Mindfulness programme week two

 

In session two we did three exercises

1) We did a body scan again, but this time standing up. I found this harder than sitting down, as less parts of my body were touching something, so it was harder to focus on them. Also standing up without moving for a long time is hard!

2) The second exercise was called 'Walking in the street'. We had to imagine that we were walking along and that we greeted a friend but they didn't acknowledge us. We had to note our emotions, physical sensations and  thoughts in this situation. We discussed the fact that we are all different and react differently to situations, based on our cognitive schemas (patterns of thought or behaviour that help us to understand the world). Our thoughts are a construct: they are subjective and do not necessarily reflect reality. Thoughts also have considerable affects on our body. For example, one person might imagine their friend not greeting them and physically tremble in anger, while another's heart might speed up in anxiety. One might be thinking 'How date (s)he not acknowledge me, the bastard', while the other might be thinking 'Oh no, I must have offended him/her.' Whereas in reality the friend may have been so caught up in their thoughts that they didn't even see or hear the other person.

3) Thirdly we did a breathing exercise. This is one of my favourite ways to be mindful. To help me focus on my breathing I use a technique that wasn't actually taught on my course; I learnt it on Headspace. It involves counting breaths (one to inhale, two to exhale) up to ten, and then starting again.

For our homework we had to keep a calendar of 'pleasant moments' wherein we noted our emotions, physical sensations and thoughts. We also had to continue meditating and doing the five senses exercise like the last time.

Takeaways

It is important to remember that our thoughts don't necessarily reflect reality, and also that we should pay attention to the physical sensations in our body in order to help us know how we are feeling emotionally. I would personally add that deep breathing can help to calm the body and the mind, and thus diminish these physical sensations.

Mindfulness programme week one

 

I was lucky enough to be able to do Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy programme following my introduction to the concept in my Therapeutic Patient Education seminars. It took place over 8 weeks starting in January but ending in October because of Covid! I outlined what Mindfulness is in my previous post on it, so instead this and following posts will focuses on the types of mindful meditation I learnt to do and what I took away from the course. 

5 senses exercise 

In this exercise we were told to close our eyes and a small object was placed in our hands. we were then told to explore the object by touching it, tapping it and listening to it, and smelling it. It was hard and gritty and left a residue on my fingers, and smelled cheesy. We were then asked to take the ultimate leap of faith and bite into it. To my surprise I discovered that it was a piece of dried banana! I'd been expecting some kind of cheesy biscuit due to the smell. We the opened our eyes to look at the remaining piece and we observed the small holes in the middle and the slight translucency of it. 

This exercise was meant to introduce us to the idea of being mindful and in the moment. We were told to try it at home and I very much enjoy doing it with a piece of chocolate from time to time; really taking the time to savor it means that I feel the need to eat less! I also enjoy doing a slightly modified version when walking on my commute- I pay attention to everything I can see, hear, feel, smell, and even taste (usually toothpaste!). This exercise can also be enjoyable to do in the shower, espcially when you change to a new scent of shower gel. 

Body scanning exercise

In this exercise we scanned up through our body from our toes to our head, trying to pay attention to how each part of ourselves felt, for example if we were carrying tension in our shoulders. I find doing this exercise slowly hard as I struggle to scan a body part for more than a few seconds, and during the course we would do this for up to 30 minutes at a time. Definitely not my favourite type of mindfulness but interesting to try nonetheless. 

Some takeaways 

It is important to take time to just be present in the here and now and listen to your body and/or pay attention to what is around you. This enables you to take a break from regretting the past or worrying about the future and just to live in the present moment.