FOREWORD

As Integrative Psychiatrists and mind-body teachers, it is a special honor to write the foreword to this book. We have known Dr. Monica Vermani for more than 20 years. Our work together began with a research study of the effects of a yoga breath intervention on people suffering from severe treatment-resistant anxiety and comorbid emotional disorders. Many of those who participated in the study were patients of Dr. Vermani and her team. They had all clearly benefitted from their treatment with her. Beyond that, they all spontaneously talked about not only how helpful she was, but also how exceptionally caring she had been in comparison to other therapists they had known before. Our collaboration continued for years. Dr. Martin Katzman, head of the START Clinic in Toronto where Monica was using Mindfulness Based Cognitive Behavior Therapy for severe anxiety disorders, encouraged us to further refine our breath-based intervention, now known as Breath-Body-Mind. By 2007 we began offering pro bono workshops with a not-for-profit, Serving Those Who Serve, to help relieve the physical and psychological problems that continued to plague those who were traumatized during and after the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center attacks—policemen, firemen, iron workers, Ground Zero workers, residents, and people who escaped from the towers. Years after the 2001 terrorist attacks, having failed to benefit from conventional treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), hundreds of people responded to the BreathBody-Mind practices with significant improvements in their physical and psychological well-being. Dr. Vermani and Dr. Katzman generously volunteered their time to conduct two preliminary studies that documented these benefits. Since then, thousands more have benefitted from these breath-centered mind-body practices. We are very excited to see Dr. Vermani create a book that integrates her skills in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Behavior Therapy, her experience as a long-term serious yoga practitioner, her training as a Breath-Body-Mind teacher, and her naturally loving spirit. This well-organized, clearly written, and fully detailed book provides a very practical approach to giving people tools to relieve their suffering. Drawing from her extensive clinical experience and research, using both her mind and her heart, Dr. Vermani shows the way to a Deeper Wellness. Follow this step-by-step approach to become the best you can be. Start with “How to use the book” and progress through the 18 chapters, which include lessons about your problems, goals, thoughts, emotions, obstacles, and valuing yourself. Useful exercises at the end of each chapter help you to personalize your understanding of how to create change in your life. A DEEPER WELLNESS This book is the culmination of Dr. Vermani’s professional experience and her loving nature. Here, therapists of diverse backgrounds will gather new ways to enrich their work. Those of you who may be struggling with anxiety or trauma will discover new perspectives and methods to build the skills needed to live happier lives. Some of you will do this on your own; others may engage with a therapist to work through the book. We will recommend this book to our patients and colleagues, confident that it can be a game changer for many of you. Richard P. Brown, MD Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, NY and Patricia L. Gerbarg, MD Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY Co-authors of The Healing Power of the Breath, Non-Drug Treatments for ADHD, and Complementary and Integrative Treatments in Psychiatric Practices (American Psychiatric Association Publishing) www.Breath-Body-Mind.com