‘Mindfulness provides a simple but powerful route for getting ourselves unstuck, back in touch with our own wisdom and vitality…..The most important point is to be really yourself and not try to become anything that you are not already….being in touch with your deepest nature, and letting it flow out of you unimpeded’
Kabat-Zinn, 1986

Video here

We just practiced resting awareness on the breath and the body in movement.

The mind is often scattered and lost in thought because it is working away in the background to complete unfinished tasks from the past and strive for goals for the future. We need to find a reliable way intentionally to “come back” to the here and now.

The breath and body offer an ever-present focus on which we can reconnect with mindful presence, gather and settle the mind, and ease ourselves from doing into being.

Focusing on the breath:

• Brings you back to this very moment, the here and now
• Is always available as an anchor, no matter where you are
• Can actually change your experience by connecting you with a wider space and
  broader perspective from which to view things

Doing and Being: Two different modes of mind – two different tools to approach
different tasks. One is not better than the other

The Doing mode

It is the logical and problem solving way of approaching the world. Keeps in mind what we want and tries to get rid of what we don’t want. This is the mode of mind we access when we have a project in hand or when we are planning something like a holiday.

The Being mode

It is intuitive. It is in the present. This is the mode of mind we access when we fall in love, or enjoy a beautiful sunset. In this mode of mind we are connected with our body sensations and what the sense perceptions are bringing to us. Meditation practice gives us the opportunity to access the ‘being mode’ independently of external circumstances.

Mindful movement allows us to:

• Build on the foundation of the Body Scan in learning how we can bring awareness
  to and “inhabit” body experience/sensations
• See old habitual patterns of the mind – especially those that emphasize striving
• Work with physical boundaries and learn acceptance of our limits
• Learn new ways of taking care of ourselves

The movements provide a direct way to connect with awareness of the body. The body is a place where emotions are often expressed, under the surface and without our awareness. So becoming more aware of the body gives us an additional place from which to stand and look at our thoughts.

Sitting meditation

It helps to adopt a dignified and upright posture, with your head, neck and back aligned vertically – the physical counterpart of the inner attitudes of self-reliance, self-acceptance, patience and alert attention that we are cultivating.

Practice on a chair or on the floor. If you use a chair, choose one that has a straight back and allows your feet to be flat on the floor. If at all possible, sit away from the back of the chair so that your spine is self-supporting. If you choose to sit on the floor, do so on a firm, thick cushion (or a pillow folded over once or twice), which raises your buttocks off the floor 3-6 inches.

Whatever you are sitting on, see if it is possible to sit so that your hips are slightly higher than your knees.

The 3-Step Breathing Space instructions

Step 1: Becoming aware

…of how things are in this moment by deliberately adopting an upright and dignified posture, whether sitting or standing. If possible, close your eyes. Then, bringing your awareness to your inner experience and acknowledging it, ask, “what is my experience right now?”

• What THOUGHTS are going through the mind? As best you can, acknowledge thoughts as mental events, perhaps putting them into words.
• What FEELINGS are here? Turn toward any sense of discomfort or unpleasant feelings, acknowledging them
• What BODY SENSATIONS are here right now? Perhaps quickly scan the body to pick up any sensations of tightness or bracing and acknowledging the sensations.

Step 2: Gathering

Then redirect your attention to focus on the physical sensations of the breathing itself. Move in close to the sense of the breath in the abdomen….feeling the sensations of the abdomen wall expanding as the breath comes in….and falling back as the breath goes out. Following the breath all the way in and all the way out, using the breath to anchor yourself into the present.

Step 3: Expanding

Now expand the field of awareness around the breathing so that it includes a sense of the body as a whole, your posture, and facial expression. If you become aware of any sensations of discomfort, tension, or resistance, take your awareness there by breathing into them on the in breath. Then breathe out from those sensations, softening and opening with the out-breath. As best you can, bring this expanded awareness to the next moments of your day.

Autobiography in Five Chapters

1. I walk down the street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in
I am lost…I am hopeless
It isn’t my fault
It takes forever to find a way out.

2. I walk down the same street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I pretend I don’t see it
I fall in again
I can’t believe I’m in the same place
But it isn’t my fault
It still takes a long time to get out.

