I was introduced to the idea of meditation for restoring life balance, mental health and a wide range of personal benefits. But sadly, the concept never took flight with me- as I could never get to that state of effect- turning my my failed attempts into a frustrating brick wall.
Then one day, I met an unassuming Dave Dachinger during the launch of my online NYCRA group (NY Cancer Resource Alliance) around 2018- who successfully changed my entire perspective on what is apparently a centuries old medicine. Mr. Dachinger is a retired firefighter and cancer survivor- with a body of knowledge that fit our cancer advocacy membership perfectly. But what caught my attention about him was inventing an APP called LOVING MEDITATIONS for cancer patients undergoing the physically taxing discomfort of infusion therapy (infusion therapy or chemo trickle).
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Dave receiving infusion therapy (2014) |
Dave himself had stage four cancer and found a calling for his creative brilliance during his "very stressful chemo "drip" sessions. Implementing his talents as a professional musician, Dave built tracks for his IPod and incorporating meditational audio tapes to help him endure chemotherapy sessions. The stress management effect of meditation is well supported in the scientific community and is further expanded by endocrinologists and mental health professionals. "By lowering his cortisol and epinephrine levels, he is able to more safely endure the therapeutic experience. But more importantly, those stress hormones that raise the sugars (glucose) in the bloodstream and elevates other physiological changes can actually alter the effects of any therapeutic intervention", says Dr. Howard Prince.
With a little kickstarter funding and a lot of entrepreneurial spirit, Loving Meditations was launched, earning significant international following in many circles including the functional health and wellness markets. Meanwhile, Dave's digital harnessing of the fruits of meditation became a major reference of how brain health and stress reduction could both help the end road of any therapy.
EXCERPT FROM "LIVE
CALM WITH CANCER (…AND
BEYOND)" By: Tamara Green, LCSW & David Dachinger
DECISIVE
DOCTOR VISIT
About a year after my initial
diagnosis of stage IV head and neck cancer, I had a follow-up visit with my
oncologist "Dr. C." After my vitals were taken and blood drawn, we had a brief
wait in the bleak exam room.
During this exam, Dr. C. announced
that my scans were clear and I was now officially cancer-free. He commented, “That was not an easy regimen (chemo,
radiation and surgery) you just had, but you did phenomenally well!” He asked
if there was actually something I did which helped me get through treatment in
such good emotional and physical shape. I replied that I’d used a mindful wellness practice,
listening to programs at the infusion center. His eyes lit up as he suddenly
proclaimed, “That’s what I want for all of my patients!”
He desired a way his patients could become calm before their exams or
treatments.
As Dr. C. talked, Tamara’s
eyes and mine met and a light bulb lit up. We’d been creating the Miracle Mondays
guided meditation series for seven years, and we’d also recently lived through the
cancer experience as patient and caregiver. Now my oncologist was pointing out
a pain-point within his practice. As we exchanged huge smiles, we had our a-ha!
moment: Loving Meditations was born.
RESEARCH-BASED RESULTS
Meditation has deep roots in research-based
results. CancerNetwork.com, home of the journal Oncology, reported that
mind-body practices like mindfulness meditation have been shown to “positively affect quality of life and
biological outcomes” when used by cancer patients and healthcare professionals.
[1] Let’s face it. Cancer and other major
illnesses are scary, overwhelming, and stressful. How can we handle them with
more ease?
[1] CancerNetwork.com, home of the
journal Oncology “Mindfulness Meditation” by Susan
Bauer-Wu, PhD, RN Oct 19, 2010
http://www.cancernetwork.com/oncology-nursing/mindfulness-meditation
HOW IT WORKS: The Loving Meditations App is
available on two platforms, iOS (for iPad and iPhone) and Web App (for any
device). For the free app download, go to http://www.calmcancerstress.com/ The
mindful wellness programs are delivered via the App to empower cancer patients,
survivors and caregivers with self-love, self-care and self-discovery on their
healing journey, from diagnosis to survivorship.
As you watch Loving Meditations,
Tamara’s
calming voice, David’s
expansive music and spectacular images shift you to a state of more calm. Our
mindful techniques worked beautifully for us and also have helped thousands of
people in over twenty countries.
REDUCING STRESS FOR PATIENTS: Imagine you’re sitting in the infusion center
hooked up to a cocktail of IV medications. You are expecting to be sitting
there for a few hours, anticipating discomfort and with time on your hands.
Then you remember you have the Loving Meditations app on your device. Finding
the right meditation is as simple as opening the app and answering a few
questions with the Adviser feature. For example, when the Adviser asks, “Do you feel pain or discomfort?” you
may choose to swipe right for yes, and the Adviser quickly guides you to
helpful programs. Next, press play and enjoy the meditation. Whether you close
your eyes and zone out or watch the beautiful images on the screen, you’ll
be transported to a state of relaxation and tranquility.
RECHARGING FOR CAREGIVERS
During the Covid-19 surge, interviews with emergency medical professionals showed dramatic cases of ICU and ER responders exposed to major signs of advanced fatigue and risk of burnout. This significantly raised major risks to their work performance where lives are to be affected, including theirs. Over time, double and triple shifts resulted in "a different type of pandemic" on a national scale- where this level of exhaustion and overwhelm.
Where a leave of absence, a vacation or regular rest is not an immediate option, we can start with addressing BRAIN HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH. Modern meditation solutions (like BrainTap®, Loving Meditations® and other such technologies) are now available for exactly this emergent case as a portable personal "Rescue" dose. By tap ping the mind/body connection into a Vital Re-charge mode, we can induce a "Refresh- Revitalize-Renew" condition. As with conventional meditation, bringing you into a regenerative meditative state offers that level of rest, clears the mind for renewed focus and new energy to continue with the 'battle' at hand. |
CALMING FOR
SURVIVORS: Imagine you’re scheduled for a follow-up scan and
are beginning to feel anxious about the procedure and results. Looking at your
device screen, you notice an inspiring quote there from Loving Meditations.
