Virtual Wellness Center

The National Cancer Institute explains meditation as “a mind–body practice in which you focus your attention on something, such as an object, word, phrase, or breathing, to help you find comfort and meaning.” If you have recently been diagnosed with cancer or are facing complications, your mind can be so full of worry and stress, it is a struggle to be present and aware of what’s going on around you.

Meditation is a skill that requires practice and can bring the following benefits:

• Increased positive outlook
• Improved calmness and relaxation
• Enhanced self-awareness
• Overall health benefits

Meditation tips from the National Cancer Institute:

• Talk with your doctor or physical therapist about what types of meditation you can do.
• Start with two to three minutes of meditation when you feel negative or stressed. Try longer sessions as you get comfortable.
• Set a goal for how many times a week you would like to meditate. Maybe start with one or two times each week. Skip days you feel physically unwell. Be mindful of what your body needs, which could be rest.
• Find a quiet location to sit and lie comfortably. Close your eyes, clear your mind, and breathe naturally.
• Focus your attention on your breathing and how the body moves when you inhale and exhale without controlling the pace or intensity. If your mind wanders, return your focus back to your breath.
• Learn new techniques from a trained specialist, or educational video or app.

Examples of ways to meditate:

Guided relaxation exercises

These exercises help you relax and take back a feeling of control over your life. The following guided relaxation exercises were put together by Henry Ford Health experts.

• Guided relaxation 1
• Guided relaxation 2
• Guided relaxation 3
• Guided relaxation 4
• Beach Guided Imagery meditation
• Forest guided imagery meditation

Breathing strategies

• Being conscious of your breathing can help you decrease stress and feel more relaxed. Here are some deep breathing exercises you can try.
• Diaphragmatic breathing
  1. Place 1 hand on your chest and the other on your belly
  2. Take a deep breath in through your nose, allowing diaphragm (abdominal) to inflate with enough air to create a slight stretching sensation in your lungs.
  3. Exhale slowly
  4. Take 6-10 deep, slow breaths per minute for 10 minutes each day
• Breath Focus
  1. While you practice deep breathing, use a picture in your mind and a word or phrase to help you feel more relaxed.
  2. Close your eyes if they’re open
  3. Take a few big, deep breaths
  4. Breathe in. As you do that, imagine that the air is filled with a sense of peace and calm. Try to feel it throughout your body.
  5. Breathe out. While you’re doing that, imagine that the air leaves with your stress and tension.
  6. Now use a word or phrase with your breath. As you breathe in, say in your mind, “I breathe in peace and calm.”
  7. As you breathe out, say in your mind, “I breathe out stress and tension.”

Box breathing

• Breathe in through your nose while counting to 4, slowly (If counting to 4 is difficult, count to 3).
• Hold your breath for 4 seconds.
• Being able to slowly exhale for 4 seconds.
• Repeat for a few minutes OR until calm

The Henry Ford Center for Integrative Medicine has experts that specialize in teaching people to meditate.

Mindfulness is when a person focuses only on experiences happening in the present. Another way to describe mindfulness is “being in the moment.”

Benefits of mindfulness include:

• Better sleep
• Lower levels of stress
• Reduced anxiety
• Increased enjoyment of daily things while being mindful (taste of food, etc.)
• Increase in positivity
• Decreased anxiety around diagnosis and cancer treatment

Mindfulness can be practiced through meditation, conscious breathing or other exercises focusing your 5 senses.

Mindfulness resources:

Practice mindfulness anywhere guided by these free mindfulness apps for your phone or tablet:

• Insight Timer
• Smiling Mind
• Stop, Breathe and Think
• UCLA Mindful
• Ten Percent Happier

Expressing yourself through art can have a therapeutic effect on your mind and body. Creating art will help you to slow down and explore any issues you may be having. While there are many benefits to working with a certified art therapist, there are also many simple activities you can try from the comfort of your home, like art journaling, sketching, coloring, making collages, sculpting with clay, etc. that can give you similar benefits.

Art therapy benefits:

• Acknowledge and recognize strong feelings you are having
• Feel accomplished
• Express strong emotions and fears in a healthy
• Relieve stress, anxiety depression and other emotional trauma
• Feel more relaxed

Learn more about art therapy at Henry Ford Cancer.

Good quality sleep is important for all aspects of life, especially while in cancer treatment. Good quality sleep is linked to improved mood and decreased anxiety and depression.

Ways to create a good sleep routine:

• Stop caffeine intake 6-7 hours before bedtime
• Decrease midday naps and limit naps to 30 minutes if needed
• Stop using electronics such as your mobile phone or tablet 30 minutes before bedtime
• Use your bed for sleeping only to encourage restful sleep
• Keep your room at a cool, comfortable temperature (65-75 degrees F)

For more information on sleep hygiene, visit American Sleep Association.

Aerobic Exercises

• Walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, dancing, etc. have been proven to reduce anxiety and depression.
• Experts recommend that cancer patients and those who have recently finished treatment should exercise at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes each time, with the goal of reaching 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week.
• Strength training should also be included in your exercise regimen, aiming for a full-body workout 2 days a week.
• Always consult with your doctor before starting a new exercise routine for your safety.

ExCITE

• Henry Ford offers the ExCITE (Exercise and Cancer Integrative Therapy Education) program to all cancer patients and post-treatment survivors.
• This program pairs you with an exercise physiologist, who meets with you and prepares an individualized exercise plan based on your needs.

Yoga

• The benefits of yoga include increased strength, flexibility and balance, improved mood and improved sleep. Henry Ford offers yoga videos for different skill levels.

Exercise Videos

• You can find exercise videos of all types and for all skill levels on YouTube, google, through your cable provider or on workout apps.

Besides improving mental health, studies have shown that regular exercise helps to prevent cancer and help cancer patients and post-treatment survivors live longer.