Health tip of the week
Be mindful
It’s too easy to live life without truly experiencing it—to worry about the past, or fret about the future, rather than living in the moment. Slow down. Concentrate on present experiences, surroundings, and sensations rather than anxieties.
“It is important to spend some time planning for the future and solving problems,” says John Testerman, MD, PhD, recently retired chair of the LLUH family medicine department. “However, most of us spend too much time ruminating over past mistakes, worrying about the future, fretting about situations or events we can do nothing about at the moment, or anticipating some future moment which we imagine will be better than the present one.
“In the meantime,” he says, “we are missing life, which always and only occurs right here, right now.”
Mindfulness meditation is one way to develop the ability to live in the present while letting go of extra anxieties. Research findings are demonstrating that mindfulness meditation improves well-being, sleep, and empathy, as well as decreases burnout, stress, anxiety, and depression. It is taught at more than 300 medical centers nationally because of its positive effects on mental and physical health.
Testerman hosts a free weekly mindfulness training and practice group from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. on Wednesdays in the Meridian Conference Room in the LLUMC East Campus administration building.
Loma Linda University Health staff, students, and faculty are welcome. There is no cost to attend.
“By learning to recognize when our minds have been distracted by unhelpful thoughts and choosing to come back to the present, we can better focus on the task at hand, become aware of the subtle beauty and blessings which surround us, and be more present to those we love,” Testerman says.
For more information, e-mail jtesterman@llu.edu.
“Be happy in the moment, that's enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.” –Mother Teresa