3. I walk down the same street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I see it is there
I still fall in….it’s a habit
My eyes are open
I know where I am
It is my fault
I get out immediately

4. I walk down the same street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I walk around it.

5. I walk down another street

By Portia Nelson from ‘There’s a Hole in My Sidewalk’, 1994

Home practice following Session 3

1. Alternate the Body Scan practice or the Mindful Movement each day.

The point of movement is to provide a direct way to connect with the body. The body is a place where the emotions often get expressed, under the surface and without our awareness. Thoughts and emotions also affect our bodies. Working with our bodies directly gives us a place to experience more of ourselves, and to connect with our experience of body, feelings and thoughts. The movements activate the body and mind, provide a direct way to connect with awareness of the body, and can dispel tiredness. Record any reactions on your record form if can.

If you have any back problems or other health issues that may cause difficulties, make your own decision as to which (if any) of these exercises to do, taking good care of your body. You can make a mindfulness practice out of any movements you do, by bringing full attention to them.

2. 3-Step Breathing Space – Regular
Practice using the 3-Step Breathing Space three times a day for about three minutes each time. Do this at times you have decided in advance.

3. Complete the Unpleasant Events Diary and use this as an opportunity to become really aware of the thoughts, feelings and body sensations that are around in one unpleasant event at the time that they are occurring. Notice and record as soon as you can, in detail.  Put the actual words or thoughts that come in, and the precise nature and location of bodily sensations.

Home practice record form: Session 3

Record each time you practice on the Home Practice Record Form. Also, make a note of anything that comes up in the home practice so that we can talk about it at the next class.

Download the practice record form here.

Unpleasant Events Diary – Session 3

Be aware of an unpleasant event at the time it is happening. Use the following questions to focus your awareness on the details of the experience as it is happening. Write it down later.

Download the unpleasant events diary form here.

‘Mindfulness provides a simple but powerful route for getting ourselves unstuck, back in touch with our own wisdom and vitality…..The most important point is to be really yourself and not try to become anything that you are not already….being in touch with your deepest nature, and letting it flow out of you unimpeded’
Kabat-Zinn, 1986

Video here

We just practiced resting awareness on the breath and the body in movement.

The mind is often scattered and lost in thought because it is working away in the background to complete unfinished tasks from the past and strive for goals for the future. We need to find a reliable way intentionally to “come back” to the here and now.

The breath and body offer an ever-present focus on which we can reconnect with mindful presence, gather and settle the mind, and ease ourselves from doing into being.

Focusing on the breath:

• Brings you back to this very moment, the here and now
• Is always available as an anchor, no matter where you are
• Can actually change your experience by connecting you with a wider space and
  broader perspective from which to view things

Doing and Being: Two different modes of mind – two different tools to approach
different tasks. One is not better than the other

The Doing mode

It is the logical and problem solving way of approaching the world. Keeps in mind what we want and tries to get rid of what we don’t want. This is the mode of mind we access when we have a project in hand or when we are planning something like a holiday.

The Being mode

It is intuitive. It is in the present. This is the mode of mind we access when we fall in love, or enjoy a beautiful sunset. In this mode of mind we are connected with our body sensations and what the sense perceptions are bringing to us. Meditation practice gives us the opportunity to access the ‘being mode’ independently of external circumstances.

Mindful movement allows us to:

• Build on the foundation of the Body Scan in learning how we can bring awareness
  to and “inhabit” body experience/sensations
• See old habitual patterns of the mind – especially those that emphasize striving
• Work with physical boundaries and learn acceptance of our limits
• Learn new ways of taking care of ourselves

The movements provide a direct way to connect with awareness of the body. The body is a place where emotions are often expressed, under the surface and without our awareness. So becoming more aware of the body gives us an additional place from which to stand and look at our thoughts.

Sitting meditation

It helps to adopt a dignified and upright posture, with your head, neck and back aligned vertically – the physical counterpart of the inner attitudes of self-reliance, self-acceptance, patience and alert attention that we are cultivating.

Practice on a chair or on the floor. If you use a chair, choose one that has a straight back and allows your feet to be flat on the floor. If at all possible, sit away from the back of the chair so that your spine is self-supporting. If you choose to sit on the floor, do so on a firm, thick cushion (or a pillow folded over once or twice), which raises your buttocks off the floor 3-6 inches.

Whatever you are sitting on, see if it is possible to sit so that your hips are slightly higher than your knees.

The 3-Step Breathing Space instructions

Step 1: Becoming aware

…of how things are in this moment by deliberately adopting an upright and dignified posture, whether sitting or standing. If possible, close your eyes. Then, bringing your awareness to your inner experience and acknowledging it, ask, “what is my experience right now?”

• What THOUGHTS are going through the mind? As best you can, acknowledge thoughts as mental events, perhaps putting them into words.
• What FEELINGS are here? Turn toward any sense of discomfort or unpleasant feelings, acknowledging them
• What BODY SENSATIONS are here right now? Perhaps quickly scan the body to pick up any sensations of tightness or bracing and acknowledging the sensations.

