DFCI Zakim Center

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  • Description: Veteran Tai Chi and Qigong Instructor Provides Complementary Care at Zakim Center
    Qigong, meditation, and Tai Chi instructor Ramel Rones’ main goal for his courses at the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies and Healthy Living is to empower patients and their families. “Through Qigong, I give patients the tools to deal with their symptoms,” he says.

    He has been teaching these practices at Dana-Farber for almost two decades, offering courses to patients, their families, and staff. “My patient students range from just diagnosed to those in treatment, and to, finally, survivors. They can all benefit at every stage of the cancer journey.”

    Rones says that Qigong, Tai Chi, and meditation may help manage treatment symptoms like frozen shoulders, chronic pain, joint pain, lower back pain, migraines and osteoporosis.

    “When I started, this was all called alternative care, but that has changed to integrative, which I think is more suitable,” he says. His co...

  • Infused Waters

    22 Mar, 2022
    Description: Join Stephanie Meyers, RD, LDN, CNSD, a nutritionist with Dana-Farber’s Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies and Healthy Living, for healthy cooking inspiration. 
    Tags: Fruit, Water


  • Description: In this 30-minute class you will experience an alternative mindfulness meditation experience with the presence of live music. Research shows that listening to live music during meditation may help focus an active mind, decrease heart rate, anxiety and pain, and guide you to a deeper relaxation. 

    Songs: Chariot - Mega Feeling Good - Nina Simone I Can See Clearly - Johnny Nash Good Day Sunshine - The Beatles Wild Flowers - Tom Petty Our House - Crosby, Stills & Nash What A Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong

    Tags: Expressive Arts, Meditation, Music Therapy, Video
  • Description: In this 30-minute class you will experience an alternative mindfulness meditation experience with the presence of live music. Research shows that listening to live music during meditation may help focus an active mind, decrease heart rate, anxiety and pain, and guide you to a deeper relaxation. 

    Songs: Falling Slowly - Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova When She Loved Me - Sarah McLachlan You've Got A Friend In Me - Randy Newman Shallow - Lady GaGa, Bradley Cooper Don't Wanna Miss A Thing - Aerosmith Moon River - Audrey Hepburn

    Tags: Expressive Arts, Meditation, Music Therapy, Video
  • Description: This class is great for building up strength and stretching the entire body while being supported by a chair (seated and/or standing behind a chair). This class starts with a seated warm up, moving to an engaging sequence of strengthening with light weights, followed by stretching and cool down.
  • Description: This 45-minute chair yoga invites you to find movement in a way that is gentle and supportive. The practice invites awareness into the body and activates muscles in the spine that help you find length up through the spine for better posture and energy flow. If you are new to yoga, have difficulty getting down to the floor, experience pain in your muscles or joints, loss of energy, or balance issues due to peripheral neuropathy, this class is for you. All levels welcome. Focus: twist

    Tags: Blocks, Chair flow, Massage ball, Massage feet/hands, Peripheral Neuropathy, Strap
  • Description: This 45-minute joyful flow (vinyasa) is a practice that connects movement to breath in a sequence of yoga poses. The class is designed to promote a mind-body connection as it develops strength, stamina, flexibility, balance, relaxation and focus. All levels welcome. Focus: shoulders/chest opener

    Tags: Blanket, Blocks, Strap, Yoga Mat
  • Description: This 45-minute joyful flow (vinyasa) is a practice that connects movement to breath in a sequence of yoga poses. The class is designed to promote a mind-body connection as it develops strength, stamina, flexibility, balance, relaxation and focus. All levels welcome. Focus: side body

    Tags: Blanket, Blocks, Strap, Yoga Mat
  • Description: Integrating the Five Building Blocks of Our Being for better Health and Martial Arts 
    While in each posture or movement, we will emphasize all five building blocks of our being (Body, Breath, Mind, Energy and Spirit) to help loosen up the soft tissues and massage the joints, and the lower and upper back. Integrating all five building blocks into your practice leads to deep levels of relaxation or meditation which increases the flow of blood and oxygen throughout the entire body and nourishes every cell in your body. Deep levels of relaxation or meditation with the five building blocks recharges you, giving you more energy. You may even achieve production of the “happy hormones” (Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin) or Endorphins which promote positive feelings and happiness and prevent the production of negative hormones such as Adrenaline, Cortisol or Norepinephrine. 
    Some of what we will learn and practice in this 45 minute class: The Windmill, The Hula-Bula, Emperor/ Empress...
  • Description: Upgrade your Energetic system and Strengthen your Core 
    According to Chi Kung, acupuncture and shiatsu, our energetic system is made up of 12 Energy Channels or Meridians. Six of these Channels move energy from the tips of your fingers to six of your internal organs and six more Meridians move energy from the tips of your toes to your other six internal organs. You also have “The 8 Extraordinary Vessels” which are reservoirs of energy that help regulate your meridians or channels. You also have 7 or 8 “Energy Centers” depending on the school of thought or philosophy. In this class, we will focus, concentrate, or meditate on putting our mind in the lower energy center, a healing energy ball two inches below the navel. We strengthen and build this center to create a stronger flow throughout our entire energetic system. A strong energy flow nourishes your internal organs, skeleton, and brain. When our energy centers are strong the energy flow is strong which helps cleanse and r...
  • Description: Reduce Physical and Mental Stress 
    Stress may be accumulated and stored in the soft tissues (the skin, fascia, muscles, tendons, and ligaments) as well as in the internal organs and face. Some hold stress in the lower back and others in the neck and shoulders. Bad posture increases physical stress on the skeleton, spine, and joints. In this class we will work on relaxing those areas using both static and dynamic gentle stretching. Using deep breathing, self-massage, and meditation we will relax and dissolve both physical and mental stress. We will use the gentle movements of the crane to cool the heart area (fire energy) and use the Lower Energy Center Visualization Meditation to further dissolve tension and stress throughout the entire body. 
    Some of what we will learn and practice in this 45 minute class: Abdominal and Internal Organ Massage, Upper Body Massaging and Tapping, Crane Strikes Forward, Kidney Tapping and Massaging, Turtle Back and Spine Massage, Chair Twist, Rai...