21/05/2015
“Drawing on her own experiences, ancient wisdom and the latest science, Vidyamala has
created a program of simple daily practices that anyone struggling with pain and stress can
follow – a powerful testament to the ways mindfulness and meditation can help us tap into
our own resilience, even in the most painful times.” Arianna Huffington
‘I admire Vidyamala tremendously - her approach could save your life and give it back to you.
Nobody else need travel the long, lonely path of pain.’ Prof Jon Kabat-Zinn
Revolutionary, mindful pain
management program comes to
America
World pain expert and internationally recognized mindfulness leader, Vidyamala Burch, 55,
founder and director of Breathworks, is bringing her new blueprint for pain management to
America this May and June with the launch of the award-winning book, YOU ARE NOT
YOUR PAIN: Using Mindfulness to Relieve Pain, Reduce Stress, and Restore Well-Being An Eight-Week Program.

Vidyamala will be launching YOU ARE NOT YOUR PAIN at The New York Zen
Center for Contemplative Care Thursday, May 28th

She will also be holding a Half Day Practice Workshop on Saturday, May 30th at The
New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care

For the West Coast: Breathworks will hold a 4 day introductory retreat in Santa Cruz,
California from 19th – 23rd June

www.breathworks-mindfulness.org.uk/training-usa-2015
YOU ARE NOT YOUR PAIN, (published as Mindfulness for Health in the UK), won the
prestigious British Medical Association (BMA) prize for ‘Popular Medicine’. The
Mindfulness Based Pain Management (MBPM) program is used by pain management
clinics across the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
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“Chronic pain affects over 100 million American adultsi.” Says Vidyamala: “It is a great
equalizer, it can affect anyone and it is relentless - it can drain you and rob you of your life.
“I know this because, due to spinal injuries, major spinal surgery and partial paraplegia, I
have lived with chronic pain for nearly four decades and according to the medical experts, I
should now be living with intolerable levels of pain. But, I don’t. I have an amazing quality of
life, rich and fulfilling - thanks to practising mindfulness and using the Breathworks program.”
Vidyamala’s Breathworks MBPM program is now taught in over twenty countries by hundreds
of accredited, Breathworks trainers and has helped thousands of people live better lives
despite pain, illness and stress.
Clinical trials have shown mindfulness meditation to be at least as good as the main
prescription painkillers. Research shows that only a few weeks of mindfulness can roughly
halve ‘pain unpleasantness’, while accomplished meditators can see reductions in pain of
over 90 per cent.ii
Vidyamala continues: “One night, as a young woman in hospital after spinal surgery and
wracked by pain, I didn’t think I was able to make it through till morning. Yet, at this utterly
desperate point I had an awakening, I realized I didn’t actually have to get through the night,
all I had to do was get through the present moment. My experience totally changed and I
began my path of taking life one moment at a time.
“I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to be in America and to be able to hold my hand
out to anyone who finds themselves in pain, illness or stress, so they don’t have to travel
alone down the same path of suffering as I did.”
Jon Kabatt-Zinn, the world’s leading authority on health and mindfulness, said: ‘The
Breathworks approach to Mindfulness-Based Pain Management is the most-comprehensive,
in-depth, scientifically up-to-date and user-friendly approach to the learning the how of living
with chronic pain and reclaiming one’s life that I know of.’
www.breathworks.co.uk
For more information contact:
Elaine Brass, Breathworks, [email protected], (0)7951 989 588, (0)161 834 1110
@Breathworksmind.
Marlena Bittner, Director of Publicity, Flatiron Books, 646-307-5078, [email protected]
i
Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education, and Research
http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/Relieving-Pain-in-America-A-Blueprint-for-Transforming-Prevention-Care-Education-Research/ReportBrief.aspx
iiiiii Journal of Neuroscience, 2011, Fadel Zeidan – Brain Mechanisms supporting the modulation of pain by mindfulness meditation.
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You Are Not Your Pain is published in the UK as Mindfulness for Health, A practical guide to relieving pain,
reducing stress and restoring wellbeing.
The Breathworks MBPM program in You Are Not Your Pain works by turning down the ‘volume control’ in the
brain’s pain circuits, through mindfulness and meditation; this process, actually visible on a brain scanner, also
reduces stress, relaxes the mind and body, enhances the immune system and kick starts the body’s healing
networks.
Breathworks' mission is to help people living with pain, stress and illness to lead happier, healthier lives. We are
internationally recognised leaders in Mindfulness Based Pain Management (MBPM), providing *Mindfulness for
Health* and *Mindfulness for Stress *programmes. Breathworks is a 'not for profit' social enterprise, registered in
England and Wales with Companies House and the Community Interest Company Regulator. Vidyamala set up the
Breathworks Centre in Manchester to teach the programme to others. There are now Breathworks trainers in 15
countries and the organisation has helped tens of thousands of people find relief from chronic pain, illness and
stress.
Vidyamala also wrote LIVING WELL WITH PAIN AND ILLNESS and co-wrote YOU ARE NOT YOUR PAIN with
best selling mindfulness author Dr Danny Penman.
AVAILABLE FORMATS AND BOOK DETAILS: Trade Paperback Trade Paperback ISBN: 9781250052674
ISBN10: 125005267X 6.15 x 9.21 inches, 256 pages Audio Run Time: 0:0:0 Includes a CD of meditations and 25
blackand-white illustrations $ 19.99 Retailers: IndieBound, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, BooksAMillion, Powells,
Walmart, Overstock
Unabridged Digital Audio ISBN: 9781427258144 ISBN10: 1427258147 Audio Run Time: 7:0:0 $ 17.99 Retailers:
Audible, Apple iTunes Buy It Now: http://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250053817 http://www.amazon.com/YouAre-Your-Pain-Well-Being-An/dp/125005267X Contact: Marlena Bitner - +1 646-307-5078 or
[email protected]
Macmillan Audio Unabridged Compact Disc ISBN: 9781427258137 ISBN10: 1427258139 Audio Run Time: 7:0:0 6
CDs, 7 hours $ 29.99 Retailers: IndieBound, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, BooksAMillion, Powells, Walmart,
Overstock
e-Book ISBN: 9781250053817 ISBN10: 1250053811 256 pages Audio Run Time: 0:0:0 $ 9.99 Retailers: Kindle,
B+N Nook, iBooks,ebooks.com, Google Play, Kobo
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