Durham, NC - Tracy Bergers brush with death in 2009 turned her into a meditator.

A week before the Duke marriage and family therapist suffered a heart attack that tore her artery, she had been to three funerals for close patients.

After recovering from the heart attack, Berger took up meditation to learn how to breathe deeply and lessen stress in life. She is a regular attendee of the weekly meditation sessions held in the Duke Cancer Center, and the meetups are open and free for employees, patients, family members and the public on Mondays.

Meditation has enabled me to be with people in a different way, to be in the present moment right now instead of thinking about the 20 other things I could be doing, Berger said. Im able to compartmentalize things so that I can be in whatever moment I am in without feeling the stress about whatever might be coming next.

The meditation sessions, from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays, are organized by Duke Hospital Pastoral Services and Duke Department of Advanced Clinical Practice team members. The 30 minutes within the Duke Cancer Centers Quiet Room are nondenominational and allow participants to choose a favorite meditation practice.

A few staff members attended a recent meditation session and sat around an illuminated glass sculpture mimicking rippling water in the Quiet Room. With the lights turned low, they closed their eyes and rested their hands in their laps.

Jon Seskevich, a Duke Hospital nurse clinician who provides stress management consultation services to patients, led the group, saying they could meditate by focusing on the breath, body or on a specific, positive thought.

Begin to notice, if you like, the experience of breathing, something that happens 16 to 24 times every minute, Seskevich said. Its not something we generally feel or even notice. Precious breath, feeling the air coming in, feeling the air going out.

Each session is usually focused this way, where the meditation leader takes the first 10 minutes to introduce a meditation technique, and about 15 minutes is spent in silence, allowing participants to relax.

Diane Owens, a senior Staff and Labor Relations representative in Duke Human Resources, was one of the meditators in the room. She said she likes going on Mondays because it helps her start her week on a positive note.

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De-Stress with Free Duke Meditation Sessions