Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a program that is based on relatively intensive training in mindfulness meditation and its applications for coping with stress, pain and the challenges of everyday life.

The UMASS Center for Mindfulness defines the practice as, "a way of learning to relate directly to whatever is happening in your life, a way of taking charge of your life, a way of...consciously and systematically working with your own stress, pain, illness and the challenges and demands of everyday life." Mindfulness focuses on total wellness, integrating body and mind.

People who can benefit from MBSR include those who struggle with:

• Stress
• Chronic pain and illness
• Anxiety and panic
• Sleep disturbances
• High blood pressure
• Depression
• Gastrointestinal symptoms
• Fatigue
• Headaches

The RMH MBSR program includes weekly meetings over an eight-week period and a day-long retreat. Participants are also asked to commit 45 minutes a day, six days a week to practices such as sitting and walking meditation, and mindful body scans and yoga. The program is led by RMH radiation oncologist Robert Kyler, MD and JMU biology professor Steve Keffer, PhD.

The fall program is Wednesdays, Oct. 1-Nov. 19, 6:30-9 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 8, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The cost is $299. To register, call RMH HealthSource at 540-433-4580.

---

About the Facilitators

Dr. Steve Keffer and Dr. Robert Kyler

Dr. Steve Keffer is a professor in the JMU department of biology where he is actively involved in stress reduction research. Dr. Robert Kyler has been practicing radiation oncology at the RMH Regional Cancer Center since its opening in 1990. Both Dr. Kyler and Dr. Keffer are long-time meditators; both were trained in mindfulness-based stress reduction at the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society at the University of Massachusetts Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts.

For more information about the RMH MBSR program, please contact:
Robert Kyler: 540-564-5532
Steve Keffer: 540-383-2701

Details