Cultivating Mindfulness
In the Healing Room
Module Three - 60 minutes
Mindfulness
This type of meditation also focuses awareness on breathing and encourages positive attitudes to achieve a healthy, balanced mental state. Mindful meditation is recommended for reducing reactions to stress because it produces a relaxation response, lowers the heart rate, reduces anxiety, and encourages positive thought patterns and attitudes.
Practicing mindfulness meditation can cultivate self-awareness, and nonjudgmental, loving, kind, and compassionate feelings toward yourself and others. This includes being nonjudgmental, loving, kind, and compassionate toward your most distressed, hurting, or extreme parts. Try to remember they are parts of you and there is a reason they feel the way they do, and do what they do. You will learn more later about how you can help them more directly, but mindfulness is an essential first step.
This module can be repeated as often as you wish -- and once you are familiar with the methods, combined with different yoga poses and stretches, as well as orienting, grounding, and resourcing from the earlier modules.
Use your awareness of parts; acknowledge & unblend as you go.
Instructions
- Start with the beautiful little book, Pausitivity: Take a Moment to Nurture Yourself. It is a refreshing and very short book. Stretch and breathe.
- Read 'Discover the Benefits of Mindfulness,' pages 14-17 in the Mindfulness Manual. Stretch and breathe.
- Read 'Live Life in the Moment,' pages 8-12 in the Mindfulness Manual. Stretch and breathe.
- Read 'Clear Your Mind,' pages 18-22 in the Mindfulness Manual. Stretch and breathe.
- Try one of the meditations on p. 21.
- Read 'The Power of Mindfulness' edition of Yoga Journal: page 29.
- Consider how to combine these meditations with orienting, grounding, and resources. Stretch and breathe.
- Hold a 'Love' stone (like the one in the photo above), feel its weight and smoothness, look at its color and shine. Feel the inscription. Close your eyes. Notice what comes up for you. Stretch and breathe.
- Twirl a fidget-spinner. Listen to the sound it makes as it spins. Stretch and breathe.
Use Any of the Materials
Let mindfulness and your creativity to lead you spontaneously to the place you need to go.
Take Your Time/Repeat
Alternating Bilateral Stimulation
*Having the ABS playing at a volume loud enough to hear it, but low enough that it seems to fade into the background while you learn these skills, is optimal.
Approved Consultant in IFS & EMDR: individual and group consultation via Zoom.