Opening the app, you navigate to one of the Mindful Minute videos called Total
Focus Breath, a super easy technique to use anytime, anywhere to quickly calm
and quiet the mind. You follow the breathing technique for the next several
minutes. Quickly, a sense of “I’ve got this” replaces panic.
WHAT, ME MEDITATE? We’ve
heard folks say, “Yeah, but I have no time to meditate!”
Looking at it another way, we don’t
realize how many hours we actually spend watching the news, TV programs, or
digital content on social media. Many of us devote significant time to this, sometimes
to the point of addiction. Another common problem people mention about starting
a mindful practice is that they can’t
stop thinking and their mind is too “active” to meditate. They may have tried
meditating in the past and found it difficult to sit and do nothing. Barraged
by thoughts, they can’t
shut them out. What if it was as easy as putting in earbuds and pressing play
on the Loving Meditations App?
HOW TO QUIET THE MIND: Refrain from giving meaning or
judgment to the thoughts, beliefs, fears, emotions, and feelings that will pop
up during meditation. When they arise, don’t judge yourself. Gently smile and let
them float away. Know that what emerges is ready to leave your system. That’s
right, all thoughts, beliefs, fears, emotions, and feelings that surface are
actually trying to leave your mind and body, so let them. To help them release,
be the witness and observer of what arises and watch it gently float away. Even
for the most seasoned meditator, thoughts come up. It’s no biggie. Just notice them with
curiosity and let them drift away. Then return your attention back onto the
guided meditation.
What self-care solutions are available
to reduce this harmful distress? Several easy and simple mindfulness meditation
techniques can help. You can even do some standing in a checkout line, awaiting
the doctor or while sitting in traffic. Along with yoga and repetitive prayer,
mindful practices are known to evoke the “relaxation
response”, which is the counterpart to the stress response. Meditators enjoy
greater emotional clarity and mental resilience, and meditation can actually
increase the amount of gray matter in your brain (which is a good thing!)
What is MODERN MEDITATION? In today’s relentless hyper-speed world of
soundbites and snapchats, traditional practices like sitting and meditating for
an hour in a quiet room are no longer practical. Modern Meditation reaches more
people by adapting traditional meditation techniques to suit the needs and
lifestyles of people today.
SCIENCE BACKED RESULTS: Researchers from Johns Hopkins
University examined almost 19,000 meditation studies and found 47 trials on stress
and anxiety which they deemed well-designed studies.1 The results of this
meta-study were published in The Journal of the American Medical Association’s
Internal Medicine, and suggest that mindful meditation brings calming benefits
to psychological stresses like depression, anxiety, and pain. Meditation has
been demonstrated to reduce insomnia and help lower blood pressure. The
benefits of the relaxation response have also been shown to increase
mitochondrial resiliency, which may reduce vulnerability to disease.2
In another study at the University of
Maryland, 63 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients used mindfulness meditation.3
They reported a 35% reduction in psychological distress and increased sense of
well-being after an eight week period of mindfulness.
In the field of psychoneuroimmunology
(the study of how the mind affects health and the body’s resistance to disease), research is
showing that thoughts influence the immune system, and stress makes you sick.4
If that’s
compelling enough to motivate you, why not launch a new healthy habit of
mindfulness and meditation?
EAST MEETS WEST: One does not have to sit in a full
lotus pose on a Nepalese mountain to meditate or be mindful. Modern Meditation
delivers a new approach to meditation based on scientific research by combining
Eastern philosophy with Western science. As little as 5 to 10 minutes per day
can deliver benefits. Although some meditation techniques, like Transcendental
Meditation®, have specific routines – there are no set rules for meditating.
The aim is simply to develop present moment awareness.
A variety of meditation apps make it
easy, by blending user-friendly technology with meditation techniques. They
feature deep breathing or guided imagery to help relax your mind. Using an app
for mindfulness makes the process simple, is completely portable and keeps you
on track with your practice. One app company, Headspace, is now seeking FDA
approval as the first prescription meditation app with clinically validated
meditation programs. Its rollout date is 2020.
NO TIME TO BE MINDFUL? Let’s keep it really simple and focus on
one form of mindfulness: breathing. Respiration is actually the only automatic
body function we can voluntarily control. You can shift into a present moment
state of calm quickly and easily by intentionally focusing on your breath.
Breath work is the fastest state-changer available, it can soothe your nervous
system and deliberately move you from fear to calm.
GET ADDICTED TO THE HEALTHY MED! Get hooked on meditation, not social
media or medication! If you spend a chunk of time immersed in social media
feeds every day, why not shift some of that time to receive positive benefits
of meditation? Or, the next time you have difficulty sleeping or feel anxious,
try five minutes of relaxing breath work to see if that helps. It’s
easy to get started by adding present moment awareness to your life. Building a
mindful breathing practice into a meditation practice can be a simple as
establishing a small, manageable routine and expanding it as you become
comfortable.
1.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/mindfulness-meditation-may-ease-anxiety-mental-stress-201401086967
2.
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0062817
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17907231
4.
http://www.apa.org/monitor/dec01/anewtake.aspx
5.
https://www.drweil.com/videos-features/videos/the-4-7-8-breath-health-benefits-demonstration/
6.
http://www.diy-stress-relief.com/equal-breath.html
7. https://cmbm.org/blog/mind-body-medicine/soft-belly-breathing/