Mindfulness Blog for Adults
November 2, 2020- Meditation
Happy Mindful Monday! I know that things are very crazy and stressful right now for each and every one of you. I want to thank you for your countless hours of dedication and to echo the importance of self-care or making sure we take time for ourselves each day.
To start off this Monday, I want to explore mindfulness. Mindfulness is the idea of learning how to be fully present and engaged in the moment, aware of your thoughts and feelings without distraction or judgment. I personally love the idea of mindfulness and am currently using it as I work on my own goals for personal growth.
One strategy to explore mindfulness is Meditation. Do any of you already do meditation? To get started here are some tips for meditation (full article here)
Start small, with three to five minutes (or less).
Meditation can increase your resiliency to stress, and is especially useful if you have issues with stress, anxiety, irritability, or overthinking.
Understand the principles of meditation (for example, coming back to the here and now, aka mindfulness).
Do meditation your own way.
Reduce all-or-nothing thinking.
Here is a Guided Meditation to get you started (use the audio one labeled “Alone Time” under mindfulness or You Tube has tons if you want a different one). For additional meditation tips check out this article.
Happy Meditating!!
November 9, 2020- Gratitude
Happy Mindful Monday! I hope that you were able to take a few moments over the last week to connect to the here and now, be present in the moment, and maybe try a meditation or two. This week I want to focus on gratitude. One reason why gratitude is our focus this week, is because gratitude practice is a huge stress reliever and actually rewires the way our brain sees the world. Our brains are naturally wired to hold onto the negative and be on the lookout for danger. A Gratitude Practice (daily) actively weaves in the positive and actually changes the way we see the world. No matter what you are going through in your life, there is always something to be grateful for and appreciate about life. ALWAYS. Some days you have to look harder than others. Click here to get started on your family gratitude wall.
November 16, 2020- Music
Happy Mindful Monday! Did you know that music can be used as an effective coping strategy (when used correctly) and incorporating music into mindfulness can decrease the stress in our lives? Just like sounds in our everyday lives, music is made of rhythm and harmony. Do you pay attention to how you feel when you listen to different sounds? For example, chirping birds can be soothing for some people whereas for others it is annoying. I personally like listening to the rain falling and find it very soothing. I challenge you to pay attention to how you respond mentally, physically and emotionally to various music, sounds and rhythms in your everyday life. Music alone can do wonders for our health and wellness, but have you thought about combining music with mindfulness? In doing this you can create more space for the healing power of music and sounds.
Ways to experience mindful music and sounds:
Live-stream a performance (or hopefully in the near future attend a live performance) and notice how easy or difficult it is to stay in the present moment. You might notice your mind is a wandering circus, or you might effortlessly be focused on the show. Just observe.
Give yourself 5 minutes to toss on head phones, and choose 1 song to listen to that you know will relax you. Find a comfortable sitting or lying posture, close your eyes, and listen only to the song. Observe where your mind goes. If it wanders, that is normal. Gently welcome your attention back to the song you chose.
Sit outside for five minutes, and notice the sounds. Is there traffic, feet hitting the pavement, birds? Do these different sounds stimulate tension or relaxation for you? Pay attention to the sounds, and your reactions.
Listen to silence. When you’re alone in the car at a traffic light, or before you head inside to your next meeting, or maybe you find a park, take one minute to sit in silence. Notice what you notice.
Explore new music. There may be rhythms, beats and lyrics out there waiting to connect with you. (for the full article visit: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/musics_role_in_mindfulness)
There are so many different ways to find music, sounds and rhythms in our everyday lives. If we are not aware of how different music and sounds affect us, it makes it difficult to use it as an effective coping strategy. It is important to be in sync with yourself and the sounds around you in order to find the calm you are looking for.
To get your mind headed in the right track, I want all family members to find their favorite song on YouTube and watch it and then share it with everyone else at dinner.
November 23, 2020- Journaling
Happy Mindful Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend and are ready for our much needed break this week. It is only TWO days—we got this!
This Monday, I want to introduce you to the world of journaling. I know many of you are thinking, “How on Earth can I find more time to write?”, but hear me out. Journaling can be used to reduce stress, increase self-reflection, and create a better sense of well-being. The best thing about journaling is you can do it however you like and there are no wrong answers; you can just do a brain dump of all that “stuff” you have floating around up there. If you’re not much of a Dear Diary writing sort of person then consider blogging of vlogging (video (or audio) blogging)
Here are 8 journaling techniques for better mental health:
Visual Journaling- using art to journal. You are focused more on visual design than words. Find images or draw how your feeling and you can add words if you want to.
Gratitude Journaling- we started this a little bit with the Gratitude Wall idea. Write down things in life that you are thankful for or that make you happy. The purpose of this is to reframe our thinking and look at positives. This does not minimize any challenges you are going through.
Intuition Journaling- know that saying “go with your gut”? Well that gut feeling is what you get to explore. When we are stressed we tend to overthink thinks and end up not trusting our intuition. Use intuition journaling to reconnect with your gut. Write down an question you would like answered and then put your gut response down.
Musical Journaling- Create your journal through sound. Write a song in your journal or play something and record it for later access. You can even use some of last weeks strategies with Mindful Music and explore your feelings there.
Stream-of-Consciousness Journaling- this is particularly helpful if you are critical of yourself or have perfectionistic tendencies. You just start writing and keep going. This is a judgement free zone, even if your writing turns into a scrawl, keep going until you are ready to stop. Remind yourself that whatever you write is fine, no matter how grammatically incorrect, "out there," or indecipherable you think it is.
Mentor Journaling- Write about people who inspire you or write a letter to a person who inspires you about how they are helping you become the person that you want to be and share goals you created for yourself for better living.
Unsent Journal Lettering- sometimes I call this the “burn” letter. In "unsent letter" journaling, you write down what you would like to tell the person. It can be whatever you want since you aren't sending it anyway. You can tell someone how much you appreciate them, how angry they made you, or how you want or don't want to forgive them. Writing a letter to someone, even if you don't send it, can be a cathartic experience. It's also something to consider sharing with your therapist if you have one. Added note: if at the end you want to burn it (safely of course) and watch those thoughts float away that can be therapeutic as well.
What-is-Going-Well Journaling-write about what is going well for you this day. This is different than gratitude journaling because gratitude journaling focuses on things that already exist and what-is-going-well journaling focuses on daily events.
For a more detailed article on journaling, visit: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/here-there-and-everywhere/202001/discover-8-journaling-techniques-better-mental-health
I also want to wish each of you a very Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoy the much needed time off and get to relax and unplug!
November 30, 2020- Coloring
Happy Mindful Monday! I hope that everyone had a relaxing break and was able to spend quality time with family (even if it had to be virtual). It is only a few weeks until Winter Break; let’s do this!
This week I want to talk about using coloring as a coping strategy. “Coloring has the ability to relax the fear center of your brain, the amygdala. It induces the same state as meditating by reducing the thoughts of a restless mind. This generates mindfulness and quietness, which allows your mind to get some rest after a long day at work.” In addition to it’s relaxing qualities, it can improve your motor skills and vision, improve your sleep, and improve your focus. (If you want the full article click here.)
I am going to keep this weeks email short and sweet so that you can maximize your coloring time. Please visit Art Therapy for Adults or Leader in Me Art to print out some coloring sheets to get you started. And maybe make an adult coloring book with colored pencils a stocking stuffer (or other holiday gift) idea…..
Happy Coloring!