Welcome to Week 1 of this 4 Week Introduction to Mindfulness, so whether you’re a complete beginner and curious about learning more or have read about mindfulness and would like to start a mindfulness practice with weekly guidance, this may be of interest to you. See how it is to commit to this online 4 week mindfulness course, each week I will have a blog for you and a meditation to listen to each day with some home practice exercises to try. If after the 4 weeks you have noticed some differences or are curious to try this training more fully, then you can check out our range of 8 week evidenced based mindfulness programmes at The Mindfulness Centre, www.mindfulness.ie
‘Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose in the present moment and without judgement’ (Kabat-Zinn, 1990).
Mindfulness is a type of mental training which allows us to cultivate awareness. In mindfulness we learn skills which support us in developing the quality of attention, and the capacity to come back, again and again, to this present moment with curiousity, compassion and patience. Being with this present moment and whatever is arising is quite different to our usual modes of day dreaming, worrying, planning and preoccupations. We are often unaware of the current of our thinking but it can have a big impact on how we live our lives, interpret events and respond to what is happening around us (Segal, Williams and Teasdale (2013).
Awareness and Automatic Pilot
Have you ever travelled in your car to a destination, and not remembered how you got there? Or found you’ve eaten your dinner would out really tasting the food? We can often be in ‘autopilot’ for large parts of the day and not really be present to the unfolding of our lives. Mindfulness is a way to open up to the experiences that are happening, as they are happening moment by moment, and moving out of this automatic pilot.
Research shows the average person is in autopilot 47% of the time…our attention is absorbed in our wandering minds and we are not really ‘present’ in our own lives. (Harvard Gazeette, 2010)
When we are on automatic pilot we are often unaware of how we are feeling, our thoughts and body sensations. By becoming more aware of how we are feeling, we are less likely to get our buttons pushed in difficult situations and give ourselves more opportunities to open up to range of experiences.
Mindfulness of the Breath
1. Sit in a comfortable position, with your spine in a dignified upright position, let the shoulders drop.
2. Close your eyes if it feels comfortable.
3. Bring your awareness to the feel of the body breathing each breath focusing your attention on the sensation of touch, contact and pressure in your body where it makes contact with the floor and whatever you are sitting on. Spend a few minutes exploring these sensations, just as in the body scan.
4. Bring your attention to your belly, feeling it rise or expand gently on the in-breath and fall or recede on the out-breath.
5. Keep the focus on your breathing, ‘being with’ each in-breath for its full duration and with each out-breath for its full duration, as if you were riding the waves of your own breathing.
6. Every time that you notice that your mind has wandered off the experience of the breath, softly note what it was that took you away and then gently escort your attention back to your belly and the feeling of the breath coming in and out.
7. If your mind wanders from the breath a thousand times, then your ‘job’ is simply to bring it back to the breath every time, no matter what it becomes preoccupied with. It is just as valuable to become aware that your mind has wandered and to bring it back to the breath as it is to remain aware of the breath. (Adapted from Kabat-Zinn, 1996)
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The Swan Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river? By Mary Oliver 1992 |
Home Practice for the Week Following Session 1
1. Try this 10 minute Breath & Body Meditation each day
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/breath-and-body-with-fiona-odonnell-10-mins
2. Take 5 minutes to take a piece of chocolate or fruit: hold it, look at it, smell it, place it on the lip, take a bite, allow to melt/chew slowly, noticing the aftertaste and sensation left in the mouth. Jot down anything you noticed about this? Is this how you normally eat?
3. Choose one routine activity in your daily life and make a deliberate effort to bring moment-to-moment awareness to that activity each time you do it. You don’t need to slow down or do anything differently, we are just shifting our attention to fully notice what we are doing. Possibilities include brushing your teeth, showering, drying your body, getting dressed, eating, taking out the rubbish, walking etc. Simply zoom in on knowing what you are doing as you are actually doing it.
FOR FREE DAILY MEDITATIONS, CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW:
- For Breath and Body (10 mins)
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/breath-and-body-with-fiona-odonnell-10-mins
- For Body Scan (13 mins)
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/short-body-scan-with-fiona-odonnell-13-mins
- For Mountain Meditation (15 mins)
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/mountain-meditation-with-fiona-odonnell
- For Mindful Movement (30 mins)
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/mindful-movement-with-fiona-odonnell
- For Three Step Breathing Space (3 mins)
https://soundcloud.com/user-938311516/3-step-breathing-space-3-mins
REFERENCES
Segal, Z.V., Williams, J.M.G., & Teasdale, J.D. (2013). Mindfulness–Based Cognitive
Therapy for Depression: A New Approach to Preventing Relapse (Second Edition). London: The Guilford Press.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. New York: Hyperion.
