatment of war wounds during the French Indochina War and wrote the book, Practice of Aromatherapy, which was translated into the English in 1964.
~    Marguerite Maury, a French biochemist and nurse, lectured and gave seminars in the early 30ies throughout Europe on the rejuvenating properties of essential oils and resulting overall sense of well being they provided.
Aromatherapy
~    The inhalation of aromatic molecules affect us on a variety of levels – physical, emotional and spiritual.
~    When inhaled
~    Aromatic molecules enter the nasal passages
~    Stimulate olfactory receptor sites and trigger messages to the limbic center which stimulates physiological responses within the body via the nervous, endocrine or immune systems impacting pleasure, pain, emotions, memory, sleep, appetite and sex.
Aromatherapy
~    A 2009 study found that pre-operative patients who received aromatherapy with lavandin oil were significantly less anxious about their surgery than controls.
~    A 2007 study in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine suggests that women who used aromatherapy during labor reported less pain overall and were able to use fewer pain medications.

Aromatherapy
~    Benefits
~    Anger
~    Anxiety
~    ADD/ADHD
~    Concentration
~    Depression/Grief
~    Fatigue/Energizing
~    Irritability (adults and children)
~    Pain Mangement
~    J Dent. 2006 Nov;34(10):747-50. Epub 2006 Mar 13. The effect of clove and benzocaine versus placebo as topical anesthetics. Alqareer A1, Alyahya A,
~    Peace/Contentment
~    Relaxation/Sleep

Aromatherapy
~    Cautions
~    Sensitivities / allergies
~    Photo-sensitivity: Bergamot, lemon, lime, bitter orange, angelica root
~    Pregnancy
~    Prior learning may impact experiences
~    May interact with medications (dermal absorption)
~    Some essential oils are thought to increase estrogen
~    Lavender
~    Tea Tree Oil
~    Fennel Oil

Aromatherapy
~    Methods of Incorporation
~    Topical: Essential oils have a chemical weight of less than 1000m (m = weight of molecule) and can be absorbed by the skin and enter the blood stream
~    Facial steam – 1-3 drops in a bowl of hot water. Use skin friendly essential oils (lavender, geranium, R. Chamomile) and keep eyes closed.
~    Compresses – hot, cold & alternating; local treatments for headaches, menstrual pain, muscle pain.  (Rice heating pad infused with EOs)
~    Clay masks
~    Massage Oil: 2-3% dilution in a carrier oil

Aromatherapy
~    Methods of incorporation
~    Inhalation
~    Electric micro-mist diffusers
~    Heat generated diffusion (tarts, bulb rings)
~    Spritzing
~    Steaming
~    Sniffing
~    Aromatic bath: 6-8 drops total. Avoid irritating oils such as peppermint, spice, & citrus oils. Note: Water and heat increases absorption.

Meditation
~    History
~    The structured practice of meditation is believed to have been developed approximately 5000 years ago in India
~    Initially developed by Hindus to understand and get closer to the true nature of their higher power
~    The first articles on the health benefits of meditation appeared in the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology in 1970.
~    In 1979, the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program was founded in the United States, which used meditative techniques in the treatment plans for patients with chronic diseases.

Meditation
~    Fluctuations of mood arise because we are too closely involved in the external situation.
~    We are like a child making a sandcastle who is excited when it is first made, but who becomes upset when it is destroyed by the incoming tide.
~    By training in meditation, we create an inner space and clarity that enables us to control our mind regardless of the external circumstances.
~    Gradually we develop mental equilibrium and balance instead of oscillating between the extremes of excitement and despondency.
Meditation
~    Psychological Benefits
~    Reduced stress, anxiety, depression, ADHD symptoms
~    Reduced irritability and moodiness
~    Increased creativity and intelligence
~    Increased learning ability, memory, concentration
~    Feelings of vitality and rejuvenation
~    Increased emotional control
~    Increased self-esteem
~    Increased alertness
~    Improved relationships

Meditation
~    Physiological Benefits
~    May help lower blood pressure
~    Prevented, slowed or controlled pain
~    Boosted immune system
~    Lowered cholesterol levels (lowers cortisol)
~    Improved airflow, especially in those with asthma
~    Helps manage the heart and respiratory rate
~    Improved sleep
Meditation Types
~    Concentration Meditation
~    Focus attention on an internal or external object (e.g., sound, word, bodily sensations, etc.) while minimizing distractions and bring the wandering mind back to attention on the chosen object.
~    Mindfulness Meditation
~    Mindfulness is an outgrowth of a Buddhist tradition called vipassana, which focuses on the present moment.
~    Focus attention alertly but non judgmentally on all processes passing through the mind.
~    One of the main influencers for Mindfulness in the West is John Kabat-Zinn. His Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program (MBSR)

Meditation Types
~    Open monitoring meditation Instead of focusing the attention on any one object, we keep it open, monitoring all aspects of our experience, without judgment or attachment.
~    Focused attention meditation Focusing the attention on a single object during the whole meditation session. This object may be the breath, a mantra, visualization, part of the body, external object, etc
Meditation Types
~    Qigong (also spelled chi kung, or chi gung)
~    Means “life energy cultivation”
~    Is a body-mind exercise for health, meditation
~    Involves slow body movement, inner focus, and regulated breathing to increase/remove blockages of chi through the eight extraordinary meridians
~    Extraordinary meridians are considered in Traditional Chinese Medicine to be storage vessels or reservoirs of energy
~    Tai Chi (gee) is a martial arts form of qigong

The Root of Chinese Qigong (1997), Jwing-Ming Yang
For more information http://www.qigonginstitute.org/

Meditation
~    Cautions
~    PTSD
~    Victims of violent crimes
~    Depression
~    Anxiety

Meditation
~    Methods of Incorporation
~    Before getting out of bed –Mindfulness meditation
~    At the beginning & end of session –Mindfulness meditation
~    Before eating –Focused attention meditation
~    Prior to going to sleep- Focused attention meditation
~    At the first sign of a anger/anxiety trigger
Guided Imagery
~    History
~    Various forms of guided imagery have been used for centuries, as far back as ancient Greek times
~    Jacob Moreno’s technique of psychodrama can be linked to guided imagery, as the enactment can be understood as a method of directing a person’s own imagery.
~    In the 1970s, Dr. David Bressler and Dr. Martin Rossman
~    Established support for guided imagery as an effective approach for the treatment of chronic illness
~    Founded the Academy for Guided Imagery in 1989

Guided Imagery
~    How does it work?
~    The body does not have to be actively experiencing something for the mind to respond to it
~    Watching a tennis match
~    Lemons
~    Child birth
~    Happy place

Guided Imagery
~    Research shows guided imagery to be helpful in the treatment of a number of concerns, including:
~    Stress
~    Anxiety
~    Depression
~    Substance abuse
~    Grief
~    Posttraumatic stress
~    Relationship issues
~    Diminished self-care
~    Family and parenting issues

Guided Imagery
~    Cautions
~    Although the use of guided therapeutic imagery is supported by research, some studies suggest it can lead to false memories.
Guided Imagery
~    Methods of Incorporation
~    Happy place
~    Mental rehearsal of coping and refusal skills
~    Visualization
~    Muscle tension
~    Cancer
~    Anxiety
~    Depression
~    Public speaking/social anxiety
~    Test anxiety

Summary
~    Mindfulness involves increasing awareness of our emotional, mental and physical selves
~    Aromatherapy has many uses for emotion, hormone and pain regulation
~    Meditation is a practice designed to quiet the mind and help people develop nonjudgemental acceptance of the experience
~    Guided imagery can facilitate skill acquisition and relaxation

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