Counseling Center
Mindfulness Meditation
Due the demands of our current lifestyles, caring for ourselves by being mindful at first often feels peculiar, difficult, or even boring. Like developing any skill, the cultivation of mindfulness takes time and practice. Consider how long it took you to play an entire song smoothly on an instrument you were learning, or to begin to acquire mastery in a novel sport. It is no different with the inner art of mindfulness.
Since mindfulness is a way of life, there is both formal and informal elements to the practice. Formal practice refers to setting time aside for the sole purpose of being mindful of a particular activity such as breathing, stretching, or walking. The informal practice is developing the habit of cultivating awareness in all other areas of our lives, such as driving in our car, sitting in class, or spending time with a lover.
When first beginning the formal practice of mindfulness, it is often helpful to do the following:
Create a quiet spot that enjoy spending time. Many people enjoy decorating this spot with special pictures, statues, or colors.
Pick a specific time everyday for the sole purpose of being mindful - And make that gift to yourself a top priority.
You don't have to always like it, Just do it. From a certain point of view, once you have your set time for mindfulness, its none of your business what happens during it. Some days you will feel relaxed, others tense, others successful, others like a failure, just sit and watch these states arise and pass.
No need to advertise. You can do yourself a favor and focus your energy on your own practice and not on being a spokesperson for mindfulness. This usually only serves to diffuse one's energy and confuse (or scare) one's friends and family.
Find a teacher or group that can be supportive. The process of cultivating mindfulness is best done while in dialogue with an experienced teacher. Further, the exercises described below are best understood and used within the context of the 10 week course offered by the Towson University Counseling Center.
Breath Focus
When first beginning the practice of mindfulness, it is usually necessary to begin with a practice that harnesses one's concentration and steadies one's awareness. Most traditions suggest the practice of focusing on one's breath. Since our bodies are breathing at every present moment of our lives, it can serve as a direct connection to this moments experience.
The practice is simple, but not necessarily easy. The instructions are to pay attention to the raw sensations related to the body naturally breathing in this moment. When our mind wanders, we simply notice where it went, and then gently and without judgment escort our attention back to the bare experience of the breath in this moment. And repeat the instructions. It is recommended for one to work their way up to 45 minutes per day. This provides enough time for one to have a full range of experiences (including restlessness, boredom, frustration, self-judgment, etc) and to practice noticing them as passing mind states and return to the breath. This simple practice over time begins to quiet our mind and transform our relationship to our emotions, thoughts, and body's sensations.
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Body Scan
The body scan cultivates awareness and intimacy with our bodies. Many of us have the experience of not truly inhabiting our bodies and thus have little skill in listening to its symptoms or utilizing its healing capacities. We often live in a world pervaded and colored by our thoughts, leaving little room for truly opening to the experience of our other senses (touch, smell, sound, taste, sight). Tuning into the body can serve as a window out of the endless thought cycles of worry, regret, or self-judgment. As with the other formal mindfulness activities, the body scan works best when done for the purpose of becoming intimate with our bodies without judgment and not for the purpose of attaining some particular way of feeling (i.e., relaxed).
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Self Care: Evoking Kindness Toward Oneself
This guided meditation provides an opportunity for one to care for oneself and cultivate a sense of kindness toward oneself. In our busy lives, we often push ourselves to the limit. As a consequence, our bodies, emotions, and minds are neglected and criticized by ourselves. This inner battle with our thoughts, bodies, and emotions leaves us feeling sore, numb, or exhausted. As an alternative to pushing away unwanted parts of ourselves, this meditation provides an opportunity to open and transform our relationship with our inner world. This leads to increased vitality, clarity, and self-esteem.
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