My name is Michael Epstein, and I’m 82 years old. I’ve never experienced cancer myself, but my journey has led me to understand something fundamental: everyone who walks through the doors of Hope & Cope deserves to discover how to relax. Without exception. They face the shock of a scary diagnosis and need ways to cope.
That’s what I help them do.
A Path to Healing
My story didn’t start with meditation. For years, I worked in the textile industry, but when that chapter closed, I found myself asking, “What am I going to do with my life?”
It took me about 10 years to realize I wasn’t doing anything that brought me satisfaction to make my journey of life more fulfilling. Then, in the mid-1990s, my wife and I travelled to the Edgar Cayce Organization in Virginia Beach for a week-long program on energy healing. While there, I received my first massage ever.
The massage therapist had left a career in nuclear welding after it made him sick. He came to Virginia Beach for treatment and never went home, eventually becoming a massage therapist and teacher at The Cayce-Reilly massage school.
When he finished my massage, I turned to him and said, “I know what I want to do now with my life.” He smiled back at me, and we both realized we’d had the same life-changing experience. The following September, I went back to study massage therapy for the next 7 months.
I returned to Montreal and spent almost 25 years working as a massage therapist. During that time, I worked with clients who received an unexpected cancer diagnosis.
They would come to me almost every week, and my work helped improve their quality of life after chemotherapy. The massage and improved circulation would help with one of the common side effects: the numbness in their limbs.
What made this work meaningful wasn’t the money they paid me. Rather, I went home each day knowing I helped someone get out of pain or made someone’s day a little easier.
Finding Meditation
My introduction to meditation began during my younger years when my wife and I discovered the Edgar Cayce Organization. Edgar Cayce was a documented medical clairvoyant who said that meditation is good for everyone. At one of their seminars, we found an approach that worked for us.
Through these experiences, my wife and I developed a lifestyle based on understanding that mind, body, and spirit are all connected. What we focus on can sometimes affect how we feel in our body.
Research suggests that regular meditation can slow heart rate, reduce high blood pressure and improve sleep. But more importantly, it gives people a sense of peacefulness and adds harmony to their lives. That’s what I bring to my classes.
Hope & Cope gives me the space and community to offer these practices free of charge, ensuring no one has to face their challenges alone.
The Relaxation and Meditation Program
In our relaxation sessions at Hope & Cope, I work with anyone who needs support: people with cancer diagnoses, caregivers, and those dealing with bereavement. The sister supporting her sibling through cancer—or the spouse caring for their partner—often needs relaxation techniques just as much as the person with the diagnosis.
Everything shared in the room stays confidential. For newcomers, we begin by listening to their situation. Then we move into what I call therapeutic breathing movements, a bit of Qi Gong that serves as a moving meditation. These movements are very slow and gentle. They help to get circulation going while creating a nice foundation for the meditation itself.
The session lasts about an hour, and we focus intensively on breath work. It’s a revelation for people to experience what happens when you focus only on your breath. Nobody does that in daily life. After the meditation, the participants can share their experiences about how they felt before and after.
I always tell people there’s no such thing as a bad meditation. You might have interrupted meditations, where your thoughts try to intrude. But you can gently return to your breath. You can simply say, “Later on, I’ll get back to you.” The effort you’re making is the most important thing.
Practical Tools for Daily Life
My goal is to give people tools they can use on their own. It’s up to them to continue the practice. I try to give them the knowledge and power to be self-sufficient in this area of their lives.
I encourage people to find what works for them. You can meditate to soft music, ocean wave sounds, or singing bowls that you can find on YouTube. I’m crazy about Mozart, so I’ll often meditate to his music. It’s wonderful and can serve as the hook some people need to get started.
Whether it’s five minutes or 20 minutes, once a day or several times throughout the day, meditation should fit into your life naturally. Instead of getting frustrated when you’re put on hold, you could use that time to breathe and put yourself in a peaceful space. During meditation, you focus on one thing. You get rid of the stream of thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. This process can lead to better physical and emotional well-being.
Like exercise, the more you practise relaxation and meditation, the more you benefit. Your body, mind, and spirit get used to it and begin to want more of it.
The meditation practice I share is like climbing a ladder: each step makes you stronger. When is a good time to start? Any time. You don’t have to have cancer to find a place to clear your mind and give yourself the peacefulness we all need.
Everyone deserves time to find tranquility through meditation, whether it’s a moving meditation or a sitting meditation. Especially when you’re facing the challenges that bring you to Hope & Cope, this practice can become an essential part of your healing journey.
To learn more about our relaxation and meditation program or other free activities available at Hope & Cope, visit our Events and Activities page or call our Wellness Centre at 514-340-3616.
