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Bring The Puppy Back
When my husband and I adopted our Labrador Emmy as a puppy, we assumed our older dog, Hubbard (the best dog ever) would train her. He did the best he could with the material available but we quickly realized our best option with our spoiled fur baby was to provide treats every time she came back to us. Her trust in us developed as her attention was rewarded. I love this analogy with mindfulness. You are rewarded by moments when you “wake up” into the present and out of remembering the past or planning for the future.
Try this exercise: For the next full 30 seconds, try NOT to be aware.
It’s like being fully engrossed in a great movie but then someone drops popcorn in your lap and you realize that you are not really a part of the action.
Mindfulness is bringing one’s full attention to the present moment without judgment. Being fully present in the moment and cultivating awareness can build resilience and positively impact your everyday life. Influencing two different stress pathways in the brain, mindfulness changes brain structures and activity in regions associated with attention and emotion regulation. The benefits of mindfulness include: stress management, burn-out prevention, pain relief, improved focus and memory, and deeper sleep. Mindfulness helps to develop a calm and openhearted approach to living through challenging times and circumstances. Specific practices include awareness of breath, body, and sensory input, or even thoughts themselves.
You may be thinking, “I can’t sit still long enough to meditate” or “my monkey mind won’t be quiet. It’s too frustrating!” My mother-in-law and many others believe the same thing (shout out to Marcia who edits my blog). She and I often talk about finding peace with gardening instead. The key is to be fully present in the activity: Feeling your hands in the dirt, hearing the bees buzzing in the flowers, smelling the freshly cut grass, deeply appreciating the beauty of nature are all ways to be aware of the present moment.
Practicing mindfulness helps me be less reactive, to take a broader view of situations, and experience a more peaceful mind. I was introduced to the concept during a stress management workshop. The Monadnock Mindfulness Practice Center was a wonderful resource then I participated in the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction “MBSR” course. I wouldn’t pretend to have things ‘figured out’. I’m a work in progress but please reach out if you have any questions or need additional resource on this approach.
There is a misconception that you must sit completely still and forcefully empty your mind for mindfulness meditation. Although building and deepening your practice of awareness through meditation is extremely beneficial, the beauty of the mindfulness approach is that you can feel more grounded with small moments of awareness during your day-to-day life.
Here are some easy ways to begin a mindfulness practice beyond a formal meditation:
-5 senses (notice 5 things you see, 4 things you hear, 3 things you feel, 2 things you smell and 1 thing you taste)
-Feel your feet on the ground
-Light a candle and notice the flicker
-Report back to your family (or take a picture) of something beautiful each day
-For 5 breaths, notice where you feel the breath (nose, chest, belly, or anywhere else)
-At every stop light, notice if you feel tension anywhere in your body
-Practice a pause between every activity
-Imagine your mind as a lovable puppy and notice the joy of returning to your present moment
Mindfulness- It’s not what you think
Resources–
Local in-person practice- Monadnock Mindfulness Practice Center https://mindfulnesskeene.org/
Books– anything by Jon Kabat-Zinn or Tara Brach
Websites or Apps– Calm.com or Soundstrue.com
Teacher- Tara Brach. Many great books and website: https://www.tarabrach.com/
Mindfulness in eating- https://www.mindfulnessdiet.com/program/articles/a-mindfulness-eating-exercise-simple-instructions/
Tom Bassarear, local mindfulness teacher: guided meditation YouTube
On-line MBSR courses: https://www.ummhealth.org/center-mindfulness
Be in the moment and be well
-Trish
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