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Mindfulness Basics

21
Aug
2011
Formal Mindfulness Practice versus Everyday Mindfulness
Posted On August 21, 2011  By admin  And has 4 Comments

You don’t have to be sitting on a cushion to be practicing mindfulness meditation. You can actually incorporate mindfulness into your everyday activities. In fact, the goal of “formal” meditation practice, defined here as intentionally sitting with a tall spine, and focusing on your breath or […]

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06
Jul
2011
Mindfulness on Vacation
Posted On July 6, 2011  By admin  And has No Comment

Want to take your next vacation twice? How about a dozen times? It’s possible relive your vacation as many times as you would like if you practice being in the present moment while you are laying by the pool, hiking you favorite mountain, or seeing the […]

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17
Jun
2011
What’s Going Right? – Keeping a Record of Pleasant Events
Posted On June 17, 2011  By admin  And has 5 Comments

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy encourages clients to take note of what is going right.  We are hard-wired to scan our environment for danger.  This capacity is what has kept us alive and evolving over the millenia.  However, this nervous system response, if left unchecked can have negative […]

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10
Jun
2011
Press the Reset Button on Your Nervous System
Posted On June 10, 2011  By admin  And has No Comment

We know a lot about stress and how it affects us, both mind and body.  So why do we ignore it and let it make us overweight, sick and prematurely old, especially when we can so easily press the reset button with a little bit of […]

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10
Jun
2011
Press the Reset Button on Your Nervous System
Posted On June 10, 2011  By admin  And has No Comment

We know a lot about stress and how it affects us, both mind and body.  So why do we ignore it and let it make us overweight, sick and prematurely old, especially when we can so easily press the reset button with a little bit of […]

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07
Jun
2011
Changing Habits of the Mind – What Thoreau Knew about Neuroscience
Posted On June 7, 2011  By admin  And has No Comment

  “As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind.  To make a deep physical path, we must walk again and again.  To make a deep mental path, we must think […]

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05
Jun
2011
Poking holes in the Story Line with Mindfulness
Posted On June 5, 2011  By admin  And has No Comment

Have you ever noticed the story line in your head?  The one that shapes your mood and dictates your actions in a not so good way?  My story line can be particularly powerful on Sunday nights.  It goes something like this “Oh my God, I’ve overbooked […]

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03
Jun
2011
Meet your Prefrontal Lobes
Posted On June 3, 2011  By admin  And has 3 Comments

Introducing…. your amazing prefrontal lobes!  In his book Mindsight, Dan Siegel outlines the nine functions of the prefrontal lobes.  They are: Bodily Regulation Attuned Communication Emotional Balance Fear Modulation Response Flexibility Insight Empathy Moral Awareness Intuition And thanks to FMRI Imaging we now know that the […]

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31
May
2011
Mindful Attitudes – Part II
Posted On May 31, 2011  By admin  And has No Comment

In our last post we looked at four attitudinal foundations of mindfulness; non-judging, patience, beginner’s mind, and trust.  Today, let’s look at the last four through seven, with a bonus eighth. 4.  Non-striving. Meditation is about switching from an orientation of doing to being.  Having too […]

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29
May
2011
Mindful Attitudes – Part I
Posted On May 29, 2011  By admin  And has 2 Comments

In his book Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. lists the seven attitudinal foundations of mindfulness. Here are the first four. We’ll talk about the last three (plus a bonus eighth) in our next post. 1. Non-judging – Whenever the mind gets quiet the critic comes […]

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