Evidence-based benefits in smelling roses

Practicing mindfulness through a course in Bonita Springs eases pain, stress and anxiety. And then, flowers get noticed.

After practicing law for 25 years, Madeline Ebelini quit. Her son calls her a hippie now that she practices mindfulness instead.

“Well, I’m going to keep doing it. My family reaps the benefits of the better me,” said Ebelini, smiling as she sipped from her mug of steaming detoxification herbal tea in her cozy office filled with soft, golden lighting and the sound of water trickling over pebbles.

Ebelini first turned to yoga, meditation and then learned about the idea of mindfulness after she was at her wits’ end with chronic hip pain, a cancer diagnosis, severe work-related stress, insomnia, anxiety and an immune system so weakened she contracted shingles.

“My pain is gone, I sleep great and my relationships with my family are so much better,” Ebelini said.

Her personal results were so profound, Ebelini took it to a new level to help others.

Founder and teacher of Integrative Mindfulness in Bonita Springs since April 2011, Ebelini offers eight-week courses requiring homework, yoga, meditation and a one-day retreat. The course helps people with stress, anxiety, chronic pain, attention, insomnia and a general feeling of well-being.


Jack Sauer, 77, took the course to ease stress.


“Her approach for stress reduction is effective. I still do my meditation,” the east Naples retiree said. “I think she’s going to be a positive influence on the community.”


Mindfulness is all about awareness of the moment, paying attention to your thoughts, emotions and sensations of your body. Created by Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is an evidence-based educational program taught in health-care and wellness settings worldwide.


“People start recognizing patterns in their thinking, like catastrophic thoughts,” Ebelini said. “It can start to take a toll on our bodies if we live that way. Anxiety, or whatever we practice, we get really good at it.” She’s referring to neuroplasticity concept, meaning how the brain muscle can be shaped.


Ebelini holds a master’s degree in transpersonal psychology from Naropa University in Boulder, Colo., and is also a Yoga Alliance Registered-yoga teacher.

 She completed professional training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction at the University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society, including a yearlong practicum led by founder Kabat-Zinn.
Ebelini’s students include professionals, retirees, caretakers of parents and spouses with dementia, people going through divorce and people with serious medical diagnoses.
Gaye McCance, 59, took the course after she received a cancer diagnosis and her practitioner referred her to Ebelini. The Fort Myers woman now knows how to calm herself when she feels anxious and to sleep through the night.
“I had a lot of anxiety just thinking of what my future might be,” McCance said. “Through this practice, it’s enabled me to focus on the moment, enjoy life today. It’s almost like a childlike awareness again. You see how children notice pretty flowers and a bee buzzing.”
“Even in the middle of my chaotic day, it’s helped me to remember to pause and appreciate the moment. It’s really been life-changing.”


Evidence-based benefits in smelling roses | The News-Press | news-press.com

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