Incorporating Mindfulness Practices in Your Recovery Jessica Cozart, SAC-T April 30, 2016
Why Mindfulness is a Superpower: An Animation
What are your experiences with mindfulness?
Defining Mindfulness “Mindfulness is the ability to know what’s happening in your head at any given moment without getting carried away by it”
“Paying attention in a particular way;
on purpose,
in the present moment,
and non-judgmentally” Jon Kabat-Zinn
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Core Mindfulness Skills
“WHAT” Skills Observe Be curious about your experience Simply notice, without trying to change Describe Use objective words to label your experience Call a thought “just a thought,” and a feeling “just a feeling”
Exercise: Observe & Describe 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Activity
In pairs, observe and describe the following: 5 things you can see 4 things you can touch 3 things you can hear 2 things you can smell 1 thing you can taste
“HOW” Skills Non-judgmental stance Awareness without evaluation Remember, when you find yourself judging, don’t judge your judging! One-Mindfully Do one thing at a time with all your attention Let go of distractions & concentrate your mind
Exercise: One-Mindfully Can we really multitask?
Let’s return to our definition…
Defining Mindfulness “Mindfulness is the ability to know what’s happening in your head at any given moment without getting carried away by it”
Mindfulness is NOT Positive thinking Going into a trance Trying to empty your mind Always relaxing!
Response vs. Reaction
Event Interpretation Feeling Action Urge Action Result
Practice 1 minute breathing exercise
Things to keep in mind as you practice mindfulness
1. Mindfulness is like mental training
2. Plan to incorporate mindfulness practices into your routine
3. Start small & work your way up
4. Be kind to yourself!
Mindfulness Exercises
There are many paths to mindfulness! Breathing exercises Mindful Activities Eating Walking Housecleaning
Mindfulness of the external world Observing your environment Mindfulness of your internal experience Thoughts, sensations, emotions Body scans There are many paths to mindfulness!
Meditation Formal & informal Community groups Apps, audio files, and videos
Questions?