Mindfulness

Take a look at the news, your schedule for the week, the incomplete projects and do-lists can create high levels of anxiety and even feelings of chaos. As we participate in daily life, the stress from ongoing commitments and unfinished business may surface. Our emotional and bodily systems are sensitive and on high alert. The price of this over aroused state of functioning is overwhelming and difficult to escape from, if one is not equipped to remove oneself and reduce what I call: destructive emotional patterns.

In therapy, I teach and practice mindfulness concepts to clients to promote a stable and calm internal world, especially as the chaos of the outside world continues to swirl around us. Mindfulness is a practice of attuning to or paying attention to your personal experience in the present moment. Practicing mindfulness is nonreactive and nonjudgmental, so it can bring a sense of peace and tranquility to your day-to-day living.

Many clients enjoy incorporating mindfulness practices into their lifestyle to overcome stress and work through challenges. Common mindfulness practices include, but are not limited to: journaling, poetry, walking in nature, art, body scans for sensations, yoga, and formal meditation.

Mindfulness, if practiced often, can help with adapting to external stressors, gain a sense of stability and control within ourselves, and even develop a deeper relationship with and understanding of ourselves.

It starts with you. “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi