MediMindful Moment: Meet Hector Torrens

In this episode of Cloud9 Online’s MediMindful Moments Podcast, co-hosts Judith Dreyer, Jeff Nelder, and Henry Edinger interview Hector Torrens, the Chief Digital Officer at WellSpark Health. Hector shares how he was introduced to the power of mindfulness and how we can still maintain connection and community in the digital world.

 Listen HERE!

Episode Highlights:

●      Jeff leads the mindfulness exercise. (3:24)

●      Hector shares how his journey to mindfulness began. (6:42)

●      How was Hector introduced to meditation? (10:31)

●      In what ways is WellSpark continuing to improve their mindfulness and resiliency skills? (13:11)

●      Hector shares how WellSpark is connecting with people digitally instead of in person due to COVID. (16:59)

●      What are the implications of the acceleration towards digital technology in healthcare? (27:39)

●      What is WellSpark’s approach to mobilizing resources internally for the good of those externally? (31:13)

Key Quotes:

●      “One of the constants that I noticed throughout dealing with technology is that you're always at the forefront of change, right? And, with change comes stress. So nothing is ever static, things are always changing and moving, and that there is someone, something, some group of people that are feeling stressed because of it.” - Hector Torrens

●      “As human beings in the world have realized we can maintain connection and community using digital tools, unlike we thought that we could in the past.” - Hector Torrens

●      “I think we're evolving, and this is an opportunity for us to evolve very quickly, because of the circumstances that happened right around this having to depend upon digital.” - Hector Torrens

Resources Mentioned:

●      Judith Dreyer

●      Jeff Nelder LinkedIn

●      Henry Edinger LinkedIn

●      Cloud9 Online

●      MediMind App

●      Hector Torrens LinkedIn

●      WellSpark Health

Research Ties Mindfulness to Physical Health

by Judith Dreyer, MS, BSN

The expanding body of research about the impact of mindfulness on physical health and well-being spans a range of topics as diverse as you might imagine. From oncology departments to sports teams, the benefits of learning how to hold potential stressors in gentle awareness are being applied, and studies are tying daily mindfulness and meditation to physical health.

In a study sponsored by the Canadian Breast Cancer Research alliance and the British Columbia Cancer Agency, researchers, “conducted a randomized, controlled trial comparing two evidence-supported programs, Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery (MBCR) and supportive expressive group therapy (SET), in reducing stress and improving the quality of life of distressed breast cancer survivors." Both groups showed positive results. However, the MBCR group showed improvement at a greater rate and with effects that lasted nearly a year.

Also, we see studies about the application of mindfulness among athletes. Young soccer players placed in either a mindfulness-based program (MG) or against a control group (CG) showed: "Number of injuries, an average of injuries per team, and days lost to injury in the MG were significantly lower than in the CG.”

Many studies have looked at meditation’s (an example of one type of mindful practice) positive effect on overall well-being by looking at physical health and well-being through various parameters such as pain, high blood pressure, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, sports performance, Multiple Sclerosis, and more.

Most of us accept our body's state of physical health. That does not mean we are free of disease or have a health issue. Some could be minor, like a cut or a bruise, or more serious, like diabetes or cancer.

Mindfulness means we pay attention to our body, tune into ourselves within the noise of the moment. The pandemic forced us to make changes overnight. More of us work from home. Have you given a thought to the routines that had to change? What new habits are you trying to cultivate?

1.     Some of us are adding more movement: planning walks, biking, taking a yoga class.  Have you tried mindful walking?  

2.     We can also be mindfully eating: how are we nourishing our bodies?

3.     Connecting with others: how are we getting together?

4.     Connecting with self: "Being" with self in the moment. We know that what we think affects our biology. If our body is in some pain, it affects how we feel.

We suggest that adding a mindful moment to your routine will be positive. We are an interconnected human being; all systems are interdependent on one another. Our western traditions rely on science, as mentioned above, to understand our state of health and well-being. Eastern traditions start with going within, using meditation or mindfulness practices to quiet the mind. 