Mindfulness Week 2 of a Four Week Introduction to Mindfulness, including free daily meditations
By Fiona O’Donnell
Living in Our Heads
Welcome to Week 2 of this 4 Week Introduction to Mindfulness. If you started the daily meditation practice of the 10 minute Breath & Body last week, you probably noticed how much your mind was wandering during the meditation, whether it was planning, day dreaming or thoughts about the past. Often people think they are not doing mindfulness right if their mind is wandering a lot, but this is perfectly normal. Each time we notice the mind wandering is a moment of mindful awareness, we have the opportunity to practice letting go of the thought or judgement, and guiding our attention back to the breath, without needing to give ourselves a hard time for this, knowing that if we have a mind it will wander. So starting to notice how much these minds of ours are wandering is a really good starting place on this mindfulness journey. Having the breath as an anchor allows us to move out of the busy mind and shift gear into being what is arising in the present moment.
‘The present is the only time that any of us have to be alive-to know anything-to perceive-to learn- to act -to change-to heal’
(Kabat-Zinn, 1994)
We may also notice sleepiness, doubt, restlessness, boredom, impatience or strong desire for things to be different than they are in our out of our meditation practice. Knowing that this is normal, we are not trying to force ourselves to feel relaxed, we are simply noticing how we are, so if we notice ‘impatience’ we notice impatience and when we are ready, returning to the Breath to notice the physical sensations of the inbreath or the outbreath, depending on what way to body is naturally breathing when you redirect your attention to it.
This week we are also introducing the Body Scan meditation, which can be done lying down or sitting. We are not trying to achieve a certain state of relaxation we are simply observing the sensation in the body, even noticing the lack of sensation.
Tips for the Body Scan
1. Regardless of what happens (e.g., if you fall asleep, lose concentration, keep thinking of other things or focusing on the wrong bit of body, or not feeling anything), persist with it! These are your experiences in the moment. See if it is possible to be aware of them all, just as they are.
2. If your mind is wandering a lot, simply note the thoughts (as passing events), then bring the mind gently back to the body scan.
3. Let go of ideas of “success,” “failure,” “doing it really well,” or “trying to purify the body.” This is not a competition. It is not a skill for which you need to strive. The only discipline involved is regular and frequent practice. Just do it with an attitude of openness and curiosity, and then allow the rest to take care of itself.
4. Let go of any expectations about what the body scan will do for you: Imagine it as a seed you have planted. The more you poke around and interfere, the less it will be able to develop. So with the body scan, just give it the right conditions—peace and quiet, regular and frequent practice. That is all. The more you try to influence what it will do for you, the less it will do.
5. Try approaching your experience in each moment with the attitude: “OK, that’s just the way things are right now.” If you try to fight off unpleasant thoughts, feelings, or body sensations, the upsetting feelings will only distract you from doing anything else. Be aware, be non-striving, be in the moment, and accept things as they are.
(Adapted Segal, Williams and Teasdale, 2013)
The Summer Day
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
By Mary Oliver (1992)
Home Practice for the Week Following Session 2
1. Do the 13 minute Body Scan each day
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/short-body-scan-with-fiona-odonnell-13-mins
2. Set the alarm on your phone for just one minute, and count the breaths, no need to change the breathing in any way, simply bring your awareness to how the body is naturally breathing. Being with your breath in this way each day provides an opportunity to become aware of what it feels like to be connected and present in the moment without having to do anything.
3. Choose one routine activity in your daily life and make a deliberate effort to bring moment-to-moment awareness to that activity each time you do it. Possibilities include brushing your teeth, showering, drying your body, getting dressed, eating, taking out the rubbish, walking etc. Simply zoom in on knowing what you are doing as you are actually doing it.