Step 2: Gathering

Then redirect your attention to focus on the physical sensations of the breathing itself. Move in close to the sense of the breath in the abdomen….feeling the sensations of the abdomen wall expanding as the breath comes in….and falling back as the breath goes out. Following the breath all the way in and all the way out, using the breath to anchor yourself into the present.

Step 3: Expanding

Now expand the field of awareness around the breathing so that it includes a sense of the body as a whole, your posture, and facial expression. If you become aware of any sensations of discomfort, tension, or resistance, take your awareness there by breathing into them on the in breath. Then breathe out from those sensations, softening and opening with the out-breath. As best you can, bring this expanded awareness to the next moments of your day.

Autobiography in Five Chapters

1. I walk down the street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in
I am lost…I am hopeless
It isn’t my fault
It takes forever to find a way out.

2. I walk down the same street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I pretend I don’t see it
I fall in again
I can’t believe I’m in the same place
But it isn’t my fault
It still takes a long time to get out.

3. I walk down the same street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I see it is there
I still fall in….it’s a habit
My eyes are open
I know where I am
It is my fault
I get out immediately

4. I walk down the same street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I walk around it.

5. I walk down another street

By Portia Nelson from ‘There’s a Hole in My Sidewalk’, 1994

Home practice following Session 3

1. Alternate the Body Scan practice or the Mindful Movement each day.

The point of movement is to provide a direct way to connect with the body. The body is a place where the emotions often get expressed, under the surface and without our awareness. Thoughts and emotions also affect our bodies. Working with our bodies directly gives us a place to experience more of ourselves, and to connect with our experience of body, feelings and thoughts. The movements activate the body and mind, provide a direct way to connect with awareness of the body, and can dispel tiredness. Record any reactions on your record form if can.

If you have any back problems or other health issues that may cause difficulties, make your own decision as to which (if any) of these exercises to do, taking good care of your body. You can make a mindfulness practice out of any movements you do, by bringing full attention to them.

2. 3-Step Breathing Space – Regular
Practice using the 3-Step Breathing Space three times a day for about three minutes each time. Do this at times you have decided in advance.

3. Complete the Unpleasant Events Diary and use this as an opportunity to become really aware of the thoughts, feelings and body sensations that are around in one unpleasant event at the time that they are occurring. Notice and record as soon as you can, in detail.  Put the actual words or thoughts that come in, and the precise nature and location of bodily sensations.

Home practice record form: Session 3

Record each time you practice on the Home Practice Record Form. Also, make a note of anything that comes up in the home practice so that we can talk about it at the next class.

Download the practice record form here.

Unpleasant Events Diary – Session 3

Be aware of an unpleasant event at the time it is happening. Use the following questions to focus your awareness on the details of the experience as it is happening. Write it down later.

Download the unpleasant events diary form here.

‘Mindfulness provides a simple but powerful route for getting ourselves unstuck, back in touch with our own wisdom and vitality…..The most important point is to be really yourself and not try to become anything that you are not already….being in touch with your deepest nature, and letting it flow out of you unimpeded’

– Kabat-Zinn, 1986

We just practiced resting awareness on the breath and the body in movement.

The mind is often scattered and lost in thought because it is working away in the background to complete unfinished tasks from the past and strive for goals for the future. We need to find a reliable way intentionally to ‘come back’ to the here and now.

Mindful Movement allows us to

• Build on the foundation of the Body Scan in learning how we can bring awareness
  to and ‘inhabit’  body experience/sensations
• See old habitual patterns of the mind – especially those that emphasize striving
• Work with physical boundaries and learn acceptance of our limits
• Learn new ways of taking care of ourselves

The movements provide a direct way to connect with awareness of the body. The body is a place where emotions are often expressed, under the surface and without our awareness. So becoming more aware of the body gives us an additional place from which to stand and look at our thoughts.

The breath and body offer an ever-present focus on which we can reconnect with mindful presence, gather and settle the mind, and ease ourselves from doing into being.

Focusing on the breath:

• Brings you back to this very moment, the here and now
• Is always available as an anchor, no matter where you are
• Can actually change your experience by connecting you with a wider space and
  broader perspective from which to view things

Doing and Being: Two different modes of mind – two different tools to approach
different tasks. One is not better than the other

The Doing mode

It is the logical and problem solving way of approaching the world. Keeps in mind what we want and tries to get rid of what we don’t want. This is the mode of mind we access when we have a project in hand or when we are planning something like a holiday.

