Mindful Stress Reduction

This session is about noticing the differences between thinking and direct awareness of experiences, and about how often we are captured by automatic patterns of reacting. This is highlighted through more practice with the body scan and with mindful breathing. We also discuss common challenges that arise during the home practice assignments, like falling asleep, mind wandering, and making time for self-care. An important part of this session is a discussion of how thoughts, emotions, and body sensations influence and interact with each other.

After a couple of weeks of practice, people begin to notice how scattered the mind tends to be. One option is to use the breath or the body as an anchor for bringing awareness back to the present. This session introduces a number of new exercises, including mindful stretching and walking, to demonstrate how mindful awareness can be fostered through a variety of activities, and integrated into daily life. An important part of this session is introducing the idea of staying present with and relating differently to uncomfortable physical sensations, rather than automatically avoiding them or struggling with them.

In this session, we practice intentionally allowing things to be exactly as we find them in the moment, even if what we discover is unpleasant. This involves the development of a sense of kindness toward ourselves and our experiences, letting go of the struggles and judgments we get caught up in with our own thoughts, feelings, and sensations. When we can see things more clearly, we can make better decisions about what we can do in the next moment, if anything. This skill is practiced by purposefully bringing to mind a minor annoyance, and observing and letting go of unhelpful reactions. We will also view part 2 of a video of others going through a similar 8-week program.

Session six involves learning to relate differently to our thoughts. It is both obvious and profound to realize that thoughts and words represent reality, but are distinctly different from reality. Recognizing this, instead of answering or arguing with our thoughts, we can pause to notice their patterns. We can see that strong negative thoughts are often symptoms of underlying emotions and moods. Instead of struggling with ruminative thoughts, we can see them as indications that we are becoming overwhelmed. Instead of getting caught up in them, we can watch them, explore underlying body sensations, or take some considered action to take care of ourselves or the situation.

The last session provides an opportunity to reflect on the previous seven weeks, and to note the life changes you have experienced. Plans will also be discussed for maintaining the momentum you have created to prevent falling back into old patterns.