![]() ![]() Harvard offers several mindfulness and meditation classes, including a spring break retreat held in March for students through the Center for Wellness and Health Promotion. Army recently adopted it to “improve military resilience.” Modeled after the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program created in 1979 by Jon Kabat-Zinn to help counter stress, chronic pain, and other ailments, mindfulness courses these days can be found in venues ranging from schools to prisons to sports teams. Suzanne Westbrook, a retired internal-medicine doctor, taught an eight-week program that focused on reducing stress. Of the myriad offerings aimed at fighting stress, from exercise to yoga to meditation, mindfulness meditation has become the hottest commodity in the wellness universe. Studies say that eight in 10 Americans experience stress in their daily lives and have a hard time relaxing their bodies and calming their minds, which puts them at high risk of heart disease, stroke, and other illnesses. The class she taught was part of an eight-week program aimed at reducing stress. It’s a place where we can rest and settle our minds.” “Mindfulness teaches you the skill of paying attention to the present by noticing when your mind wanders off. “Our mind wanders all the time, either reviewing the past or planning for the future,” said Westbrook, who before retiring last June was an internal-medicine doctor caring for Harvard students. Sitting upright, eyes closed, palms resting on their laps, feet flat on the floor, they listened as course instructor Suzanne Westbrook guided them to focus on the present by paying attention to their bodily sensations, thoughts, emotions, and especially their breath. On a cold winter evening, six women and two men sat in silence in an office near Harvard Square, practicing mindfulness meditation. ![]()
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