One Hour Programs
- A Taste of Mindfulness
An introduction to the basic principles and practice of mindfulness, a state of present moment, nonjudgmental awareness, that can help us appreciate and respond to situations more wisely and appropriately. Studies have shown that when mindfulness is practiced regularly, it can improve health and wellbeing, reduce anxiety and depression, increase concentration and improve one’s ability to cope with stress in one’s daily life.
Available as a one‐hour introductory session, or customizable to lengths of up to a full day.
- Cultivating Happiness
We will investigate the relatively new, evidence based science of positive psychology (i.e. not positive thinking). Recent studies show that it is actually one’s level of happiness which determines success and not simply burning both ends of the candle. This program highlights simple but effective means for increasing one’s baseline of happiness, wherever that may be.
Available as a one‐hour introductory session, or customizable to lengths of up to a full day.
- Stress Management
We shall measure our level of stress then explore the stress response, the signs and symptoms of stress and burnout, common stressors, its effects on the body and strategies for reducing, preventing and coping with stress.
Available as a one‐hour introductory session, or customizable to lengths of up to a full day.
- Journey into Healing
This program explores health from a holistic perspective. We will examine the concepts of healing and treatment, evidence based medicine, the usefulness and limitations of western medicine, the quest for happiness and questions which will help us look at life from a wider perspective.
- The Role of Integrative Medicine in Patient Care
Every day, a new herbal or food supplement is released into the market with claims of curing a variety of ailments. A lot of these have no good scientific evidence of efficacy, are expensive and may even be harmful. This program will enable the participants to separate the “wheat from the chaff” and will present a simple algorithm to aid in deciding whether a particular modality may be beneficial.
- Principles of Holistic Medicine
Holism is an approach which has as its core the concept that the whole is made up of interdependent parts. The expanded perspective of holistic, as considering the whole person and the whole situation, allows us to apply holistic as an adjective to anything. When holistic principles are applied by a health practitioner of any tradition, it is called holistic medicine.
We shall explore the Principles of Holistic Medical Practice and look at some concerns the medical profession has about the use of non-conventional approaches.
- Finding Meaning in Medicine
All too often physicians get caught up in the enormity of what they do with hardly any time for reflection. Finding meaning in medicine rekindles the sense of awe and satisfaction in the practice of the medical profession.
Available as a one‐hour introductory session, or customizable to lengths of up to a full day.
- Mindfulness and Medical Practice
Mindfulness training can help health care professionals be aware of their physical and mental processes by attending to ordinary everyday tasks in a nonjudgmental way to improve their own lives and the quality of health care they provide.
A stressed health care workforce leads to increased costs (from medical claims, staff turn-over, medical errors and burnout) and decreased quality of care. Research shows that mindfulness training helps treat and prevent burnout, reduce clinical errors, promote patient-centered care, enhance quality of care, improve clinician-patient communication, and enrich professional life.
Available as a one‐hour introductory session, or customizable to lengths of up to a full day.
- Smoking or Health?
We shall look at current global and local trends in the tobacco epidemic, facts about smoking, the components of cigarette smoke, the biology of addiction, youth smoking and health, passive smoking, health and economic consequences, benefits of quitting, the five A’s of smoking cessation and electronic cigarettes.
This talk combines graphic pictures and videos to inspire students not to start smoking and to encourage smokers that it is never too late to stop.
- Meet the Expert
Patient Education on Common Adult Pulmonary Diseases: Bronchial Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Emphysema and Chronic Bronchitis) and Pulmonary Tuberculosis.
Your attending physician is most knowledgeable about how your illness relates to you in particular and would be the best source for advice. However, due to some constraints, adequate and satisfactory patient education may not be possible.
Being well informed of your illness goes a long way in understanding your medical condition, your symptoms, the need for medication and what to do when your illness is out of control. Patient education has been shown to improve compliance and health outcomes. It also fosters active participation and mutual collaboration with health care professionals.
The format will be a formal presentation followed by a lively open forum for a total of one hour. Participants who have enrolled are encouraged to email their questions beforehand. This is purely for educational purposes and is not a substitute for physician directed care.
Multi-Day Options
- 8 Week Course in Mindfulness
This course is a combination of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn and his colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), developed by Segal, Williams and Teasdale which are the gold standards in mindfulness training.
This consists of eight weekly sessions where the participants meet for 2 1/2 to 3 hours once a week and go home with assignments which take about an hour each day. Each participant of this highly interactive/experiential course will receive audio recordings of guided practices and written handouts.
It may be challenging to take the course since it requires making the time and commitment to undertake a daily one hour home practice in between sessions. This forms an important part of the course since this is where life actually happens.
This course enables participants to be more familiar with the workings of the mind and to relate to life experiences in a more skillful way. It teaches participants how to intentionally pay attention in the present moment, non-judgmentally…which is what mindfulness means.
- 5 Day Residential Intensive Mindfulness Workshop
This is designed for those who may not be able to attend the 8 Week Mindfulness Course. It is a combination of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and includes all the practices in the standard 8 Week Course including handouts and audio recordings.
- 4 Week Mindfulness Workshop
Is a 4 week Mindfulness Workshop with the same format as the 8 Week Course but shorter.
- 2 Day Mindfulness Life Core Skills, Training and Corporate Workshop
This would include an introduction to mindfulness including its formal and informal practices, how mindfulness can allow one to respond to life’s stressors rather than react to it, mindful communication, research and neuroscience and taking the next step in living a mindful lifestyle.
Research has shown that mindfulness improves clarity in thinking, emotional intelligence, leadership and decision making skills. It can help reduce stress, anxiety, conflict and increase resilience, memory and concentration. This translates to increased employee health and wellbeing, lower absenteeism and better work performance. This workshop will teach individuals practical strategies for integrating mindfulness at work and in their personal lives.
- 1 Day Mindfulness Workshop
This would include an introduction to mindfulness including its formal and informal practices, how mindfulness can allow you to respond to life’s stressors rather than react to it, mindful communication and taking the next step in living a mindful lifestyle.
Research has shown that if practiced regularly, mindfulness can improve health and wellbeing, reduce anxiety and depression, increase concentration and improve one’s ability to cope with stress in one’s daily life.
- Half Day Mindfulness Session
This would enable participants to have a more in depth experience of mindfulness and can form the first part of a longer program.
- Personal Session on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
This is a 2 to 2 ½ hour one-on-one session which starts by measuring your level of stress and mindfulness. You will be introduced to the practice of mindfulness didactically but more importantly, experientially. At the end of the session, you will be given handouts and learn a couple of simple and effective practices that can be easily applied to everyday life. If you discover that the practices resonate with you, when the time is right, you can commit to the more extensive workshops. This session is a prerequisite for the 4 and 8 week workshops.
- Mindful Medical Practice Workshop
This is a module based workshop for medical students, residents and clinicians oriented around particular topics relevant to clinical practice.
Mindful medical practice develops the skills of attentive observation, critical curiosity, beginner’s mind and presence. These skills are central to the self-awareness that clinicians require in order to understand and respond to patients’ needs, to maintain their skills, prevent errors and work within a healthcare team. This contributes to improved quality of care and to physician resilience and well-being.
This workshop includes modules such as, but not limited to: Developing mindful awareness, self care and burnout, witnessing and responding to suffering, handling conflict and taking compassionate action, how to handle medical errors, how grief and loss affects physician’s personal and professional lives, finding balance at work and home, teamwork and partnership, and incorporating mindfulness in daily life.
