Elaine J. Yuen, PhD, Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Suite 119, 1025 Walnut Street, Center for Research in Medical Education and Health Care, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-955-9405, elaine.yuen@jefferson.edu

Meditation practices have the potential to benefit both elderly care recipients and their formal/informal caregivers. Meditation practices, drawn from Buddhist and Hindu teachings, give caregivers and care recipients alike perspectives that address impermanence, death and dying. This view has been incorporated into treatment and caregiving approaches, particularly in hospice and palliative care settings where elders face daily experiences of loss and change within their lives. Practitioners of meditation have discovered that meditation can be practiced concurrently with their existent religious traditions, and that it is not necessary to become a Buddhist. Rather, contemplative seekers from many traditions have benefited from the practices and understandings of meditation. In meditation practice, through the non-judgmental acknowledgement of thoughts, feelings, hopes and fears, a context is provided where anxieties about physical and mental functioning may be faced, felt, and understood. Although there are many types of meditation disciplines, we will report research findings on those that utilize sitting meditation, using the breath or mantra (sacred word) as a focal point. Research results have shown that a regular meditation practice significantly reduces mental health symptoms such as anxiety and depression; improves a person’s functional status and quality of life; and reduces somatic symptoms of those with medical diagnoses. For elders, meditation has the potential to improve their memory, attention span, and free them from cultural stereotypes about the aged such as being frail and infirm. Caregivers and elders alike may benefit from meditation practices as a way to grieve elders' gradual cognitive and functional losses.

Learning Objectives:

• * to describe physiological and psychological effects of meditation
• * to demonstrate how elders and their caregivers can be supported by meditation techniques
• * to describe resources available to those interested in learning more about meditation and aging

Keywords: Aging, Mental Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Handout (.rtf format, 30.7 kb)

Handout (.ppt format, 579.0 kb)