The Being mode

It is intuitive. It is in the present. This is the mode of mind we access when we fall in love, or enjoy a beautiful sunset. In this mode of mind we are connected with our body sensations and what the sense perceptions are bringing to us. Meditation practice gives us the opportunity to access the ‘being mode’ independently of external circumstances.

Sitting Meditation

It helps to adopt a dignified and upright posture, with your head, neck and back aligned vertically – the physical counterpart of the inner attitudes of self-reliance, self-acceptance, patience and alert attention that we are cultivating.

Practice on a chair or on the floor. If you use a chair, choose one that has a straight back and allows your feet to be flat on the floor. If at all possible, sit away from the back of the chair so that your spine is self-supporting. If you choose to sit on the floor, do so on a firm, thick cushion (or a pillow folded over once or twice), which raises your buttocks off the floor 3-6 inches.

Whatever you are sitting on, see if it is possible to sit so that your hips are slightly higher than your knees.

Sitting Meditation

Remember the 3 Step Breathing Space is a quick, portable and easy way of practicing mindfulness and can be done as often as you wish during the day.

3 Step Breathing Space

The 3 Step Breathing Space instructions

Step 1: Becoming aware

Of how things are in this moment by deliberately adopting an upright and dignified posture, whether sitting or standing. If possible, close your eyes. Then, bringing your awareness to your inner experience and acknowledging it, ask, “what is my experience right now?”

• What THOUGHTS are going through the mind? As best you can, acknowledge thoughts as mental events, perhaps putting them into words.
• What FEELINGS are here? Turn toward any sense of discomfort or unpleasant feelings, acknowledging them
• What BODY SENSATIONS are here right now? Perhaps quickly scan the body to pick up any sensations of tightness or bracing and acknowledging the sensations.

Step 2: Gathering

Then redirect your attention to focus on the physical sensations of the breathing itself. Move in close to the sense of the breath in the abdomen….feeling the sensations of the abdomen wall expanding as the breath comes in….and falling back as the breath goes out. Following the breath all the way in and all the way out, using the breath to anchor yourself into the present.

Step 3: Expanding

Now expand the field of awareness around the breathing so that it includes a sense of the body as a whole, your posture, and facial expression. If you become aware of any sensations of discomfort, tension, or resistance, take your awareness there by breathing into them on the in breath. Then breathe out from those sensations, softening and opening with the out-breath. As best you can, bring this expanded awareness to the next moments of your day.

Autobiography in Five Chapters

1.   I walk down the street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in
I am lost…I am hopeless
It isn’t my fault
It takes forever to find a way out.

2.  I walk down the same street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I pretend I don’t see it
I fall in again
I can’t believe I’m in the same place
But it isn’t my fault
It still takes a long time to get out.

3.  I walk down the same street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I see it is there
I still fall in….it’s a habit
My eyes are open
I know where I am
It is my fault
I get out immediately

4.  I walk down the same street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I walk around it.

5.  I walk down another street

-by Portia Nelson from ‘There’s a Hole in My Sidewalk’, 1994

Home practice following Session 3

1. Alternate the Body Scan practice or the Mindful Movement each day.

The point of movement is to provide a direct way to connect with the body. The body is a place where the emotions often get expressed, under the surface and without our awareness. Thoughts and emotions also affect our bodies. Working with our bodies directly gives us a place to experience more of ourselves, and to connect with our experience of body, feelings and thoughts. The movements activate the body and mind, provide a direct way to connect with awareness of the body, and can dispel tiredness. Record any reactions on your record form if can.

If you have any back problems or other health issues that may cause difficulties, make your own decision as to which (if any) of these exercises to do, taking good care of your body. You can make a mindfulness practice out of any movements you do, by bringing full attention to them.

2. Practice the 3 Step Breathing Space three times a day for about three minutes each time. Do this at times you have decided in advance.

3. Complete the Unpleasant Events Diary and use this as an opportunity to become really aware of the thoughts, feelings and body sensations that are around in one unpleasant event at the time that they are occurring. Notice and record as soon as you can, in detail.  Put the actual words or thoughts that come in, and the precise nature and location of bodily sensations.

Home practice record form Session 3

Record each time you practice on the Home Practice Record Form. Also, make a note of anything that comes up in the home practice so that we can talk about it at the next class.

Download the practice record form here.

Unpleasant Events Diary

Be aware of an unpleasant event at the time it is happening. Use the following questions to focus your awareness on the details of the experience as it is happening. Write it down later.

Download the unpleasant events diary form here.