CSP student representatives development weekend 2017: mindfulness helps treat chronic illness

^{Students experienced the key elements of posture, breath and the mind with their eyes tight shut during a mindfulness meditation session. Photo: Lorne Campbell/Guzelain}

In his lecture entitled Introduction to mindfulness, Elliot Cohen offered suggestions to how the physicality, breath and movement of mindfulness can be linked to physiotherapy and threw in the practical demonstration.

‘There is an encouraging and growing evidence base that mindfulness is having an impact in treating chronic illness and depression,’ Dr Cohen told the reps.

Dr Cohen, senior lecturer in interdisciplinary psychology and social psychology at Leeds Beckett University, who is also an authorised teacher of Buddhist meditation and mindfulness, took students through the key moments of the history of mindfulness.

Student reps Charlotte Holloway and Caroline Barby also got fellow students into the mindfulness zone with more exercises and tips to combat stress and keep focus as student physios and CSP reps.

‘We all go above and beyond to help others and get stressed sometimes. These are simple mindfulness techniques you can adopt to become relaxed and treat ourselves with kindness,’ Ms Holloway said.

After the sessions, Alex Zavallis-Roebuck a third year student at University of Central Lancashire, said he was thinking of researching the impact of mindfulness and breathing on chronic back pain for his dissertation. ‘There was some interesting work done about blowing up a balloon to treat back pain as the breathing helped relax the muscles and blocked the pain. I’d like to research more links to how breath is used in treatment.