By Kathrine Krake
That was what pioneering and ambitious MediYoga
Therapist Helen Miller Lynch was thinking when she moved from Sweden to
California in 2015. She soon learned that the road is both bumpy and uphill,but her goal is visible.
Hospitals
in the U.S. are generally private, so money is a prime focus. Healthcare professionals
can work up to 60 hours per week. No one knows anything about MediYoga. Those
are the difficulties. So how do you approach that when you’re used to the
Scandinavian healthcare system?
Helen
Miller Lynch is a Diagnostic Radiology Nurse with a specialty in cardiovascular
intervention. As part of the established healthcare system in Sweden, she
shared MediYoga with her patients to help them in their recovery. But to generate
interest in MediYoga within the U.S., she has to find a different strategy
beyond just educating healthcare personnel to become MediYoga Instructors.
She
needs to approach the public relations people at the hospitals and answer
questions such as, “What is your product? How would it be beneficial for us? What
about funding?”
“I have to involve
lots of people in order to get in. It requires networking with CEOs, obtaining funding,project planning, evaluation, and building the credibility of MediYoga as a trusted
brand. Many are skeptical, and large hospitals have limited time, so in a very
short meeting I have to make MediYoga a personal experience for each one of
them by being very specific,” she explained.
As
Educational Director for MediYoga USA, Helen Miller Lynch has educated 15
MediYoga Instructors in the U.S. Some of them work closely with Helen toward
the goal of implementing MediYoga in both physical and mental healthcare
services within the United States. Together they have taken on the daunting challenge
of slowly changing a nation’s paradigm in healthcare.
Community support and grant funding
Little by
little, MediYoga services are spreading. Helen applies for grants to fund
classes which include those being taught by other MediYoga instructors she has
trained. Her first grant gave her a start in working with heart patients in a small
mountain community three hours south of Yosemite where she lives. They conducted
a small study on the effects of MediYoga, and the healthcare providers saw the beneficial
results.
“I have a
very supportive community here in the mountains who want to help. Executives
mention my name to potential connections; they want MediYoga to succeed, as do
the physiotherapists and the newspapers. They tell me, ‘You’ve picked the
hardest place to start’ since it is a rural community unfamiliar with new
healthcare services,” Helen said.
With another
grant, Helen gained access to hospitals and has worked for the last four years
with cancer patients at the AIS Cancer Center in Bakersfield. And yet another
grant from Kern Behavioral Health & Recovery Services made it possible this
spring to offer 108 community-based MediYoga classes focusing on stress,anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress syndrome. The first of two
12-week programs has finished with some amazing results.
“In only 12
weeks, both stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep problems were reduced. Right
now I’m working on an article about those results,” Helen commented.
When in Rome
Helen
Miller Lynch is a tall and strong woman with a powerful yet soothing voice, and
with confident, focused eyes. As such, her constitution already gives her the
strength to move forward in the American Way.
“Americans
are pioneers and want to make things happen. They put themselves up front; they
are persistent and can be very forceful. In Scandinavia we’re used to
‘Janteloven’ – don’t think that you’re better than anyone else. We know the
public rules and trust that what people say is what they mean. We know that
healthcare is run by government money. Here it’s totally different,” explained
Helen.
To get
through to the right people, Helen has had to learn to be both forceful and put
herself up front while maintaining a humble approach.
Staying centered and focused
“I
believe in uplifting others,” Helen added. “Here I have to uplift myself. Even
though your constitution lets you be forceful and forward-going, you need
energy from another source to knock on doors and break down walls. My daily
MediYoga practice is essential for me to keep up.”
“You
need a clear vision of the goal that you’re working toward,” she said. “To get
there you need to tap into the energy from a source – the universe. All is
connected. To stay centred, Nabhi Kriya is my best friend by working on
strengthening personal power, and I tune into my chakras with mantra.
Everything comes into one.”
Helen
has been quoted as saying, “I stand straight with my head held up high so
people can see that I am for real, am reliable, can deliver, and am always
there.” And with a big smile on her face, says, “May the force be with me;Namaste!”
ABOUT
HELEN MILLER LYNCH:
As
Educational Director of MediYoga USA, she educates MediYoga Instructors in
Central California, conducts research on MediYoga, and holds Stress &Burnout courses and retreats. She is a Diagnostic Radiology Nurse specialized
in cardiovascular intervention, and has a long history of experience in heart
disease and patient care in several countries.
