Mindful Medicine: 40 Simple Practices to Help Healthcare Professionals Heal Burnout and Reconnect to Purpose

Simple mindfulness practices to help health care professionals of all kinds reconnect with themselves and their patients, find joy, and build resilience.

Healers need healing too. Mindful Medicine shares simple mindfulness practices and brief meditations that fit easily into the demanding schedule of a healthcare worker's day, creating an experience of less stress and more presence, connection, ease, and flow. Addressing topics such as connecting with yourself and your patients, the role of the Inner Critic in medicine, and rescue remedies for times of stress, this book offers evidence-based support for the many challenges of healthcare work. These short practices are an invitation to replenish the passion of healthcare work and douse the flickering flames of burnout.

ISBN-13: 9781645470526

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Shambhala

Publication Date: 07-26-2022

Pages: 240

Product Dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.70(d)

Jan Chozen Bays, MD, is a Zen master in the White Plum lineage of the late master Taizan Maezumi Roshi. She serves as a priest and teacher at the Jizo Mountain–Great Vow Zen Monastery in Clatskanie, Oregon. She is also a pediatrician who specializes in the evaluation of children for abuse and neglect. She is the author of several books, including Mindfulness on the Go and Mindful Eating.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 Benefits of Mindfulness for Healthcare Professionals 11

2 The Inner Critic in Medicine and in Life 20

3 Meditation is Natural 31

4 Connecting with Yourself 35

Wash Your Mind When You Wash Your Hands 38

Loving Kindness on the Way to or from Work 42

Mindful Self-Compassion 49

A Mindful Walking Path 59

Ears Wide Open 64

Breathing Together 69

Actively Practicing Gratitude 72

Continuous Prayer 77

Nature Bathing 83

Loving Hands, Healing Touch 87

First Three Bites, First Three Sips 91

Simple Joys 96

The Mysterious Life of Your Tongue 101

Not Touching Your Face 105

Remembering Your Vow 108

Working with Anger 115

Clearing Out the Day 123

5 Connecting with Your Patients 127

Talking about What Is Working Well 131

Asking about Hobbies-And Undertaking a Hobby 136

Noticing Eye Color 140

Asking about Pets or Plants 145

Absorptive Compassionate Listening 150

Asking about Fears and Worries 155

Asking about Sources of Support 160

Asking about Enjoyment or Blessings 166

This Person Could Die Tonight 170

6 Guided Meditations 174

Gratitude for the Body 175

Loving Kindness for the Body 178

Discovering and Releasing Tension in the Body 180

Grounding Your Mind in the Earth 182

Dissolving Skin 184

7 Rescue Remedies for Times of Acute Need 188

4-7-8 Relaxation Breathing 189

Brief Body Scan 190

Breathing Peace 191

Listen to the Sound of Silence 192

Mantra 193

Empty like the Room 195

Grounding Your Mind in the Earth: Short Version 196

Brief Gratitude Practice 197

Mindful Self-Compassion: Short Version 198

Silly Walking 199

8 Suggestions for Mindful Medicine Groups and Retreats 200

Resources, References, and Additional Reading 208

Notes 212

About the Author 230

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