1. Mindful
Compassion

2. Breathworks meditations
Body Scan
Breathing Anchor
Mindful Movement
Three minute Breathing Space
Breathworks meditations
Mindfulness

3. Breathworks meditations
Compassionate Acceptance
Treasure of Pleasure
Open Heart
Connection
Breathworks meditations
Compassion

4. Regulate Three major emotional systems
Aim of MBPM
Regulate Three major emotional systems
SOOTHING
ACHIEVING
THREAT
FROM PAUL GILBERT

5. Three major emotion regulation systems
THREAT
Fight/flight/freeze
Anxiety, anger, aversion, isolation
HORMONES:
Adrenaline, cortisol
DOING MODE
Three major emotion regulation systems
FROM PAUL GILBERT

6. Three major emotion regulation systems
ACHIEVING
Striving, succeeding
Drive, excitement, pleasure, ‘buzz’, vitality
HORMONES:
Dopamine
DOING MODE
Three major emotion regulation systems
FROM PAUL GILBERT

7. SOOTHING & CONTENTMENT
CALM & CONNECT
REST & DIGEST
Feeling safe, relaxed, fun, play, kindness, compassion
Content, connected, peaceful
HORMONES:
Oxytocin, endorphins
BEING MODE
Three major emotion regulation systems
FROM PAUL GILBERT

8. Three major emotion regulation systems
SOOTHING
ACHIEVING
Three major emotion regulation systems
THREAT
FROM PAUL GILBERT

9. Three major emotion regulation systems
People with pain/LTC often bounce between achieving and threat
ACHIEVING
Three major emotion regulation systems
THREAT
FROM PAUL GILBERT

10. SOOTHING & CONTENTMENT
Need to cultivate soothing system
Hang out in the green zone
SOOTHING & CONTENTMENT
CALM & CONNECT
REST & DIGEST
Three major emotion regulation systems
FROM PAUL GILBERT

11. Importance of compassion
Tenderness and kindness is crucial

12. The Science of Loving Kindness Meditation
Vagal tone
Oxytocin
Neural and cellular plasticity
The Science of Loving Kindness Meditation
(Barbara Frederickson)
Vagal nerve: 10th cranial nerve that relays info between brainstem and most of the internal organs, including the heart
Oxytocin circulates throughout brain and body
Plasticity – everything is changing!

13. Vagal tone
Heart Rate Variability (HRV). Connected to PNS. High vagal tone builds a strong immune system
Vagal tone = Frederickson’s research demonstrated that generating love through LKM raised ‘vagal tone’, a central component in the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), increasing feelings of calm and relaxation and allowing your body to repair itself. The strength of the vagus nerve can be measured simply by tracking your heart rate in conjunction with your breathing rate, known as heart-rate variability (HRV).
If the vagal tone is high, the heart rate increases a little on the in-breath and slows down on the out-breath in a smooth and steady rhythm. High vagal tone can improve glucose levels, slow a racing heart after stress and stimulate the ‘calm-and-connect’ System. It also helps build a strong immune
System.

14. Oxytocin Cultivating LK stimulates PNS and green zone.
Releases oxytocin - reduces inflammation and boosts immune system. Can also reduce pain. (endorphins also part of green zone)
Oxytocin
Levels of oxytocin, also known as the ‘cuddle’ or ‘love’ hormone, naturally increase in women during childbirth and breastfeeding; a time when mothers need to bond with their children. It also increases when we have physical intimacy through experiences such as hugging and cuddling. When oxytocin is high, the threat-perceiving parts of the brain are muted, and the parts that tune into positive social connections are amplified. Raised oxytocin enables you to deal with stressful social situations much better, which reduces the production of the ‘stress hormone’ cortisol. This, in turn, curbs stress-induced rises in blood pressure and heart rate, reduces feelings of depression and even raises pain thresholds. As we’ve seen, experience-dependent neuroplasticity means that your brain can change and evolve, depending on what you do with it and what you pay attention to. Love and compassion produce structural changes in the brain, making it more sensitive to the calming influence of oxytocin. And, as the brain changes, it becomes more receptive to healthy habits and healthy social bonds. Now, that’s a virtuous circle worth cultivating.

15. Experience-dependent neuro-plasticity
(Donald Hebbs)
Experience-dependent neuro-plasticity
(Donald Hebbs)
Given that your body is continually building neural and cellular structures, if your mental and emotional activity is cultivating positivity, then you will be moulding your brain and cells accordingly. This shows how important it is that you ‘wake up’ to what is going on in your mind and take steps to guide your thoughts and emotions in a positive direction.

16. What we dwell on we become
Experience-dependent neuro-plasticity
What we dwell on we become

17. There is hope CHANGE IS POSSIBLE! Awareness and kindness are key
We can learn to choose what we attend to with our awareness to cultivate well-being
There is
hope