Mindfulness 

If you Google how many thoughts we have in a day, the answer ranges between 50,000 and 70,000.  On the low end, that's about 35 thoughts a minute.  That's a busy brain! I learned about mindfulness a little more than a decade ago. I've come to understand it as recognizing the 'busyness' and realizing I don't have to follow every thought down 'the rabbit hole'.  In this hectic world we live in, with 'instant access' texts and our need to be 'on demand' constantly, it can be incredibly important to focus our attention and create a space to breathe, compose and energize.  Most people think "I don't have time to slow down" and actually feel more stress when they think about this initially.  The truth is,  learning how to practice mindfulness, even for a few minutes a day can help us to become MORE productive in LESS time while expending LESS energy.  We stop feeling like we are 'spinning our wheels' and improve our concentration and focus.  Research has proven that this practice can improve our health both physically and emotionally.

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Mindfulness is learning how to calm  our 'interior' even if there is a lot going on outside.  Much like the ocean can experience big waves on the surface and remain calm beneath, learning to use mindfulness can help us avoid over-reacting to the many things that can be distracting or overwhelming.  In other words, to choose where you expend your time and energy rather than feel scattered and ineffective. 

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If mindfulness sounds like something you're into, or have been thinking about exploring further, this could be a place to start...Therapy is after all,  about bringing things to the surface and looking at them.  Even if the issues to be addressed regard something that happened in the past or anxieties about the future, there is a need to address the feelings  you are experiencing IN THE PRESENT. 

 

In the course of the therapy process, I  use questioning and exercises to help bring awareness to the present states of feeling, thought and sensation as you experience them and address them one at a time.  I might also provide exercises that can be practiced to improve this skill both in therapy and at home.  (No Yoga poses necessary, no special chanting required).

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