Reconnecting our “plugged in” youth: Mindfulness

by Melissa Reynolds, LCSW

What is mindfulness?  Mindfulness is achieved when we are in a state of complete awareness in the present moment paired with the ability to observe our inner experience without judgment.

• Hindu mindfulness: 1500 BCE
• Daoist mindfulness: 6th c. BCE
• Buddhist mindfulness: 535 BCE
• Christian mindfulness: 530 CE
• Jewish mindfulness: 10th c. CE
• Gestalt Therapy: 1940’s
• Modern Clinical Psychology/Psychiatry: 1970s
• treatment of chronic pain, stress, depression, substance abuse, suicidal behavior, and   family therapy
• Jon Kabat-Zinn developed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Center at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center: 1979

At this point, you may be thinking that this seems “religious” or too “weird”.  Let’s challenge these thoughts.

Myths: Mindfulness and Meditation

1. It is a religious activity and will conflict with my religious beliefs.
2. You have to sit in lotus position and say “Om”.
3. I’m too busy to be quiet.
4. It will put out the fire of my creativity and ambition.
5. It will surface upsetting information from my subconscious.

Studies on the Effects of Mindfulness

• Improves concentration
• Elevates perceptual acuity
• Decreases stress and anxiety
• Increases academic performance
• Cultivates creativity
• Enhances EMPATHY

So how exactly do you learn to achieve a state of mindfulness?  Learning how to breathe is the first step for many.

BREATHING EXERCISE

Objective: To calm one’s self through proper breathing

• Our muscles HOLD ACCUMULATED STRESS-INDUCED TENSION, the result of our daily environments.
• The FIRST STAGE OF STRESS the body responds with a PANIC, a “FIGHT OR FLIGHT” reaction.
• WITHOUT ENOUGH OXYGEN, we are breathless and our BRAINS OPERATE LESS EFFICIENTLY.  
• Shallow breathing patterns trigger the STRESS RESPONSE cycle (similar to a FEAR RESPONSE), within the sympathetic nervous system, which transmits more stress signals to the breathing mechanism.
• WITH TRAINING in breath awareness and special breathing techniques, we can begin to bring our breathing patterns out of our unconscious and into our conscious control.

Copyright 2009, Janice McDermott, M.Ed., LCSW & Joan Stewart, LCSW

EASY TO IMPLEMENT ANYWHERE ANYTIME

This breathing lesson was taken from Grand Ideas from Within which is a guided imagery program with pre-recorded CDs.  Other examples of guided imagery exercises can be found on Health Journeys website.

References

1. Ronald Alexander, Ph.D., “Four Myths about Mindfulness Meditation,” in The Wise Open Mind, December 2, 2009.
2. Shamash Alidina, posted  in Blog, “History of Mindfulness,” http://learnmindfulness.co.uk/history-of-mindfulness/.
3. Bodipaksa, “The top ten myths about meditation,” May 18, 2007, http://www.wildmind.org.
4. Tobin Hart, “Opening the Contemplative Mind in the Classroom,” Journal of Transformative Education Vol. 2 No. 1, January 2004.
5. Janice McDermott, M.Ed, MSW and Joan Stewart, MSW, Grand Ideas from Within, 2009.
6. Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl and Molly Stewart Lawlor, “The Effects of a Mindfulness-Based Education Programs on Pre- and Early Adolescents’ Well-Being and Social and Emotional Competence”.