Mindfulness

I'd like to take this moment to plug my classmate, Lydia's blog, Reflections of an Oriental Medicine Student.

She's also writing about her experience as a TCM student. She gets all the credit for informing us about H.R. 646.

Go, Lydia!

Back to our regularly scheduled blog: On the roller coaster that is school, this week has been great! I studied like a mad woman and aced my practical exam in Living Anatomy. I was nauseous when I went into the room for the test. It went so much better than I expected.

It began simply enough. "Where is the sternoclavicular joint?"

Easy!

Then it got it a little harder from there, but it was over pretty quickly. Great relief!

I also aced my pericardium and heart points quizzes this week. I'm a very happy woman. It seems so up and down, one week I fail a quiz and I feel devastated, the next week I make a few A's and I'm at the top of the world.  Will I get to the point where I'm not so deeply affected by letter grades?

After the practical exam, I still had too much adrenalin running through me. I was still feeling very anxious even though I knew I'd passed. It was a gorgeous day. I came home, put Kieran into the car, and we drove to the 1,000 acre park. The sky was crystal blue clear, there was a strong wind blowing high in the trees, and we found a new trail through some woods. It was heavenly. The perfect way to end a really stressful couple of days.

The following day in Research class, the professor, Ryan Milley,  led us on a mindful meditation before beginning the lecture. It's really wonderful to begin a class with a few minutes of meditation. We've been looking at published studies on acupuncture and other CAM modalities. We're learning how to read scientific studies, critique them, and use them to support our practice.

What's interesting is that in some of the studies, the acupuncturist tells some of the subjects that there is going to be a good outcome from the treatment. It's been proven that if the patient gets this little positive plug from his acupuncturist, the results are more positive than for those who get a practitioner with a flat affect who gives very little explanation of the treatment. On the upside is that those who receive both kinds of treatments do better than those who receive no acupuncture at all.

Establishing mindfulness in us while we're still first year students teaches us experientially how much we can benefit ourselves and our future patients. By being mindful and present with patients, we help them create a better outcome from their treatments. 

I hope that mindfulness will also get me to a place where the highs and lows of my academic career don't take me on such an emotional roller coaster ride. I believe meditation and Qigong will continue teaching me balance.


I know for certain we can rewire our brains. My healing path has proven that. We have the power within us to accomplish so much. It all starts with a few quiet moments, some deep easy breathing, and a focus inward away from the busy bee-hive mind. If you're truly present, it makes the ride so much more manageable.

Namaste