Lets take a moment to pause and take a deep breath. You may want to place your hand on your heart for a moment.
Offer some loving kindness to yourself. There is a lot going on these days, and taking a pause, when we can, may facilitate a lot of good during these challenging times.
"Stay Together, Learn the Flowers, Go Light"
-Gary Snyder
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The Greek philosopher Heraclitus once said, "The only constant is change." Autumn reminds us that our bodies, minds, and surroundings are always, changing, always adapting and healing. It focuses on the impermanence of life, emphasizing how vital it is to embrace the present moment.
At the beginning of the year I enrolled in the IPP (Intensive Practice Program) through UCLA. My mother has been teaching for many years through the MARC (Mindful Awareness Research Center) program out of UCLA, and recently was promoted to head of her department. Proud daughter moment...:) I have wanted to commit to an in-depth meditation and mindfulness practice for many years with the intention of offering our Thermography Center clients a mindfulness and health retreat in Costa Rica at some point. The pandemic has slowed the execution of our plans down, however the dream to make it happen is still in creation mode! And, now we will have more wellness tools and modalities to share with you!
Some the teachings through the program may also be useful to you in your lives at this juncture. How to turn Obstacles into Allies, Working with Difficult Emotions, Growing an Equanimity practice and cultivating more Loving Kindness, to both yourself, others, and the world. I certainly have grown, and learned useful tools for working with these challenging times. Whether this kind of work or program speaks to you or not, cultivating compassion, along with mindfulness practices, and radical acceptance may be very supportive to you, your health and to the wellbeing of those around you. Supporting self care is always something we support at The Thermography Center. We encourage you to stay present and kind to whatever shows up.....the fear, the joy, the confusion, the heartbreak, the beauty, the sadness, the peace, the pain, and the love....all of it.
If mindfulness practices are of interest to you, you may find more information at:
https://www.uclahealth.org/marc/about-marc
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October is our give back month!
Breast screenings are only $210
Full Body Scans are discounted to only $420
It is a good time to schedule! But only during the month of Oct, so be sure to schedule soon as we fill up quickly!
Share this good news with your friends and family!
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If you don't know what Breast Thermography Is? Learn more below....
Or even better, visit our website where you access blogs, articles and previous newsletters!
www.thethermographycenter.com
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Breast Thermography can screen for early indications of disease in the breast. You can then halt & reverse symptoms holistically before they become life threatening.
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The Strong Connection Between Mindfulness Practices and Health |
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Mind Body Medicine: Can What You Think and Feel Affect Your Physical Health?
Susan Smalley, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA
How you think and feel emotionally can contribute to your physical health and well-being — it’s just that simple. The list of scientific studies demonstrating that point comes from diverse fields of study including medicine, neuroscience, immunology, genetics, psychiatry and psychology.
Integrative medicine is fast becoming the examplar of approaches to healthcare based on the importance of treating the whole person — taking into account body and mind — in health promotion, disease treatment and prevention. The mind influences the body, and the body influences the mind.
It is now well known that chronic stress is a significant contributor to illness and the leading cause of death worldwide. Psychiatric disorders like anxiety and depression are on the rise in adults and children, and they are estimated to affect as many as one in two adults at some point in the lifespan. Science shows that stress affects a wide range of physiological states in the body, particularly the immune response, but also factors important in aging (like telomere shortening). A recent study of social anxiety conducted at UCLA illustrates the powerful role such anxiety can have on our body’s inflammatory response, and other research is showing how body illnesses like irritable bowel disease have associated brain states.
Thus the mind is a powerful vehicle for reducing body health. But conversely, it may be a powerful vehicle for enhancing it, as well.
Yet modern medicine provides very little in the way of a doctor’s prescription to treat our mind states when dealing with health issues. We may be told to relax or be less stressed, but very often there is no remedy to do so (aside from momentary release in prescription meds when severe enough). It is where the role of mind-body practices like meditation, tai chi, yoga, or other forms of tailored exercises for mental health is needed.
