A Conversation with Cecily McGaw

Painiac: The Podcast On Living Well Even When Life Hurts

Join Shelly in a conversation with Mindfulness­based Stress Reduction (MBSR) facilitator and fellow painiac Cecily McGaw. M BSR and its curriculum integrates both seated and walking meditation, gentle movement, and simple body­awareness practices. T he MBSR program started in the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in 1979 and is now offered in hundreds of hospitals and clinics around the world. MBSR is an inspiring tool for pain management because it emphasizes the need for a patient, practitioner partnership in healthcare. This approach allows the patient to tap into their own deepest inner resources for learning, growing, healing, and transformation, which ultimately can significantly empower people living with pain. Mindfulness has a hugely powerful impact on pain reduction. Researchers have found that mindfulness meditation reduces pain by activating the orbital frontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex, and these brain areas are associated with the self­-control of pain and mindfulness also helps to deactivate the thalamus, which is considered a filter, it determines which sensory information is sent to the higher centers of the brain. These new studies are showing that pain relief is actually going beyond the placebo effect. And because of this research we are now able to do imaging of the brain and we can actually see and track how the brain is changing as a result of these practices. Mindfulness can reduce pain levels in daily life and help you feel better equipped at handling flare­ups, challenging days, and difficult emotions that arise while living with pain, so that you can feel more like yourself and less like a patient.

Although Shelly Jackson is a certified professional coach, she is not providing medical advice. The pain management information on Painiac the Podcast for Mindful Pain Management is provided by Peaceful Body Coaching solely for informational purposes as a public service to promote wellness, and to support people living with chronic pain. It is not meant to provide medical advice tailored to you in any way. It does not constitute medical advice and is not intended to be a substitute for proper medical care provided by a physician or other licensed healthcare practitioner. Shelly Jackson, Peaceful Body Coaching, and the guests on Painiac assume no responsibility for any circumstances arising out of the use, misuse, interpretation or application of any information shared on Painiac the Podcast for Mindful Pain Management. Always consult with your doctor or healthcare practitioner for appropriate examinations, treatment, testing, and care recommendations. Do not rely on information on this site as a tool for self-diagnosis. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911 Theme music provided by www.bensound.com