"Putting your well-being first - like putting your oxygen mask on before you help the person next to you - that really benefits all your relationships." ~ Gabrielle Bernstein

Studies Show Mindful Eating Helps with Eating Issues

by Judith Dreyer, MS, BSN

Mindfulness research and eating studies are relatively new, yet the conclusions are promising, especially for eating disorders such as, “binge eating, emotional eating, and eating in response to external cues… Mindfulness-based approaches may prevent weight gain.” They suggest that mindfulness practices appear to work by increased awareness of the internal cues, not the external ones for eating.

Harvard’s School of Public Health reviewed 69 intervention studies that show that slowing down the pace of a meal, recognizing our feelings of fullness, and exerting greater control over our food choices all improved eating behaviors.

Studies using the MB -EAT, Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training show decreased binge eating, and further trials showed weight loss within this same population. MB-EAT adapted for Diabetes patients showed improvements in glycemic control, significant weight loss, and decreases in choices for trans-fat and sugar consumption.

Today, many folks work from home. Schools offer online learning, where students and their families can choose to stay home. Holidays are here, and many celebrations will be virtual or within the immediate household. Today restaurants offer more take-out services as they were mandated to restrict the capacity for in-house dining. Some of us are not comfortable eating out with the pandemic. Or our frequency of dining out shifted.

Today we face new stresses that affect us locally and globally. While mindful eating studies are happening today, some are looking at the effects of mindless eating.

Mindful eating practices include:

1.     Mealtime can offer a pause from all our daily activities. Consider taking a moment with your next meal to focus on the food.

2.     Enjoy the meal prep; involve all your senses with the preparation. If you do not cook, then stop a second or two and enjoy the aromas of the meal before you.

3.     When we choose the foods we enjoy, there is a delight factor. Use this sense of deliciousness to bring you into the moment.

4.     Take your time. In the nutrition world, we recommend chewing each bite 20 times. It takes about 20 minutes for our brains to signal that we are sated. We forget that digestion begins in our mouth and includes the brain. It takes a bit of practice if you are used to multitasking while eating or tend to gulp down food without paying attention to the eating of it. How many of us watch a show, get caught up on the news during mealtime? This pandemic is an opportunity to press a reset button and adopt mindful awareness with all activities of daily life, including mindful eating.

5.     Food is emotional. We have favorites and dislikes that can evoke an emotional response. Be aware of how you are responding to the food you are eating.

6.     We must eat and drink fluids every day. Our health depends on it. When we eat with gentle awareness, we provide more ease to our digestion.

7.     Lastly, eat with gratitude. Remember, you probably did not grow the food you are eating. Maybe you did not prepare it. Our food industry is complicated. Today many hands grow, harvest, package, deliver, and serve foods to us. Who are they? Folks like you and I who contribute to our food systems. Mindfulness, in general, and with eating, connect us to something greater in the moment.

Thich Nhat Hanh from his book How to Eat:

“When we can slow down and really enjoy our food, our life takes on a much deeper quality. When I eat in this way, not only am I physically nourished, I am also spiritually nourished.”

Today we leave you with a gentle reminder to eat with gentle awareness. Start with one bite.

It’s that simple.

MediMindful Moment: Meet Dr. Reginald Eadie

In this episode of Cloud9 Online’s MediMindful Moments Podcast, co-hosts Judith Dreyer, Jeff Nelder, and Henry Edinger interview Dr. Reginald Eadie, MD, MBA, President and CEO of Trinity Health of New England. Dr. Reginald talks about the 61 Day Challenge and how significant a community can be.

 Listen HERE!

Episode Highlights: 

●      Judith introduces Dr. Reginald Eadie. (00:40)

●      Reginald mentions that he’s an emergency medicine physician and he’s the founder of the 61 Day Challenge. (1:07)

●      Jeff proceeds with the mindful moment exercise. (3:13)

●      Reginald shares that the purpose of the 61 Day Challenge is to identify the necessities within the community, and they have a different theme every year that they must consider the mind, the body, and the spirit. (7:16)

●      Henry mentions that it’s significant to take time for your own mental well-being. (10:16)

●      Reginald shares that whenever two or three of them gather, they start their meeting or conversation with a reflection. (11:20)

●      Reginald mentions that Trinity Health of New England is a Catholic healthcare system, and reciting scripture versus taking time to be in the moment, are two different actions. (12:02)

