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Mindfulness Mindfulness is way of engaging life fully in the present
without judgment or criticism; without regret for the past or worry about the
future. Sounds nice, but how do you obtain this? Formal mindfulness is a meditative practice. The directions are simple: 1) Sit or lie down
quietly for 20-30 minutes, once or twice a day. Begin by drawing your focus to your breath
or another physical sensation. You can
also choose a visual object to focus on.
Whatever you choose, rest your focus there and describe it to yourself
or take it in as fully as you can. 2) As you focus in this
way, other thoughts, emotions and sensations may come into awareness. Allow these to come and go; the idea is to
observe them without trying to change them or block them out. There are audio recordings listed at right that can guide you
through this process: a free download
from Dr. Jason Luoma is available to the right (to
listen, left-click the link; to download, right click it and select “Save
Target As”). The key to mindfulness is practice. Just as therapy doesn’t work in one visit,
the benefits of mindfulness grow with repetition. You might find yourself bringing this
approach into your everyday life, and times that once were frustrating can
become opportunities for mindful practice. Mindfulness has a number of health benefits. It has been shown to prevent depression and
improve sleep. It has reduced medical
symptoms such as chronic pain, fibromylagia,
irritable bowel syndrome, psoriasis (skin eruptions) and high blood pressure,
and has brought about mild improvements in the immune function of people with
cancer. ‑-Updated 7/18/08 by Chris Aiken, M.D. |
Woman Holding a Balance, Johannes Vermeer, National
Gallery of Art Books on Mindfulness Where
Ever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn (also
available as audio CD,
DVD
and VHS
guides). Free MP3 download: mindfulness
guide (to listen, left-click the link; to download, right click it and
select “Save Target As”) by Dr.
Jason Luoma. Scientific References Teasdale, JD. Metacognitive awareness and prevention of relapse in
depression: Empirical evidence. Journal
of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 2002 Apr; 70: 275-87. Carlson, LE.
Mindfulness-based stress reduction in… breast and prostate cancer
outpatients. Psychoneuroendocrinology.
2004 May;29(4):448-74. Astin, JA. The efficacy
of mindfulness meditation plus Qigong movement therapy in the treatment of fibromyalgia: a randomized controlled trial. Davidson, RJ.
Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Kabat-Zinn, J. Effectiveness
of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety
disorders. |
