Our results

What I have found so invaluable is being able to work together in the session with the meditation/yoga instructors – rather than have separate groups.

This allows us to work back and forth addressing emotional and physical experience in the moment, as it comes up for patients. This allows patients to understand the natural integration of their physical and emotional pain in a way that addresses and honors each and they ways in which they interact. Unfortunately, for most of the patients their previous treatment has consisted of separate medical doctors and physical therapists who focus exclusively on the physical symptoms and problems on the one hand, and psychotherapists who focus only on the emotional and social aspects of the patient on the other hand. This separation is of course artificial and can be confusing to patients as it encourages them to adopt this spurious divide and puts them at odds with their own experience. Working directly with the interaction of the mind and body as we are able to do in the groups, leads patients to a greater understanding of their pain and teaches them practical techniques for intervention and healing”.

This is a tool for patients to learn that goes far beyond helping them to relax. The act of doing this for themselves is empowering for them and they gain in confidence and a sense of control that had been lost or severely strained. The mindfulness work also helps them to develop more positive and compassionate attitudes towards themselves. I have seen improvements in depression and anxiety as a result.

It has been exciting to watch patients using meditation and yoga as they grow in self-awareness of both their minds and bodies and the ways in which these interact. With their new understanding they are then able to use these techniques to intervene, replacing disruptive patterns with more adaptive ones.

Dr. Wendy Barron, Gouverneur Hospital

My patient described the yoga/meditation class as one of the best things to happen in her life. She had full effect on her face when she talked about the class. I have never seen her smile or engage in any emotional expression before.

Psychiatrist at Gouverneur Hospital

As an occupational therapist who has worked in a variety of adult rehabilitation settings for 17 years, I have been delighted to incorporate the skills and techniques that I have learned in The School for Compassionate Action. The emphasis on intelligent and compassionate modifications to yoga postures allows patients the ability to address ongoing patterns of tightness that are more interconnected and functional than typically addressed in traditional exercise or range of motion programs. I find the emphasis on mindfulness in both meditation and in the midst of yoga postures offers patients better self-found awareness of habitual physical, mental and emotional patterns that exacerbate their conditions. Lastly, I have found a unique community, hailing from such diverse backgrounds as yoga instructors, psychologists, social workers, and educators, who are dedicated to providing outstanding care and creatively offering patients’ options that allow them more autonomy and confidence in meeting their challenges.

Diana Slattery OTR/L

I run to the subway every day. I don’t think nothing when I’m running. I just watch my breath like you said. It’s the only way to stay out of trouble, so I guess you could say I meditate every morning.

SCA student in an alternative to incarceration program