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Mindfulness practices

Meditation or present moment awareness activities help shift your thoughts away from your usual preoccupations toward an appreciation of the moment and a larger perspective on life. They can create a sense of calm, acceptance of the moment and feelings that arise, and reduce symptoms.

Simply put, mindfulness is the cultivation of present moment awareness by noticing your here and now experience, nonjudgementally.

Does this sound familiar?

I’m too busy to meditate every day! I can’t sit still for that long! I must be doing it wrong—I can’t quiet my mind! It doesn’t have to take a long time to practice being mindful, and there are many ways to incorporate present moment awareness into your everyday activities. Here are a few tips on how to cultivate being mindful.

Why is it important to be mindful?

Present moment awareness can cultivate self-compassion and increased understanding of yourself, your motivations, actions and interactions with others. Therefore, mindfulness practices allow you to identify, tolerate and reduce intense emotions, thoughts and sensations and can give you space between a stimuli and your reactions in order to choose alternate actions. Victor Frankl explains, Between the stimulus and the response there is a space, and in this space lies our power and freedom. Mindfulness can also lead to an increase in self-control, objectivity, equanimity, acceptance and improve concentration, performance and mental clarity. Overall, mindfulness improves physical and emotional health and wellbeing.

Being mindful can:

Enhance your capacity to experience the joys of everyday life by becoming fully engaged in the present moment

Strengthen your resilience and capacity to deal with adverse events

Reduce your ruminations about worries of the future or regrets over the past

Decrease habitual and/or addictive responses

Help you to accept your experiences rather than react to them with aversion and avoidance

Improve your ability to slow racing thoughts that lead you to engage in limiting or self-sabotaging thinking and behaviors

Enhance your ability to feel more integrated and act with integrity

How do I use mindfulness in my practice?

“I cannot relax or stop my mind from spiraling!” ” My negative self talk is all consuming that I can’t focus!” Clients often report struggling with racing thoughts and an inability to calm their body. Our busy lifestyles and chaotic schedules create havoc on our nervous system that produces chronic tension in our bodies and minds.  Do you ever notice that when your day ends and you attempt to relax into sleep that your mind and body are on full alert?  In our sessions together, you will: 1.) Learn about your nervous system and its impact on your body and mind; 2.) Learn tools to observe your thoughts, emotions and sensations in order to increase your ability to regulate your emotions and calm your system; 3.) Learn brief, yet powerful, mindfulness practices to seamlessly incorporate into your already full schedule without adding more to your “To Do” list.  

While a seated meditation practice can be profoundly beneficial, I find that most people feel overwhelmed at adding another self care practice such as meditation into their already very busy scedules.  Our time together focuses on ways to incorporate mindfulness practices into activities that you are already doing.  Sound interesting?  Together, we will explore ways that work best for you.  Mindfulness practices can include meditation, Qi Gong, breathe work, yoga, music, Tibetan bowls, art, dance, and movement. You can also practice being mindful while eating, walking, driving, cleaning or any daily activity.

There is more than one way to practice mindfulness, but the intent of any mindfulness technique is to cultivate focused awareness of your present moment experience to improve your mind, body, emotions and performance.

Does This Sound Familiar?