●      Reginald shares that the 61 Day Challenge is held every year, starting November 1 through December 31. (19:48)

●      Reginald mentions that they have seen an increase in behavioral health issues within the community. (22:00)

●      Reginald shares that this year, they’re going to address the most significant aspect of the pandemic. (23:28)

●      Henry shares the idea that Reginald’s team and the Cloud 9 team came up with a new feature that will be available on the app called, Counting Mindful Minutes. (23:49)

●      Reginald shares that from a colleague’s perspective, they’re doing it as a region and they will become a much stronger organization. Therefore, they’re more equipped to handle the community and its needs, as they interact with Trinity Health of New England. (27:00)

Key Quotes:

●      “We’ve learned a lot from our experiences through the pandemic and we are grateful that we were able to establish a relationship with you guys and the work that you do.” - Dr. Reginald Eadie

●      “I think I'm blessed to have men or women who do a great job in putting together, and this year's partnership with you guys is evident that we need to look in the rearview mirror, and try to control the post-pandemic impact that it will have on our minds, our bodies, and our spirits.” - Dr. Reginald Eadie

●      “So just this interaction, just the time we will take regardless, of the number of minutes to sort of reset and become present at the moment, has the same impact with the food that you eat because of the hormones, foods, and things in that nature.” - Dr. Reginald Eadie

●      “I think negotiating with the kids is very favorable because it gives them the ability to participate in the decision, they have ownership, it builds responsibility, and instills accountability.” - Dr. Reginald Eadie

●      “What we've gone through from a pandemic perspective and what we will likely go through again, for the remainder of this calendar year. We can't go through this alone, and we have to have a partnership as you indicate, we've got to be the change you want to see.” - Dr. Reginald Eadie

Resources Mentioned:

●      Judith Dreyer

●      Jeff Nelder LinkedIn

●      Henry Edinger LinkedIn

●      Cloud9 Online

●      MediMind App

●      Reginald Eadie LinkedIn

●      Trinity Health Of New England

●     61 Day Challenge

A Very Short History of Studying Mindfulness in Healthcare

by Judith Dreyer, MS, BSN

In 1979, Jon Kabat-Zinn began a program called Mindfulness-Based Stress -Reduction (MBSR) that combined simple yoga postures with meditation. He sought to offer an alternative approach to pain relief.  There were no studies back then. Today books upon books abound on the subject. In fact, in 2017, “in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, Australian researchers reviewed findings from 45 studies. They concluded that MBSR is associated with lower levels of stress-related hormone cortisol.” These conclusions play a huge role in opening doors to chronic diseases, fatigue, lower work performance, and more. Factor in today’s uncertainties, political, and social unrest, and where does that leave our emotional, physical, and mental wellbeing?

Whether one is under stress or has high blood pressure, dealing with cancer or opioid addiction, programs and studies exist today that measure the results mindfulness bring to our wellbeing. Hospitals, clinics, and private practices are useful settings to conduct investigations, and that is happening all over our country.

Mindfulness research has grown rapidly, and driven a broad wave of adoption. According to the American Mindfulness Research Association, there were 1203 studies performed in 2019 alone. “Aetna, one of the world’s largest health insurers, now has a chief mindfulness officer; mindfulness is taught in grade schools, high schools, and colleges; and now UMass has become the first university whose medical division contains a Division of Mindfulness.” (https://www.mindful.org/the-medicine-of-the-moment/)

Mindfulness research is not only driving adoption, it is showing that these practices create positive changes in the brain due to neuroplasticity. Mindfulness “increases cognitive flexibility, allowing people to see stressful situations from different perspectives. “

Within just a few breaths, mindfulness can take us off autopilot, and return us to the current moment. In those “now” moments when we focus on the in-breath and the out-breath, we change our biochemistry. Although mindfulness is not a cure-all, it supports our body’s rest-and-digest functionality as it gives us the ability to pause and notice our world a bit differently over time.  

The trend in research has been so positive that leading medical institutions now dedicate resources, and even whole divisions to further the study and application of mindfulness towards our wellbeing.

