Post on 23-Sep-2020
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Celebrate Recovery ProgramMondays • 6:30-8:30pm
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Several Simple Mindfulness PracticesIn this month’s column, I want to focus on a variety
of simple and practical mindfulness practices one can do during the day. Between COVID-19 and the up-coming election, the next few could be very stressful.
A new book called Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor has become a bestseller. Nestor cites research that indicates that making even slight adjustments to the way we inhale and exhale can have powerful healing effects on our body and mind.
A key part of practicing mindfulness during the day is to remember to pause, even if only for a few seconds, and simply breathe.
Below, I offer several mindfulness practices that can give us mini-breaks during the day. Metaphori-cally, mindfulness can be likened to a surge protector which protects the computer from frying or like a reset or restart button. Ahh, the pause that refreshes!
Take several conscious natural breathsBy placing more attention on the out-breath, you
can feel the natural relaxation that can come with simply breathing out. Remembering to do this a few times a day has made a big difference to many people who have come to our center. At the end of a few breaths, you can add a simple reflection: something you are grateful for. This can be done while driving your car, drinking your morning cup of tea/coffee, while waiting in a line, etc.
SmileResearch shows that our body will naturally
respond to smiling by releasing small amounts of dopamine and serotonin into the bloodstream. When I teach mindfulness courses, one week’s assignment is to smile more often and write down what you notice. Many of the participants report results like those found in studies.
STOPBelow is a description of a commonly taught
practice called STOP that you can employ when you have 30 seconds or a minute to simply stop. Again, this can be done while waiting in line or waiting at a stop light.
S: Stop whatever you are doing in this mo-ment.
T: Take a few natural breaths. Feel the breath. O: Observe what is happening for you in this
moment. Many people notice tightness in their shoul-ders or jaw and relax this tension as they breathe out.
P: Proceed. Make a conscious intention to incorporate what you noticed from that minute of stepping back.
5-3-1 The 5-3-1 Practice comes from the Center for
Healthy Minds founded by Dr. Richard Davidson who has been doing groundbreaking research on mindfulness and meditation for 40 years. Many people to whom I have introduced this practice have found it to be very powerful.
5...Meditate 5 minutes per day. For many people,
focusing on the breath or taking a break from your to-do list helps de-stress and calm the mind.
3...Write down 3 good things that happened today.
Research shows a positive relationship between gratitude and well-being.
1...Do 1 act of kindness. Whether it’s holding the
door for the person behind you or paying someone a heartfelt compliment, generous behavior is not only good for the person receiving it, but also for the giver.
Below are a variety of practices that one can do during the day to reduce stress and to increase one’s sense of joy and appreciation:
Develop a morning ritualFind a simple practice that gets you off on the
right foot: meditation, prayer, yoga, tai chi, chi gong, Pilates, etc.
Take a few minutes to sit quietly or to take a walk and contemplate what you are grateful for.
Read a passage in an inspirational book, a short prayer, a poem
During the dayWhen you get to work, take a few slow, deep
breaths before you leave the car or enter the building. Do the same thing when you get home.
When you sit down at the computer, take one or more slow breaths before you start.
Use everyday occurrences as reminders to breathe or slow down – for example, phone ringing, waiting in line, walking down the hall.
Find creative ways to remind yourself to pauseChoose passwords on your computer that make
you smile, e.g., Smile12!, Breathe12, etc. Keep inspiring photos or ones that make you laugh
on your phone or on your desk.TechnologyHere are five highly rated apps that are free or that
have free components:Insight Timer; Headspace; Stop, Breathe & Think;
Calm; Aura.I suggest picking one of the ideas or practices
mentioned here and try it out for a week as best as you can. See what you notice over time. And remember, it’s a practice!
Tom has been practicing mindfulness meditation for almost 40 years and has taught mindfulness and meditation at Keene State College, at Cheshire Medi-cal Center, at the county jail, in local schools, and at the Monadnock Mindfulness Practice Center, which he helped to found in 2002.
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Keene Psychotherapy Trauma Recovery
93 Roxbury Street, Keene, NH 03431 • (603) 809-5193www.KeenePsychotherapyTraumaRecoveryServices.com
www.keenepsychotherapytraumarecoveryservices.com
Richard C. Donovan MSW, ACSW, LICSW, Psychotherapist/Traumatologist
Transforming TraumaAddiction Insights
Right here, right now are you wondering what makes you want to act out? (alcohol, drugs, sex, food, depression, fear)
What Heart Wound may be calling you forth that needs to be transformed?
What Body Pain may be giving you a message to be embraced and transformed?
Could it be you are beginning to face your authentic self?Trauma is about a disconnection to yourself.
Psychodrama will help you connect with yourself.Gestalt Somatic Process Work will help you work through
the trauma beneath your addition.
Remember: Stay humbled. Stay present. Breathe and Pray. What we resist will persist.
If you have any questions about the above -mentioned methods please check out the webpage or call.