On Being Mindful
On Being
What is this mindfulness thing about?
4 Ways to just "Be"
Mindfulness is a way to become more aware of what is going on for you in real time-it is moment to moment awareness. It is a way to help manage anxiety and depression but also just with those times you feel worried or out of control with your thoughts.
In therapy, I work with my clients of all ages, first on identifying their thoughts-positive, negative or neutral. We work on being present with that thought and seeing if it is just that, a thought or something more.
Here are three exercises I use to help my clients to calm their minds and be more present in the moment. This allows for an opening, an authentic, present moment experience that can often be linked back to earlier experiences that have caused stress, worry, guilt or shame. A lot of good work comes from allowing a client to "just be." Also, these help when you feel flooded with emotions that are overwhelming as it helps to slow you down so that you learn to self-regulate on your own.
1. Body Scan-This is done by noticing parts of the body by observing sensations from your feet up to your head.
2. 3 Minute Breathing-This is breathing in and allowing yourself to notice your breath for 3 minutes. First, you will hold your belly and blow air into your stomach by filling it up like a balloon. Then, breathe out and repeat this for 3 minutes. This breath helps with slowing down, being present, and self-soothing.
3. Progressive Muscle Relaxation-Similar to the body scan, this is squeezing and letting go of muscles from head to toe and noticing where the tension sits in the body.
4. The STOP Practice-Stop, Take a Breathe, Observe, Proceed-a relatively quick way to scan the body and notice emotions and thoughts without holding on to them.
I love the metaphor of our thoughts at the train station. Our thoughts are moving trains and we stand on the watching them come and go. We can decide to get on a train (a thought) and ride it to the next station or to the next county or we can just watch the thought as it comes and goes.
For books and resources to learn more about Mindfulness meditation:
Dr. Elisha Goldstein -You Tube channel offers many meditations and website has books and information on mindfulness practice.
All the Best,
Dr. Rachel Marks
