Brown Bag Lunch and Learn Monday, September 15, 2014 Noon to 1:00 Conference Room 6

At Providence Health Care we take care of others every day with compassion, mindfulness is one way of taking care of you. Bring your lunch and learn about Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Everyone is welcome.

Mindfulness is about being present in the moment and paying attention in a particular way. This simple technique can be employed in a variety of ways to improve overall wellness and to help in managing distressing symptoms. Based on the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn from the University of Massachusetts, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction has been extensively studied and found to effectively reduce anxiety, stress, blood pressure, chronic pain and psoriasis. Recent research suggests that a simple 8 week program of MBSR can alter the hard wiring of the brain and also improve immune system functioning. This one hour talk will introduce the concept of mindfulness and provide simple ideas that can be incorporated into everyday life.

Linda C. Turner, RN,PhD

Linda is the manager of Health and Human Services Holistic Health Studies at Langara College in the Continuing Studies department. Previously she was a Clinical Nurse Specialist for pain management at Vancouver Hospital, University Health Network in Toronto and University of California Medical Center in San Francisco. She studied with Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts in 1998 and again in 2001 to learn how to teach Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). She has taught the eight week MBSR program over the past 15 years to patients in pain and members of the general public. All Mindfulness courses are offered through Continuing Studies at Langara College at least twice per year. There is a web site called www. mbsrbc that lists all mindfulness instructors in British Columbia where course listings can be found.

Sponsored by Mission, Ethics and Spirituality Questions? Contact Carol Dixon 604-806-9892