Jon Kabat-Zinn started in a basement, offering classes when mindfulness practices were not understood. Today we have institutions and healthcare professionals across the country, and the world, committed to understanding mindfulness for our society’s overall wellbeing. This is why you can read about a major insurance company with a mindfulness officer, or research studies using the MBSR model into how mindfulness helps humanity for issues as diverse as alleviating anxiety, all the way to improving work performance. Thanks Mr. Kabat-Zinn!

Patience: Slow and Steady

by Judith Dreyer, MS, BSN

Being patient with oneself is often easier said than done. For example, the thoughts generated by our minds may seem to be repetitious and endless. We experience thoughts that cycle over the same thing again and again. It feels like we are facing off against a daunting opponent. However, if we recognize these thoughts through mindful awareness and assume a posture of presence in the moment, we can shift, decrease our attachment to those thoughts, as well as our endless cycling and recycling of them. Through mindful awareness practices, our “noble” opponent becomes an opportunity.

How do we turn our noble opponent described above into an opportunity? What do we need to do to create a favorable outcome? By quieting the mind, which helps decrease resistance (and consequently increasing acceptance) through mindfulness practices, we generate a sense of calm that slowly, with consistent practice, increases our awareness and somehow gets us off auto-pilot.

Patience is key. Cultivating patience contains the potential for releasing expectations, allowing us to be in the flow of any situation. Patience viewed this way is dynamic because we are acknowledging that life is impermanent.

Why is impermanence crucial to an understanding of the nature of human life and mindful practices?? Look at nature. Seeds become plants, create flowers and fruits, then wither and die and leave seeds to be born again. Some seeds blossom and thrive - but some seeds remain hidden for years before the light reaches them. Nature operates on a system of life and death, birth and aging, growth and decline, embodying impermanence. Look at the land after a hurricane or a tornado. Our suffering comes from placing an expectation for our life to remain unchanged. We cling to an expectation of being safe from tragedy, free of illness. Yet no matter how much we plan and hope, life continues to bring in the unexpected.

Today we face unprecedented demands on our patience, time, and energy reserves that a few short months ago, we would have dismissed as folly. A global pandemic seemed impossible, yet here we are.

Businesses are closing, and those that are open are shifting perspectives, creating different formats, whether folks like it or not.

Families work, school, and play together in a constrained personal space while being separated from extended family.

Consider the persistent social and economic crises. It may seem like the world is turning upside down, over, and over again. All of this affects how we feel, what we think, and how we treat each other and ourselves. At times the influx of information to digest today is overwhelming.

Patience and mindfulness practice help us deal with that uncertainty and the knowing that nothing is permanent. Our intent is not to conquer our thoughts but rather to be aware of them.

David Nichtern, in Awakening from the Daydream, suggests: “ a much more potent approach is to take the attitude that whatever arises in our minds is manageable and we do not have to try to conquer it with an aggressive and goal-oriented approach.”

Our society trains us to be very goal oriented. We can use this to our benefit by adding in a mindful moment, which is an easy way to incorporate balance into our daily patterns. Simply pausing and focusing on our breath really makes a difference, defusing the refrain of “I gotta do, gotta be.”

Adding in a more contemplative exercise such as meditation or prayer allows the unknowable to peek in, adding a dimension of peace to the numerous possibilities we face daily. Maybe we don’t feel the peace immediately, maybe even not the first time or two, but with practice, we become more sensitive to our thoughts. Slowly, we develop the ability to live without getting carried away by our thoughts. Adding in patience and kindness towards ourselves yields positive, foundational change.

Here at Cloud9 Online: www:c9ohealth.com, we suggest that yes, we can create more inner calm as we live with and live through these changes. We offer a meditation app, MediMind, for free for a limited time that includes music. This App is easy to find and use on all devices, allows you to have mindful practice in your daily life.

In the meantime: Slow and steady cultivates more kindness towards self and a sense of peacefulness. When we feel patient and calm, we offer that to the world around us. Patience grows the capacity to endure what is complicated or disagreeable without complaining, or at the very least, with more tolerance.

Remember: Breathe in. . .breathe out… It’s that easy.

