Visit the Website: Lifeline Chaplaincy

By Tomise Martin

Laughter Yoga for Cancer Patients

A complementary therapy that combines yoga breathing with the benefits of laughter helps some patients touched by cancer cope with stress and anxiety. Created by Indian holistic practitioner Madan Kataria in 1995, Laughter Yoga allows participants to escape the worries of their lives through amusement.

"Fighting cancer is tough. Patients need a break from thinking about it every day," says Christiana Liem, chaplain in the Department of Chaplaincy and Pastoral Education and laughter yoga facilitator at M. D. Anderson. "Laughter Yoga is a nice tool to help people not think about cancer but just to laugh." After researching Laughter Yoga on the Internet, Liem brought the practice to M. D. Anderson. Since then, she has become a certified Laughter Yoga leader and teaches a class at the Place ... of wellness. "Facing cancer every day, we're not often given opportunities to laugh," Liem says. "When I found information on a complementary therapy that focuses on laughter and cancer, I knew it would be a great fit for our patients." Class participants follow the Laughter Yoga leader through a series of exercises to help them bond, release individual inhibitions and warm up the body. During the sessions, participants are encouraged to laugh without relying on jokes or words. "Because Laughter Yoga is a body-mind exercise, I encourage everyone to participate, even if they don't feel like it," Liem says. "At first they may pretend, but eventually they'll find themselves truly laughing."

Liem and Stephen Findley, chaplain in the Department of Chaplaincy and Pastoral Education, lead three classes per month at M. D. Anderson's Place ... of wellness. The free class is open to all those touched by cancer.

If you are interested in Laughter Yoga, ask a local yoga instructor or training center if it is available in your community.

M. D. Anderson resources:
Department of Chaplaincy and Pastoral Education
Place ... of wellness

Other resources:
Laughter Yoga International
American School of Laughter Yoga

The 2nd Annual THE JOHN E. FELLERS SYMPOSIUM

"Wrestling with the Angels: Assisting People Through Times of Spiritual Struggle"
Kenneth Pargament, Ph.D. is Professor of Clinical Psychology, Bowling Green State University.

Dr. Pargament is professor of clinical psychology at Bowling Green State University. He received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Maryland and interned in clinical psychology at Rutgers Medical School. He completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in psychiatric epidemiology at the johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Dr. Pargament joined the faculty in the psychology Department at Bowling Green State university in 1979. He has also served as Adjunct Professor in the School of Theology at Boston University from 1999 to 2005 and Distinguished Visiting Professor at Lackland Air Force Base Medical Center.

Register online at: www.ish-tmc.org or call 713-797-0600

Last Friday I had the priviledge of conducting a Memorial Service for a colleague who died of cancer recently. She had worked as a night nurse at the cancer center where we both worked for over twenty years. Cindy was a rare bird. Outspoken, opinonated, and caring, she had amassed alot of goodwill among her patients, family, and colleagues that she worked with. During the Memorial service, one of the nurses shared a humorous story of attending a pajama party with Cindy. On the way to the party, Cindy insisted that they stop to pick up more beer. The car was full of women in their pajamas. Undaunted, Cindy strolled into the grocery store in the sexiest of night gowns and carted off two cases of beer as nonchalantly as you please.

Cindy was also an advocate for animals and the environment. She was known to go out and rescue abandoned and neglected cats and dogs and spend thousands of dollars in providing medical care and attention on them. Another co-worked remarked that she remembers Cindy talking her into going out one night from the hospital to feed an abandoned kitten. Another colleague related a story of a cancer patient's spouse who walked up to Cindy in the gift shop and thanked her profusely for literally saving his wife's life during a crucial stay at the center.

Cindy was a hero, in her own uncompromising way. She never married or had children of her own, and yet, in her own way she had become a mother to many four-legged and two-legged creatures. I salute you Cindy for the difference you made in so many lives. Blessings.
Chaplain Stephen Findley

Chaplain Findley is a Board Certified chaplain at MDACC, working with leukemia patients.

Monthly Meditation Series Continues at The Rothko Chapel and M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
The Rothko Chapel, along with M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Chaplaincy, continues its monthly meditation series, now titled Twelve Moments of Spirituality and Healing, with noontime programs open to all. Meditations are held at The Rothko Chapel, 1409 Sul Ross, at noon on the second Wednesday of each month and at noon once a month on a Thursday in the Freeman-Dunn Chapel at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Twelve Moments of Spirituality and Healing is co-sponsored by the Jung Center of Houston, Ligmincha Texas Institute, and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

In 2009, the faith traditions that will be represented include Buddhism, Christianity, Sikh, Jewish, Hindu, and Islam. The next scheduled meditations are to be Wednesday, February 11 at 12 noon at the Rothko Chapel and Thursday, February 19 at M. D. Anderson with Robert J. Hesse, Ph.D., co-founder and president of the Contemplative Outreach Network, which is dedicated to interdenominational Christian contemplative prayer.

For information about programs or The Rothko Chapel, call 713-524-9839 or visit www.rothkochapel.org

For details about the M. D. Anderson's Chaplaincy department activities and programming, meditation schedule, and directions, please call 713-792-7184 or email mjkenned@mdanderson.org.