UK Integrative Medicine and Health Program - Yoga Instruction

We are requesting start-up funds to offer our patients and caregivers Mindfulness Meditation/Yoga within the Markey Cancer Center. We will use the funds to hire an experienced mindfulness/yoga instructor. As we grow UK Integrative Medicine and Health, we realize that we must include therapies for which there is scientific evidence Of their efficacy. These therapies include acupuncture, massage, yoga, mindfulness and tai chi/chi gong. Perhaps the most essential is mindfulness — open attention on the present without judgment. Utilizing Functional MRI's, neuroscientists are able to image the brain and determine the areas of the brain that are affected during mindfulness meditation. These include diminished anxiety-related areas and enhanced relaxation areas. Molecular scientists rote that mindfulness meditation as well as yoga "turn on" immune enhancing genes and "turn off" inflammation- causing genes. Additionally, evidence demonstrates that, in many cases, patients who use complementary therapies need less pain medication. This is particularly important for cancer patients.