Research, albeit still limited, is indicating that mindfulness practices (exercises that increase present-moment awareness) are very beneficial to health and well-being, influencing a wide range of physiological and subjective states including:
- Boosting the immune response in cancer and HIV patients.
- Reducing pain in chronic pain patients, including sufferers of arthritis, back pain, and headaches, among others.
- Improving the effectiveness of behavioral change programs like smoking reduction, weight loss, and substance abuse.
- Enhancing heart health when coupled with an integrative health care.
- Reducing the risk for relapse in clinical depression by half compared to a standard treatment protocol.
- Reducing anxiety and stress across a wide range of physical and mental health disorders.
The mechanisms of how mindfulness alters brain and body physiology is under investigation by labs around the world, but preliminary findings demonstrate changes in brain function and structure, immune cytokines, stress hormones and gene expression patterns, to name a few.
The means by which mindfulness influences health and well-being will be a topic of science for decades to come, but what is already suggested is that it alters our relationship with thoughts and emotions so that there is a level of “decentering” that arises, where our experiences are seen as less attached. In a way, there is a greater sense of awareness that these experience are part of the human condition and less personal or attached to oneself. By practicing mindfulness exercises (a whole host of practices is available from books, courses and free downloads) on a regular basis, we can learn to relate to life’s experiences (whether that is an illness, a pain or a negative mental thought) with greater ease and equanimity.
Scientific evidence suggests that this can and does enhance our health, regardless of the particular circumstances that may be hindering it.
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Ubuntu is an ancient African word meaning 'humanity to others'. It also means 'I am what I am because of who we all are'.
Thermography Center understands the inter-connected nature of the functions in the body and when successfully supported creates health. We are all inter-connected and need each other to thrive. Below you will find ways to both give and be given to. We all know we need both, in different areas or aspects and at different times of our lives!
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Can You Make a Contribution?
If so, we need money to help fund our no cost or low cost breast screenings. Call our office and Mikayla can assist you in making a donation to someone in need.
Pay it forward?
Refer 6 new clients to us and receive 50% off on your next breast screening.
Can you Pay With Cash?
Remember our cash discounts, $10 off the cost of your breast screening and $20 off the cost of a full body scan! Every little bit helps!
Welcome a Gift?
We will continue to operate on a sliding scale and offer at cost screenings when we can. Call for more info and to set up a discounted screening appointment. We will do our best, with the funds we have, to support your 100% safe screening needs...:)
Need a Scholarship?
The United Breast Cancer Foundation is currently offering scholarships to those in need. To qualify to go: https://www.ubcf.org/programs-services/breast-screening/
You will need to fill out an application to see if you eligible and be able to pay for your breast screening at the time of your appointment. This generous organization will grant as much as $150 towards the cost of your breast screening.
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Announcements!
We recently hired another Thermographer! Please Welcome Aubrie Woods! You will see her beautiful self in training with me starting at the end of the month! She is a certified Trauma coach, a graduate of the University of Santa Monica, and a mother of a child who has been medically challenged for years. We are so excited to welcome her to the team, and know she will bring her loving, wise and dedicated heart to all of you!
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I wanted to let you all know that we will be increasing the cost of your screenings.
I procured The Thermography Center in 2011, 10 years ago! I truly feel honored to have been a part of offering 100% safe, radiation and compression free screening options for so many rewarding years. It has been my mission to offer exemplary service, preventative and proactive support and low cost screening options....all of which we have achieved! We intend to continue to offer the same services for years to come!
Please note our new prices:
Breast Screening - $240
Breast Baseline or Follow-up Screening (3 months after initial screening/since last screening - $200
Full Body Scan and Breast Screening - $480
Full Body (male or without breast screening) - $460
Region of Interest (Head/neck or Torso Scan) - $200
Womens Wellness Check/Upper Body Scan - $400
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May you be well, be happy, and take extra good care of yourselves and your loved ones!
Dawn Belden-Hope & Amanda Scharnberg
The Thermography Centers
805-560-7602
301-871-5647
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Thermography is not considered a replacement for other medical imaging which your doctor may advise you to have. |
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