Mindfulness

Mindfulness teaches us to experience things through our bodies in addition to our minds.

"Mindfulness is: Paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally, to things as they really are". - Jon Kabat-Zinn, Segal, Teasdale, Williams, 2007

Listening to your body and being mindful of the present moment allows for a more accurate experience of moment-by-moment sensation, as well as a more accurate view of the present reality.

Why practice mindfulness?

• Enhances the ability to cope with both physical and emotional pain
• Enhances the ability to enjoy food, music, sex, exercise, etc
• Increases self awareness and self acceptance
• Promotes body awareness
• Promotes a sense of self and a sense of well-being
• Promotes emotion regulation
• Improves relaxation
• Promotes attention regulation, ability to focus, and improves concentration
  

Tips for practicing mindfulness meditation (students.sfu.ca/health):

Getting Started:

• Connect with your body and presence-try breathing, body scan, or progressive muscle relaxation

• Get comfortable and grounded

• Soft belly and open chest

• Gently close your eyes

• Bring awareness into the present moment and use all of your senses. Notice tension.

• Focus on breath, breathe normally and relax

If your mind starts to wander...

• Notice your wandering mind and bring it back to your breath

• Notice where your thoughts have gone and name what your mind is doing (i.e., thinking, planning, or remembering).

• Do not judge yourself, your thoughts, or how often your mind wanders

• Minds think but we do not have to believe or get caught-up in the story of our thoughts. We can just notice our thoughts and stay away from the temptation to analyze, judge, or problem-solve.

• Notice, name it, and go back to your breath

“Mindful Meditation is not something complicated. It simply means focusing on one thing completely for some time. Any activity such as walking, eating, and listening can also become mediation if you pay complete attention to them.”

Practice Mindful Eating: Eating 1 Raisin (Craisin, or Gummy Candy)

(Tip: this is about using all five of your senses to really pay attention the the raisin, on purpose, non-judgmentally, as if you have never seen or heard of a raisin before)

DO NOT SKIP AHEAD- go through each step in order:

1. Hold it: just hold the raisin in the palm of your hand or between your finger and thumb. Focus on it.
2. See it: Take your time to really look at it with careful attention. Explore every part and crevasse of it, noticing the highlights and how the light shines off it, the dark hollows, folds and ridges, and any unique features.
3. Touch it: Explore the feeling and texture of the raisin. Feeling it in the palm of your hand and turning it over in your fingers. (maybe close your eyes or look away as this may enhance your sense of touch).
4. Smell it: Hold the raisin beneath  your nose, smell it. Noticing its aroma, smell, or fragrance, and paying attention to how your mouth or stomach react to the smell (don't judge, just notice with curiosity)
5. Place it: Slowly put the raisin to your lips, be sure to notice the sensation of your arm and hand as you place it to your lips, as well as the sensation of the raisin against your lips. Gently place the raisin in your mouth, don't chew it, just notice how it got into your mouth. Spend some time exploring the feeling of the raisin in your mouth and explore it with your tongue.
6. Taste it: Notice how you prepare to chew, paying attention to how and where it needs to be for chewing. Then very slowly and consciously take just 1 or 2 bites and notice what happens when you chewed it. Without swallowing explore the sensation of chewing, the taste, and texture of the raisin, and how these may change over time with more bites.
7. Swallow it: Before you actually swallow pay attention to the intention to swallow so that even swallowing is experienced consciously and on purpose.
8. Follow it: Now swallow and see if you can follow/notice the raisin moving down to your stomach and sense how your entire body feels after completing this exercise in mindful eating