The Voice of UZIT Program Director Gillian Cilibrasi: Gratitude

Last Updated on Wednesday, 8 May 2013 04:23 Written by gillian@urbanzen.org Wednesday, 8 May 2013 03:17

While 50 doctors, nurses and allied healthcare professionals are on the mat in a restorative relaxation pose learning how to teach others do this through embodiment, the team behind the scenes is hard at work making sure all the details are attended to. It’s busy, and as with anything- things come up. During this Urban Zen Integrative Therapy training at UCLA Medical Center however, we were all given cause to pause. This cycle we were fortunate to have a UCLA patient and her family visit the lectures to share with the new trainees how the UZIT modalities have supported her- both for the duration of her treatment in the hospital and in her ongoing journey through healing. Through her tears and laughter, she shared a story of strength and relaxation. We all cried and laughed along, held in the energy of the moment– completely present.

When the patient’s mother spoke about our program, she spoke about how “there’s a missing link in medicine, and it’s touch.” She lovingly looked at her daughter as she went on to explain to the new UCLA UZIT trainees about how they soon would be “offering a light and a path, rather than a pathology,” they would be, “ giving patients a chance to look at healing and to be brought to the moment.” Donna Karan always talks about the PATH – Patient Awareness Toward Healing – it’s even in the moment. I was stuck at how the Awareness I was wearing on my shirt is the light she spoke of, illuminating this moment.

I am most charged when I am in the training room. While I am grateful daily for the work that I do, moments like this inspire me to work even harder to bring UZIT to the world.

Celebrating our Community: Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais

Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 April 2013 11:30 Written by Urban Zen Friday, 19 April 2013 06:18

Anything is possible when people come together with a shared vision. We’ve seen this philosophy in action countless times and it fuels our on-going belief in the power of community. We are very proud to share the Dr. Paul Farmer – a key member of our community in Haiti – has completed the construction of Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais, in Mirebalais, Haiti. This state-of-the-art facility will be a gateway to healthcare for so many. We’re beyond inspired to by this continued rebuilding of Haiti and are thrilled to see this giant step forward for the country’s healthcare. To learn more about the project, check out the video above and article from our friends at Partners in Health below.

Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais

by Partners in Health

We’re thrilled that construction of Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais, in Mirebalais, Haiti, is complete. The 205,000-square foot, 300-bed facility—called HUM for short—will fill a huge void, locally and nationally, for people who previously had limited access to quality health care.

The hospital will provide primary care services to about 185,000 people in Mirebalais and two nearby communities. But patients from a much wider area—all of central Haiti and areas in and around Port-au-Prince—also will be able to receive secondary and tertiary care. We anticipate seeing as many as 500 patients every day in our ambulatory clinics when the hospital is fully operational.

And at a time when Haiti desperately needs skilled professionals, HUM will provide high-quality education for the next generation of Haitian nurses, medical students, and resident physicians.

Thanks to incredibly generous supporters, we have raised funds to design, build, and outfit the hospital and residences, and we will continue to rely on our friends and supporters who believe we can—and should—provide health care to people everywhere, and especially to people living on the margin of extreme poverty.

Urban Zen Integrative Therapy at the Yoga Journal Conference

Last Updated on Thursday, 11 April 2013 01:28 Written by nicole Tuesday, 9 April 2013 02:34

This past Sunday, April 7th, the co-directors of the Urban Zen Integrative Therapy Program, Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman, led a restorative Urban Zen Integrative Therapy class for more than 175 yogis at the Yoga Journal Conference in New York City. With the intention of providing an embodied UZIT experience, the participants were led through each of the five UZIT modalities including in-bed movements, breath awareness, body scans, restorative postures, Reiki and essential oil therapy provided by Young Living Essential Oils. Twenty UZIT graduates from the 2009 and 2011 accelerated trainings supported Rodney and Colleen by providing Reiki and essential oil therapy durning the class. Alumni alternated between Lemon oil for alertness, Lavender oil to help practitioners relax, and Valor to safely ground students in their bodies before reentering the world.  Students were also assisted by UZIT graduates in being guided to find each posture’s nuances, optimizing effects of the Yee’s deeply restorative sequence.

In a brief Q&A session following the class, participants were explained how the Urban Zen Integrative Therapy uses the five modalities in hospitals and outpatient facilities. They learned about UZIT’s outreach in Haiti and the upcoming Level I Self and Family Care Training at YogaWorks in Los Angeles and New York. You can find information on UZIT classes throughout the country here. For informations on trainings, please click here.