Mindfulness meditation is a great method for coping with anxiety. And mindfulness meditation can be learned and practiced by people of all ages.

But before we discuss mindfulness meditation, let's talk a little about anxiety.

Anxiety is normal during COVID-19.

It's perfectly normal for anyone and everyone to feel some anxiety right now. The world as we know it is very different than it was just six months ago.

We're isolated away from those we love. We can't travel. Grocery shopping requires standing in line and not approaching anyone else. Many people wear masks.

So, if your senior friends and relatives are experiencing anxiety right now, that's to be expected. We want the world to go back to how it was, and we don't know when that will be.

Fortunately, mindfulness meditation can help.

Mindfulness meditation, derived from Buddhist principles, is simply a way of focusing on the present without judgement. It's a method of relaxation and stress reduction that is very effective.

It's easy to learn from someone else, a book, or watching YouTube videos. Retired Professor of Medicine, Jon Kabat-Zinn, is probably the name we hear the most associated with mindfulness meditation, and he has a number of videos on YouTube that both discuss it and teach it.

Mindfulness meditation can help seniors to stop ruminating, to increase memory function, reduce stress and blood pressure, and become less emotionally reactive. It really works.

We support mindfulness meditation and recommend that you encourage your senior friends and relatives to try to learn it and adopt it as part of their daily routines.

The Hamlets at Vernon is an assisted-living and long-term care community in Vernon, BC, Canada. Designed to take the worry out of senior retirement home living and following the tenets of Christianity, The Hamlets at Vernon offers compassionate care in a beautiful environment.