Tibetan Meditation Takes Patients ‘Home’

CancerWise - April 2009

By Deborah E. Thomas

A type of meditation that originated in Tibet may help alleviate the pain and discomfort of cancer and cancer treatment, allowing some patients to decrease their medication.

Alejandro Chaoul, Ph.D., adjunct assistant professor in the Integrative Medicine Program at M. D. Anderson, teaches Tibetan meditation at M. D. Anderson’s Place … of wellness.

“Medication and meditation aren’t an odd couple,” he says. “Actually, they go very well together. Often, the more you meditate, the less medication you might need.”

Make a connection

The main objective of Tibetan meditation is to connect to the “heart mind,” using breathing and vocalization of simple sounds, Chaoul says.

The heart mind is not the restless mind that jumps from thought to thought. It is the calm, centered mind, also called “home.”

Goal is to clear the mind

“In Tibetan meditation, body, energy and mind are thought of as the three doors to the main castle that is home,” Chaoul says.

As the mind settles, obstacles are swept away, leaving the mind clear. The goal is to bring the clarity achieved through meditation into everyday life.

M. D. Anderson resources:

• Place … of wellness