FOR FREE DAILY MEDITATIONS, CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW:
- For Breath and Body (10 mins)
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/breath-and-body-with-fiona-odonnell-10-mins
- For Body Scan (13 mins)
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/short-body-scan-with-fiona-odonnell-13-mins
- For Mountain Meditation (15 mins)
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/mountain-meditation-with-fiona-odonnell
- For Mindful Movement (30 mins)
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/mindful-movement-with-fiona-odonnell
- For Three Step Breathing Space (3 mins)
https://soundcloud.com/user-938311516/3-step-breathing-space-3-mins
REFERENCES
Segal, Z.V., Williams, J.M.G., & Teasdale, J.D. (2013). Mindfulness–Based Cognitive
Therapy for Depression: A New Approach to Preventing Relapse (Second Edition). London: The Guilford Press.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. New York: Hyperion.
Mindfulness Week 3 of a Four Week Introduction to Mindfulness, including free daily meditations
By Fiona O’Donnell
‘Mindfulness provides a simple but powerful route for getting ourselves unstuck, back in touch with our own wisdom and vitality…The most important point is to be really yourself and not try to become anything that you are not already…being in touch with your deepest nature, and letting it flow out of you unimpeded’
(Kabat-Zinn, 1994)
Gathering the Scattered Mind
Welcome to Week 3 of this 4 Week mindfulness blog. If you got a chance to practice the meditation practice this week and home practice exercises, well done – it can be hard to fit this into a busy schedule. This week we are looking at how much of the time our mind is either in the future or the past. Using the One minute counting the breaths exercise or the formal 10 minute meditations is a way of anchoring ourselves back in the present moment using the breath or the body. These anchors allow us a way to reconnect with what is happening right now, to gather the mind and shift gear from the busy problem solving ‘Doing’ mode of mind to the ‘Being’ mode of mind. Reconnecting with the anchor of the breath or body can allow us to widen our perspective, moving from the narrowed focus of the problem solving mind to the widened awareness and spaciousness of the body, mind and emotions.
Doing and Being: Two different modes of mind-2 different tools to approach different tasks, one is not better than the other
The Doing Mode: It is the logical and problem solving way of approaching the world. Keep in mind what we want and try to get rid of what we don’t want. This is the mode of mind we access when we have a project in hand or when we are planning a holiday.
The Being Mode: It is intuitive. It’s in the present. This is the mode of mind we access when we fall in love, or enjoy a beautiful sunset. In this mode of mind we are connected with our body sensations and what the sense perceptions are bringing to us.
The meditation practice gives us the opportunity to access the ‘being mode’ independently of external circumstances. (Adapted from Segal, Williams and Teasdale, 2013)
Autobiography in Five Chapters
- I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost … I am hopeless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
- I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I’m in the same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
- I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in … it’s a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
- I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
- I walk down another street.
By Portia Nelson From, 1994
Home Practice for the Week Following Session 3
1. Alternate between the 13 minute Body Scan one day and the 10 Minute Breath and body the next.
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/short-body-scan-with-fiona-odonnell-13-mins
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/breath-and-body-with-fiona-odonnell-10-mins
2. Set the alarm on your phone for just one minute, and count the breaths, no need to change the breathing in any way, simply bring your awareness to how the body is naturally breathing. Being with your breath in this way each day provides an opportunity to become aware of what it feels like to be connected and present in the moment without having to do anything.
3. Choose a new routine activity in your daily life and make a deliberate effort to bring moment-to-moment awareness to that activity each time you do it. Possibilities include brushing your teeth, showering, drying your body, getting dressed, eating, taking out the rubbish, walking etc. Simply zoom in on knowing what you are doing as you are actually doing it.
FOR MORE FREE DAILY MEDITATIONS, CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW:
- For Breath and Body (10 mins)
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/breath-and-body-with-fiona-odonnell-10-mins
- For Body Scan (13 mins)
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/short-body-scan-with-fiona-odonnell-13-mins
- For Mountain Meditation (15 mins)
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/mountain-meditation-with-fiona-odonnell
- For Mindful Movement (30 mins)
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/mindful-movement-with-fiona-odonnell
- For Three Step Breathing Space (3 mins)
https://soundcloud.com/user-938311516/3-step-breathing-space-3-mins
REFERENCES
Segal, Z.V., Williams, J.M.G., & Teasdale, J.D. (2013). Mindfulness–Based Cognitive
Therapy for Depression: A New Approach to Preventing Relapse (Second Edition). London: The Guilford Press.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. New York: Hyperion.
Final Week of Four Week Introduction to Mindfulness, including free daily meditations
By Fiona O’Donnell
Welcome to the final week of the 4 Week Introduction to mindfulness. If you have done any of the meditation practices of home practice exercises, like brushing your teeth mindfully this week or the 1 minute counting the breaths exercise…Well Done!! This has given you an introduction to start noticing some of the things that are happening around us a lot of the time that we don’t notice because we are preoccupied with thoughts in the mind of the past of the future.
