Practicing Mindfulness
Outline
Mindfulness vs. mindlessness Mindfulness practices
Try mindfulness meditation (focused breathing)
Benefits of focused breathing & mindfulness meditation MBSR program
Benefits of consistent mindfulness practice Growing popularity of mindfulness
Mindfulness in everyday life
Try loving-kindness meditation exercise Great resources
Mindlessness vs. Mindfulness
“Many of us go through life waiting for something to happen in order to make us happy or content. We miss experiencing life as it
happens. True well being is not going through life on autopilot, but being aware and present moment to moment to truly experience your life as it unfolds.”
“mindfulness is an active search for novelty, whereas mindlessness involves passively zoning out…on automatic pilot…attributable to repetitive behaviours.”
- Ellen Langer, PhD (Social Psychologist at Harvard)
On Autopilot:
Automatic vs. Controlled Thinking
Automatic Thinking is unconscious, unintentional,
involuntary, effortless.
Most of our thoughts and actions throughout the day
tend to be automatic/habitual.
Controlled Thinking is effortful, requiring motivation
and mental energy/capacity.
We have a finite amount of mental/psychic energy (can
be taxed due to stress, lack of sleep, etc.).
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is paying attention to one’s ongoing
experience in a way that allows openness and flexibility (Compton & Hoffman, 2005).
It requires us to:
- overcome desire to avoid uncertainty - override automatic behaviours/reactions
- avoid evaluating ourselves, others, situations
Mindfulness
Mindfulness cultivates a relaxed state of awareness
that observes both the inner world of thoughts, feelings and sensations, and the outer world of constantly changing phenomena without trying to control anything (Kabat-Zinn, 1990).
“You must be present to love, or experience peace,
or joy, or contentment. When you are here you can have the experience of your life.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn (Kabat-Zinn, 2009).
Mindfulness Practice
Mindfulness involves formal & informal practice.
Formal practice: Time dedicated daily to meditation
or mindful movement practices (e.g., yoga).
Informal practice: Meditation is done continuously
with one pointed focus on each task. Being
completely present IN the moments of our lives.
Common Mindfulness Practices
Mindfulness Meditation*
Mindful Breathing*
Mindful Eating
Mindful Movement (Yoga)
Mindful Walking
The Body Scan Technique
Loving-kindness Meditation*
2 Components of Mindfulness Practice
Self-regulation of attention:
– sustain attention to immediate experience – inhibit secondary elaborative processing – switch attention to desired focus
Openness to experience:
– Curiosity – Acceptance
– Avoid resistance
Components of Mindfulness Meditation
Intention:
– Commit to a dedicated and regular practice
Attention:
– Observe contents of experience
Attitude:
– Manner of observing experience
Elements of Mindful Attitude
Non-judging
– impartial witness, observe
without categorization
Non-Striving
– non goal-oriented, remain
unattached to outcome
Acceptance
– acknowledge things as they are
in this moment
Patience
– simply allow things to unfold
Trust
– trust in yourself & your experience
Elements of Mindful Attitude
Beginner’s Mind/Openness
– see things fresh as if
for first time
Curiosity –
interest, exploration, investigation.
Letting Go
– not holding on to thoughts, feelings,
experience
Gentleness –
soft & considerate, but not passive or
undisciplined
Non-reactivity –
respond with consciousness and
clarity
Loving-kindness –
friendliness, benevolence, love
Simplified: The COAL Approach
The COAL approach to mindfulness (Siegel,
2007) is to consistently watch here and now
experience with:
–
Curiosity
–Openness
–Acceptance
–Love
Daniel Siegel, M.D. (Harvard Medical School & UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Centre)
Mindfulness Meditation
Increases grey matter in left prefrontal cortex area
responsible for higher thinking (Holzel et al., 2008)
May be the most useful way to improve emotional &
physical well being (Compton & Hoffman, 2005)
Benefits experienced in a short period of time &
increase with frequency & consistency (Carmody & Baer, 2009)
3 days meditating 20 minutes/day can impact
perception of & sensitivity to pain (Zeidan, Gordon, Merchant, Goolkasian, 2009)
Importance of the Breath
Most common focal point of awareness in meditation
15 minutes of focused breathing lowers negative mood
and decreases reactivity to stressful stimuli (Arche & Craske, 2006)
Can generate feelings of joy (Hendricks, 1995)
Can activate genes responsible for countering stress
Focused Breathing Meditation
Breath-focused meditation exercise
3 points of breath awareness:
nostrils
chest
belly
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction
(MBSR)
Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn developed MBSR program at University
of Massachusetts Medical Center.