Citations: David Nichtern, in Awakening from the Daydream

What the World Needs Now

by Judith Dreyer, MS, BSN

What the world needs now, is love, sweet love

It’s the only thing that there is too little of

What the world needs now is love, sweet love

No, not just for some but for everyone… Sung by Dionne Warwick

I heard this ‘oldie but goodie’ the other morning in my mind as I began my day. A timeless song so relevant today that it brought a welcome smile. I wondered: what would happen in our world if we approached each day with, “a little more love, a little more mindful love?”

So many of our day-to-day activities can be deemed “mindless.” Not that our actions, work, family responsibilities are unimportant. It is the doing of them that can be so routine they become mind-less. We often find ourselves not fully present but rather in the past or the future. We put the coffee on, get breakfast, dress, and plan the day. We grab breakfast or not and rush out the door while reviewing our mental-to-do list. We take care of the body, family, and obligations as if we are on autopilot. Add in the complexity of the isolation, work-at-home, and sterilize-anything-you-bring-into-the-home situations we find ourselves in, undoubtedly, a measure of anxiety creeps in too. I see parents grab five minutes of text time, answering work calls while getting a snack for a child as they work, school, and play together for long periods. We need to go on an errand, and in a flash, we have entered the “mindless” space as if driving (safely) on autopilot.

Recent studies, conducted about the workweek since COVID-19 forced us to shelter-in-place, show that we are now using that time saved from commuting to put in longer days. Consistent exposure to news and social media reinforces uncertainty. Information concerning the economy, job insecurity, partisan politics, and social unrest weaves its way into our minds and hearts, holding us in a low-grade, more consistent state of fight or flight, our body’s natural response to stresses.

Whew! Mindful awareness is nothing new. All the great religious traditions include some form of mindfulness activity such as prayer and contemplation, even meditation. When we commit to mindful practice, something as simple as taking six deep breaths, we lesson the mind chatter that hops around in our minds all day long. We put our self on a brief pause before we continue.

Science is proving that being present, in the moment, can change brain chemistry. The brain sends many signals through various autonomous pathways that we take for granted. In the moment has power. Power to ease the emotions, feel a moment of peacefulness, get us out of time and into self, and maybe feel a little bit of love in our hearts.

Mindful awareness helps us dive into, explore, quiet down, and become more aware of what is really going on around, and inside, us. Can we understand that by deepening our attention in the now, we develop a healthier attitude towards self? I/we matter. Being present, in turn, can radiate a feeling of a healthier “I.”  Can we then share a little bit of that calmness, a little bit of that loving feeling with the world?

I started this blog with a song playing in my mind. Listening to a song that moves us can keep us in the now.

Here at Cloud9 Online.:www:c9ohealth.com, we suggest that yes, we can create more inner calm as we live with and live through these changes. We offer a meditation app, MediMind, for free for a limited time that includes music. This App is easy to find and use on all devices, allows you to have mindful practice in your daily life.

In the meantime, Remember: Breathe in. . .  “What the world needs now,”…Breathe out. . .” is love, sweet love.”

Enjoy your day.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/08/04/remote-work-longer-days/

https://www.workingmother.com/remote-work-longer-hours-more-meetings

https://www.apa.org/monitor/jun02/employees

https://genius.com/Dionne-warwick-what-the-world-needs-now-lyrics

Change or Chance?

by Judith Dreyer, MS, BSN

Complementary and Alternative Modalities (CAM) receive a lot of press these days. The COVID-19 pandemic forced us home and socially distanced us. What do we do when we don’t have to be in traffic, physically get to work? In other words, what happened to us when some of our daily business, school, and home activities stopped or redirected? What happened to you if you were a first responder or medical personnel on the front lines?

Change is probably the one thing we resist the most. For some, being home was a welcomed relief despite redirection. For others, life was intense figuring out how to be with family day in or day out, working all online, homeschooling, or with young children or being totally isolated.

No matter the situation, I bet you fit in different shows, maybe took a class, or signed up for webinars, maybe experienced more quiet time, alone time than usual.

Here at Cloud 9 Online, we hope you looked at your daily habits and routines. We encourage you to add a mindful practice, a meditation to your daily routine. I sent my family working on the front lines in the hospitals one of our “Supporting Your Immune System” meditations by Jeff Nelder, our Chief Mindfulness Officer.

