Self Care

As we continue to take more difficult classes in pursuit of becoming nurses, it is easy to forget about self-care. In an effort to prevent burn out, our group has integrated the practices of exercise and meditation into our daily schedules. In the following, we discuss how both mediation and exercise worked and didn’t work for us, what we learned while on this journey, and how we applied our learning to teach someone the skills and knowledge we obtained in meditation and exercise. Countless research and studies have been conducted to explore the benefits of meditation and exercise in relation to people’s well-being. Dimeo, Thomas, Raabe-Menseen, Propper & Mathias (2004) studied the effects of exercise and relaxation on various post-operative cancer patients. The 72 participants, divided into two groups that either exercised on a stationary bike or practiced muscle relaxation techniques. Following the 3-week study, participants from both the exercise and relaxation group reported less fatigue and increased emotional function as well as improved overall health (Dimeo et al., 2004). In a German study, participants suffering from various forms of chronic or acute diseases, psychological distress or psychosomatic disorders, meditation were enacted in an attempt to provide participants with coping mechanisms to help alleviate stresses from their disorders. Following an 8-week meditation program, participants reported enhanced emotional and physical well-being, as well as improved psychological distress and increased conception of life (Majumdar, Grossman, Dietz-Waschkowski, Kersig, & Walach, 2002). The similarities of meditation and exercise enhance the overall well-being in reaching optimum mind and body connection. For the members of the group, practicing meditation and exercise elicited many benefits including: increased concentration and focus, better affect, reduced stress, establishing routine and organized habits (e.g. sleep pattern improvement) and

References: Dimeo, F.C., Thomas, F., Raabe-Menssen, C., Propper, F. & Mathias, M. (2004). Effect of aerobic exercise and relaxation training on fatigue and physical performance of cancer patients after surgery. A randomised controlled trial [Electronic version]. Support Care Cancer, 12, 774-779. Gefen, S. (Personal Communication March 1-2, 2008 & March 7-8, 2008). Majumdar, M., Grossman, P., Dietz-Waschkowski, B., Kersig, S. & Walach, H. (2002). Does mindfulness meditation contribute to health? Outcome evaluation of a German sample [Electronic version]. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 8(4), 719-730 Potter, P. & Perry, A.G. (2005). Fundamentals of nursing. St. Louis, MO: Mosby. Visovsky, C. (2005). Exercise and cancer recovery. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Retrieved Febuary 6, 2008, from http:/www.nursingworld.org/MainMenucategories/ANAMarket/ANAperiodicals/OJIN/H irsh/Oncology/ExerciseandCancerRecovery.aspx