Shelly Young & Art Baker
Bring Meditation To Longmont United Hospital
Bring Meditation To Longmont United Hospital
By Kathe Forrest
Longmont area therapist Shelly Young and natural health educator Art Baker have combined forces to help people deal with stress through workshops offered at Longmont United Hospital. Shelly Young, M.A., lives in Niwot, She has been practicing for 21 years as a psychotherapist and is also a meditation instructor.
Shelly and her teaching partner Art Baker, M.A., a 22 year
practitioner and teacher of meditation, will present the hospital’s
third meditation class entitled, “Peace of Mind in the Daily Grind:
Stress Management/Eyes Open Meditation.” The class begins on
Saturday, Jan. 13. It is open to the public and is sponsored by Prestige
Plus, the hospital’s alternative wellness program.
According to Shelly, over the past fifteen years, mindfulness meditation has become popular in mainstream settings, such as hospitals, prisons and corporations. Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn has been a pioneer in bringing meditation into the hospital
setting through his work at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.
In his book entitled Full Catastrophe Living he describes the use of mindfulness techniques for chronic pain patients who were referred by physicians who were unable to offer help. Research demonstrates that two thirds of Dr. Kabat-Zinn’s students are able to achieve reduced suffering from pain and an improved quality of life with consistent practice of his techniques.
She continued by saying, “If you step into any mindfulness meditation seminar you (will likely find) medical doctors, psychologists, postal workers, psychotherapists, computer programmers, pregnant mothers-to-be, etc. You will find those who want relief from stress and those who are suffering from terminal illness, chronic pain or compulsive behavior.”
People meditate because they seek peace of mind. “Its goal is to reduce and ultimately eliminate suffering. Suffering doesn’t mean you live a life of misery. It means that you are getting caught up in thoughts and feelings. ‘Getting caught up’ means that one is grabbing on to or pushing away thought and feeling so that the thoughts and feelings become an imposition on your peace of mind,” Shelly stated.
With mindfulness meditation, you “train away” the push-pull habit of relating to thought and feeling. You replace the unwholesome habit with the habit of “non-interference.” Thoughts and feelings then begin to flow without becoming a source of suffering. Then you can experience unpleasant situations without feeling trapped in them and pleasant situations without neediness. In summing up Shelly said, “The great discovery is that a sense of calm and peace is always with you under any circumstances.”
To register for the class call Prestige Plus at 303-651-5080. For information on Shelly and Art’s classes entitled, “Break Through Sugar and Carbohydrate Addiction” and “Fresh Produce Nutrition,” call Shelly at 303-652-6265. Also visit Art’s website: <www.HealthCreation.net >.
Longmont area therapist Shelly Young and natural health educator Art Baker have combined forces to help people deal with stress through workshops offered at Longmont United Hospital. Shelly Young, M.A., lives in Niwot, She has been practicing for 21 years as a psychotherapist and is also a meditation instructor.
Shelly and her teaching partner Art Baker, M.A., a 22 year
practitioner and teacher of meditation, will present the hospital’s
third meditation class entitled, “Peace of Mind in the Daily Grind:
Stress Management/Eyes Open Meditation.” The class begins on
Saturday, Jan. 13. It is open to the public and is sponsored by Prestige
Plus, the hospital’s alternative wellness program. According to Shelly, over the past fifteen years, mindfulness meditation has become popular in mainstream settings, such as hospitals, prisons and corporations. Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn has been a pioneer in bringing meditation into the hospital
setting through his work at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.
In his book entitled Full Catastrophe Living he describes the use of mindfulness techniques for chronic pain patients who were referred by physicians who were unable to offer help. Research demonstrates that two thirds of Dr. Kabat-Zinn’s students are able to achieve reduced suffering from pain and an improved quality of life with consistent practice of his techniques.
She continued by saying, “If you step into any mindfulness meditation seminar you (will likely find) medical doctors, psychologists, postal workers, psychotherapists, computer programmers, pregnant mothers-to-be, etc. You will find those who want relief from stress and those who are suffering from terminal illness, chronic pain or compulsive behavior.”
People meditate because they seek peace of mind. “Its goal is to reduce and ultimately eliminate suffering. Suffering doesn’t mean you live a life of misery. It means that you are getting caught up in thoughts and feelings. ‘Getting caught up’ means that one is grabbing on to or pushing away thought and feeling so that the thoughts and feelings become an imposition on your peace of mind,” Shelly stated.
With mindfulness meditation, you “train away” the push-pull habit of relating to thought and feeling. You replace the unwholesome habit with the habit of “non-interference.” Thoughts and feelings then begin to flow without becoming a source of suffering. Then you can experience unpleasant situations without feeling trapped in them and pleasant situations without neediness. In summing up Shelly said, “The great discovery is that a sense of calm and peace is always with you under any circumstances.”
To register for the class call Prestige Plus at 303-651-5080. For information on Shelly and Art’s classes entitled, “Break Through Sugar and Carbohydrate Addiction” and “Fresh Produce Nutrition,” call Shelly at 303-652-6265. Also visit Art’s website: <www.HealthCreation.net >.
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Posted January 2001