‘You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf’
(Kabat-Zinn, 1994)
So why are we experiencing so much stress and how can mindfulness help?
Moving our attention and awareness from the busy problem solving mind to the anchors of the breath or body, allows us to move from the Fight or Flight response to the Rest and Digest response. Simply by becoming aware of how the body is feeling or following the natural rhythm of the breath is having an effect on the bodies sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. This has a physiological effect on lowering the heart rate and reducing hormones like adrenalin and cortisol. Often the imagined threat we experience, whether it’s sending a work email to the wrong person, or feeling we said the wrong thing in a meeting, can have the same effect on our body as if there was a leopard chasing us and we needed to run for our lives. This imagined threat can mean we are often in a state of hyper arousal for weeks, months and even years without being aware of this. By practicing these mindfulness techniques, we are giving the body a chance to rest and reduce the production of these potentially harmful hormones.
A helpful and short informal practice for checking in with how we are feeling during the day or during stressful periods is The 3 Step Breathing Space
Whether you’re in work or at home, no one will notice you are even doing. See how it is to play the recording of this exercise, in order to get used to it, so we can do it without needing to listen to the audio track.
Step 1: Deliberately adapted a dignified/upright position and check in with ‘What is my experience right now? How is my body feeling? Is there any emotion I notice? Is my mind busy/future orientated or not?
Step 2: Bring the attention to focus on the natural rhythm of the breath, noticing the inbreath and the outbreath, no need to change it any way, just following the body breathing naturally. This is allowing us to anchor ourselves in the present moment.
Step 3: Expand from the breath out to the whole body, noticing the space the body takes up, and then moving into the next moments of your day from this widened awareness.
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The ten-finger gratitude exercise To come to a positive appreciation for the small things in your life, you can try the gratitude exercise. It simply means that once a day you bring to mind ten things which you are grateful for; counting them on your fingers. It is important to get to ten things, even when it becomes increasingly harder after three or four! This is exactly what the exercise is for — intentionally bringing into awareness the tiny, previously unnoticed elements of the day. |
Remember to weave your parachute every day, rather than leave it to the time you have to jump from the plane! (Kabat-Zinn)
DAILY MEDITATION TIPS
- When you first wake up in the morning before you get out of bed, bring your attention to your breathing. Observe 5 mindful breaths.
- Throughout the day – take a few moments to bring your attention to your breathing. Observe 5 mindful breaths.
- Whenever you eat or drink something, take a minute and breathe. Look at your food and realise that the food was connected to something which nourished its growth. Can you see the sunlight, the rain, the earth, the farmer, the trucker in your food? Pay attention as you eat, consciously consuming this food for your physical health. Bring awareness to seeing your food, smelling your food, tasting your food, chewing your food, and swallowing your food.
- Bring awareness to listening and talking. When listening, can you listen without agreeing or disagreeing, liking or disliking or planning what you will say when it is your turn? When talking, can you say what you need to say without overstating or understating? Can you notice how your mind and body feel?
- Whenever you are waiting in a queue, use this time to notice standing and breathing. Feel the contact of your feet on the floor and how your body feels. Bring attention to the rising and falling of your abdomen. Are you feeling impatient?
- Before you go to sleep at night, take a few minutes and bring your attention to your breathing. Observe 5 mindful breaths.
(Adapted from Saki Santorelli, EdD, University of Massachusetts Medical School)
FOR FREE DAILY MEDITATIONS, CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW:
- For Breath and Body (10 mins)
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/breath-and-body-with-fiona-odonnell-10-mins
- For Body Scan (13 mins)
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/short-body-scan-with-fiona-odonnell-13-mins
- For Mountain Meditation (15 mins)
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/mountain-meditation-with-fiona-odonnell
- For Mindful Movement (30 mins)
http://www.mindfulness.ie/resources/audio/mindful-movement-with-fiona-odonnell
- For Three Step Breathing Space (3 mins)
https://soundcloud.com/user-938311516/3-step-breathing-space-3-mins
REFERENCES
Segal, Z.V., Williams, J.M.G., & Teasdale, J.D. (2013). Mindfulness–Based Cognitive
Therapy for Depression: A New Approach to Preventing Relapse (Second Edition). London: The Guilford Press.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. New York: Hyperion.