MBSR common form of medicine for a variety of health
problems.
MBSR classes taught by physicians, nurses, social workers,
and psychologists, as well as other health professionals.
Patients/clients take on responsibility for doing inner work in
order to tap into their own resources for growing and healing.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) focuses on
depression & training to recognize & manage the
relationship between depressive moods & negative thought patterns.
Mindfulness enhances:
Classroom learning (Ritchart & Perkins, 2002) Working memory functions (Jha et al., 2010)
Ability to focus/concentrate (Shapiro & Carlson, 2009) Musician performance (Langer, Russell, & Eisenkraft,
2009)
Marital satisfaction (Burpee & Langer, 2005)
Self-awareness & positive emotions (Brown & Ryan,
2003)
Mindfulness enhances:
Affiliative trust & oneness motivation (Weinberger et
al., 1990)
Self-regulation skills (Evan, Baer, & Segerstrom, 2009) Hardiness (Kabat-Zinn & Skillings, 1989)
Regulation of heart rate (Delizonna, Williams, &
Langer, 2009)
Immune system functioning (Davidson et al., 2003) Physical health outcomes (Shapiro & Carlson, 2009) Pain management (Shapiro & Carlson, 2009)
Mindfulness reduces:
Use of stereotyping (Djikic, Langer, &
Stapleton, 2008
Negative effects of social comparison (Langer,
Pirson, & Delizonna, 2010)
Experience of stress (Shapiro & Carlson, 2009)
Anxiety & worry (Miller, Fletcher, Kabat-Zinn,
Mindfulness reduces:
Depression (Shapiro, Scwartz, & Bonner,
1998)
Symptoms of cancer, insomnia, multiple
sclerosis (Epstein, 2003; Grossman, 2010)
Negative affect (Jha et al., 2010)
Impulsivity and habitual behaviours such as
those in addictions, eating disorders, and
borderline personality disorder (cf. Boyce,
2011)
Growing Popularity of Mindfulness
- Every year well over 100 new studies are published on the effects of mindfulness in a wide array of domains and
disciplines.
- Mindfulness training is offered at over 250 medical institutions
in the US including leading medical centers (e.g., Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine, Duke Center for Integrative Medicine).
- Hundreds of health care professionals are applying MBSR to
problems ranging from anxiety and drug addiction to
cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, cancer, insomnia, and many more…
(Chang et al., 2010; Chen et al., 2010; Matousek & Dobkin, 2010; cf. Compton & Hoffman, 2005)
Really doing what you are doing:
Mindfulness in everyday life
Mindfulness influences the mind (thoughts &
emotions) and body (nervous system activity) in a positive direction for optimal health outcomes.
Be fully present in your life experiences with moment to
moment awareness. – Mindful breathing – Mindful eating – Mindful walking – Mindful parenting – Mindful working
Cultivating Loving-Kindness
Great Resources
Compton, W. C., & Hpffman, E. (2005). Positive psychology: The
science of happiness and flourishing. Wadsworth Cengage
Learning: Belmont CA
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2009). Full Catastrophe Living: Using the
Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and
Illness. Fifteenth Anniversary Edition. The Program of the Stress
Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Delta Trade Paperbacks. Bantam Dell: A Division of RandomHouse Inc. New York.
Shapiro, S. L., & Carlson, L. E. (2009). The art and science of
mindfulness: Integrating mindfulness into psychology and the
helping professions. Washington, DC: American Psychological
Great Resources
Snyder, C. R., Lopez, S. J., & Pedrotti, J. (2011).
Positive psychology: The scientific and practical explorations of human strengths (2nd Edtn.). SAGE:
Thousand Oaks, CA.
Boyce, B. (2011). The mindfulness revolution:
Leading psychologists, scientists, artists, and
meditation teachers on the power of mindfulness in daily life. Shambhala Sun Books: Boston MA
Siegel, D. J. (2007) The mindful brain: Reflection and
attunement in the cultivation of well-being. Mind your Brain Inc. W. W. Norton & Co: New York, NY