How impactful was the course?
Results of 6-month follow-up of participants show:
“Mindfulness has made me a much more calm and happy person in life. I may not practice every day, but the concept of “Respond, don’t react” is a huge one that I learned in mindfulness training. I think you have easily added years to my life because I am no longer as irritable or angry as I once was. I hope to spread that message to a lot of people in life. Know that you were my original guru – I appreciate the skills you have taught me.” --- email received 2 years after course participation
“I was not the strongest believer going into the program. Some of the executive training programs I was attending earlier this year, all recommended a form of meditation, so I wanted to try. Already early in the program, I could see benefit just by being more aware of the “wandering mind”. My work balance has been much improved, as I get things done in less time. My team benefits from my overall calmness and focus. I also learned a lot about myself during the program. I plan to continue on this path and recommend others to attend the program as well. I was surprised how quickly the 9 weeks passed.” --- Executive Director, Bristol-Myers Squibb
“Learning the concepts of mindfulness with Debbie and practicing them over the past year has given me the ability to be more responsive to my clients because I feel that I am taking better care of myself. I now check in with myself throughout my work day and actually make my own needs a priority for a moment! What a concept! In our fast paced environment, and as women, I think we are in the bad habit of putting our own needs last. The practice of mindfulness has become my new habit and I recommend Debbie’s class to anyone who will sit still long enough to listen."
“I’ve been diagnosed with chronic insomnia and have been on various sleep meds for 7 years. I’ve also tried acupuncture without success. I began my journey with Deb feeling skeptical, yet willing to try a non-m ed alternative to achieve better sleep. Listening to Deb’s meditations before I fell asleep and when I awoke during the middle of the night helped me go back to sleep and awake renewed. Deep breathing, showing self-kindness, being mindful of my surroundings all aided in achieving my goal for Deb’s class; to achieve a good night’s sleep without meds. I’m extremely thankful for her expert teaching and training.”
“This course has helped me show compassion and love towards myself. It comes naturally for me to be caring and compassionate towards others, but I used to be very tough on myself and always looked at the less appealing parts of my life and be sad. I was the biggest critic of myself. After taking this class, I have come to a realization there are so many nice things about me that I can appreciate and to be content with what I have. I have learned to be less anxious and more patient about things that matter the most to me. I have learned to see how my mood is affecting what I think or feel about others. Being present used to be very difficult for me. I love planning which makes me think about the future most of the time. And having had a difficult childhood used to make me feel sorry for myself many times. Now I have learned to accept the past and be present or at least realize when I’m not being in the moment and am able to get my mind back to the present. I cannot believe 15 mins of meditation and mindfulness can make this much of a difference to my life."
“I have known for a long time the importance of meditation and mindfulness. However, I was never good at a regular practice. This class has helped me include mindfulness and meditation into my daily activities and feel the benefits of the regular practice. I really enjoyed the class and am grateful to have been invited to join. This class helped me separate ‘fighting the thoughts’ and acknowledging the thoughts. It allowed me to approach situations at work and at home differently, with a clearer vision, for what I believe is a better outcome compared to the way I used to react to the same situation. The class provided many tools and was delivered with professionalism. Deb has a wonderful sense of humor which made it fun and energetic. She taught with compassion for everyone’s stories and made me feel comfortable to participate in the corporate setting, which could be difficult for some. Deb is knowledgeable and provided multiple resources in addition to her class material. I am happy she offered this course at BMS and honored I could be part of it.”
“I have a permanent spinal cord injury and as a result I’ve been dealing with chronic pain for more than five years. At times my pain was so severe it affected my mobility as well as sleeping. In the past I’ve often needed to use opioid medication to ease the pain enough to get through the day. My neurologist recommended meditation in the past. But it wasn’t until I took Deb McCloskey’s mindfulness course that I became a believer. My ultimate goal was to decrease the pain medication I require. Also in the back of my mind I was hoping to improve my mobility. I am able to walk but have many limitations. At the completion of each week I felt increasingly calmer and relaxed. Deborah guided us through meditation techniques that I was able to grasp quite easily. With each passing week my pain decreased. I’m happy to say that I rarely need to take medication for pain now! I still have pain, however, now I meditate and connect with my body to ease the pain to a tolerable level. Since I completed the course, I continue to practice meditation with Deb’s recordings. My physical therapist has also seen an improvement with my mobility. I am grateful for all the improvements that I have seen. I look forward to continuing meditation and hopefully seeing more improvements. Thank you Deborah for guiding me through this journey. You have such a calm and loving teaching technique and you made this journey easy for me to grasp, learn and improve my meditation technique.” –Patty