Meditation, contemplation practices are not new. But, for some reason, we in the west want what we do quantified, measured in some way. I love our curiosity, our eagerness to prove what the ancient sages advised. Today technological innovations are giving us more and more tools to do just that: to investigate how mindful practices work in our brain. What’s healthy and what’s not.

What mindful practice works best for you? How much time do you have to spend? Breathing awareness, deep yawning, walking all contribute to redirecting our “monkey mind” brain to quiet down. Adverse news reports, disrupted schedules, and uncertainty can be frustrating and disheartening.

Andrew Newberg, MD and Mark Robert Waldman in their book, How God Changes Your Brain, suggest that a basic brain-enhancement program including breathing, relaxation, and meditation for twenty or forty minutes changes our brain’s connectivity. If you are not able to spend that much time, then adjust the timing to fit your schedule. These researchers and practitioners have looked at studies that measure brain activity in active and advanced meditators to explore the question: Do these practices change our brain?

“ Our brain-scan studies of contemplative forms of Buddhist and Christian mediation show that when activity in the parietal areas decreases, a sense of timelessness and spacelessness emerges. This allows the meditator to feel at one with the object of contemplation: with God, the universe, peacefulness, or any other object upon which he or she focuses.”( Pp. 51-52.) Further on, they state that advanced or disciplined practitioners reach a state of oneness with all.

Cloud 9 Online offers you our MediMind app - free for 90 days. Got Stress? Choose MediMind Meditations for your daily practice. Try it for yourself: https://www.c9ohealth.com/download

Brain and Mindfulness in the Time of Uncertainty

by Judith Dreyer, MS, BSN

“To understand the immeasurable, the mind must be extraordinarily quiet, still.”– Jiddu Krishnamurti

Classics withstand the test of time. The works of Shakespeare, for example, reverberate today in theaters across the world, move us and have for a few centuries. So too with mindfulness practices. Sitting in stillness, observing breath, meditating whether conscious, guided imagery, or using sound are nothing new.

Today with the difficulties we face on many levels and working from home, we have an opportunity to include mindfulness practices. We can sprinkle them within our day to rejuvenate our approach to work and family.

The 2017 National Health Survey found that U.S. adults use of meditation in the past twelve months tripled between 2012-2017. (from 4.2 % to 14.2%) https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation-in-depth[1]

Why are we turning to mindful practices? Why could they be important to include in our daily life?

The NIHCAM reports ongoing studies are showing a positive health response to folks experiencing pain, high blood pressure, IBS, Ulcerative Colitis, anxiety, depression, and insomnia when including a meditation practice into their daily routine. And that meditation practice in particular “can affect activity in the amygdala (a part of the brain involved in processing emotions), and that different types of meditation can affect the amygdala differently even when the person is not meditating. “

What I find fascinating is that meditation studies also suggest that this mindful practice may slow, stall or even reverse changes in our brain as we age. As our population gets older, keeping healthy, strong, and vital on all levels are worthy goals. We retire from employment, have more time to create healthy routines that nourish body, mind, and soul.

What else happens in our brain with mindfulness attention? In How God changes your Brain, by Dr. Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman, researchers found that spiritual practices increase dopamine levels by 65%. We know that dopamine creates increased sensory imagery, generates pleasurable experiences, stimulates positive thoughts, increases your sense of well-being and allows you to feel safe in the world.” (p. 55)

Brain image studies are suggesting that long term meditators “have more folds in the outer layer of the brain. This process, (called gyrification) may increase the brains ability to process information.” (NIHCAM :https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation-in-depth )

Today, uncertainty over finances, jobs, culture, social unrest, travel restrictions can steal our inner calm. Do we feel safe? Can we face all the uncertainties and isolation with more inner peace?

Here at Cloud 9 Online we suggest that yes, we can create more inner clam as we live with and live through these changes. We offer a meditation app for free for a limited time. Easy to find and use on all devices allows you to include meditation, sound in your daily life.

Remember: breathe in... breathe out... with mindfulness. Enjoy your day.

1.      https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation-in-depth 

2.      https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation-in-depth[2]

3.      How God Changes Your Brain, by Dr. Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman