Tag Archives: mindfulness

Mindfulness: Changing my brain

Last week, I was excited to see a link to a study which found that mindfulness practice (specifically the 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program) actually changes the brain.  Turns out that the study is old news (from 2011), but it was the first I had read about these specific findings, which used before and after MRIs to look for changes in specific regions of the brain.

The analysis of MR images, which focused on areas where meditation-associated differences were seen in earlier studies, found increased grey-matter density in the hippocampus, known to be important for learning and memory, and in structures associated with self-awareness, compassion and introspection. Participant-reported reductions in stress also were correlated with decreased grey-matter density in the amygdala, which is known to play an important role in anxiety and stress.

The use of imaging just adds to the already large body of evidence that supports mindfulness practice for both mental and physical health.

My Practice
I can’t believe it’s been over a month since my last mindfulness class!  At that class, the instructor invited us to set short- and long-term goals related to our practice.  My short term goal was to make/find a journal to record my ongoing practice, since I suspected the accountability of recording my practice would be important.  I went with functional over fancy: a two-pocket folder with prongs and some lined notebook paper.

With my short-term goal accomplished, it was time to tackle my long-term goal:

For the next three months, I will engage in formal mindfulness practice for at least 25 minutes per day, 5 days per week.

I finished the class having logged six weeks of regular mindfulness practice.  It was important for me to set a goal that would keep that momentum going and increase the chances that this would be a lifestyle change and not simply a phase.

Five weeks into that three month goal-period, I am happy to report that I’ve been sticking sticking with it, which included maintaining the practice over the holiday weekend (so important!).   I am averaging 25-30 minutes per day, six days per week (I almost used six days per week as my goal, but in the interest of making sure the goal was realistic and achievable, and increasing my chances at feeling successful, I stuck with five days).

I rotate between simple seated meditations (just focusing on the breath), with or without guidance; the body scan; and mindful [guided] yoga.  I’ve also branched out a bit, incorporating some of Tara Brach’s guided meditations in some of my sitting practices.

Even on the days when making time to practice is a challenge, it is always worth it.  Some days, I feel fairly calm and centered throughout the practice.  Other days, those 25-minutes feel like a constant effort of bringing my mind “to heel.”  Such is mindfulness practice.

While not one of my official, written goals, I would very much like to build on my half-day mindfulness retreat experience (and my practice, overall) by participating in a longer retreat.  To that end, I am investigating nearby weekend-long mindfulness retreat options.

While a bit belated, I would like to give thanks [again] for discovering mindfulness, for my mom’s gentle encouragement, for Matthew’s support, and for the resources (money, time, transportation) to participate in Masterpeace Studios’ Mind-Body Stress Reduction Program.

 

 

Mindfulness: Retreat and last class

I spent Saturday morning attending the half-day retreat portion of the mindfulness workshop (the retreat is in addition to the weekly class).  Part of the attraction of this particular workshop, at Masterpeace Studios in Webster Groves (MO), was it’s location, just a few miles from where we live.

Given the distance, I went into it thinking that I would bike to most of the sessions, but it didn’t work out that way.  If I’d had to, I certainly could have biked to the weekly classes, but taking the car was much more convenient, given the timing.

On the way to the 7:00pm class, making the extra 10-15 minutes to bike was tricky, compounded by the fact that I would have been biking on a full stomach.  Biking home from class at 9:00pm would have left me too wound up for my normal bed time (a general problem for me with nighttime biking).  All of this to say that when you have access to a car, it’s easy to find an excuse to use it, even if you could choose another mode . . . .

The Saturday retreat, however, offered the perfect opportunity to bike, and the weather couldn’t have been better!

The Retreat
I really enjoyed the retreat.  Unlike the [understandable] anxiety of some of my classmates (can I do this for four hours?), I went into it feeling very calm and positive (once I found out that I would not have to go four hours without food — hey, I have a very high metabolic rate!), and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

My classmates and I practiced “noble silence” (i.e., not speaking during the retreat), and our instructor led us through a series of guided mindfulness meditations.  She alternated sitting meditation with practices that involved movement (e.g., mindful yoga, walking meditation), which was really nice.

Our final practice was mindful eating, and then we broke the silence and talked about our experience.  I was soaking it all in and didn’t have much to say, but given my classmates’ comments, I’m very glad the timing worked out so that I didn’t feel conflicted about spending those four hours at the retreat instead of attending to a long to-do list.  Having the time and space to go into it unburdened was really a gift.

Former students are invited to join any future retreats, and I already have the March retreat date penciled in my calendar.

Last class
Last night was it.  The last night of [this] mindfulness class. I’m going to miss it, but I’m determined to keep practicing on my own.

The past several weeks have not exactly been low stress, between wrestling with decisions about PA school and replacing my bike, and other, broader issues that are an indirect part of my life.  I won’t say I haven’t been anxious or down at times, but, overall, I think I managed much better during that time than I would have if I had not been practicing mindfulness every day.  Results are good motivation to continue the work!

I’m currently reading Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Full Catastrophe Living, the book on which the course I took was based, and the more in-depth information there is reinforcing what I’ve learned these past six weeks.  I’m finding ideas there that I can incorporate into my own practice going forward.

As I mentioned last time, I’m planning to continue recording my daily practice.  I was wondering what I would do with Monday nights, now that I suddenly have them free again, and I might try to establish them as Mindfulness Mondays, a dedicated time for a longer mindfulness practice.

I’m also looking into longer retreats (2-3 days), ideally ones that don’t require a trip to the east or west coast.  I’d like to find a good, nearby option (i.e., easy drive or train ride) and plan on deepening my practice that way in 2015!

Mindfulness Part II

When I wrote my initial post on mindfulness practice, I was a little over two weeks into the 6-week program at Masterpeace Studios.  Our group, which meets for two hours on Monday nights, has now met four times.  We took a week off of meeting between the 3rd and 4th weeks due to a conflict with the instructor’s schedule.

This break was nice for two reasons.  First, it just happened to fall during a very busy week, when I was prepping for and teaching CyclingSavvy and Matthew had a couple of other weekday evening commitments.  Second, the break effectively added a week to the workshop, building in an additional seven days to be held accountable for practicing.

Of course, no one is judging you, other than perhaps yourself, if you don’t practice (and you shouldn’t be judging yourself because mindfulness is all about nonjudgmental awareness), but having the workbook to record daily practice, and knowing that I am doing this as part of a group, is quite motivating.

That extra week was also the most challenging to my daily practice, given the previously mentioned busyness, but I made time for some kind of formal practice every day.

Observations
In general, I find formal practice, i.e., sitting down at a specific time with the intention of practicing, much easier than informal practice (e.g., being mindful during an activity of daily living, such as brushing your teeth or washing dishes).  I picked flossing my teeth as my activity for informal mindfulness, and it’s really hard to reign-in my mind (maybe a time of day issue?).

My work situation, both working part-time and working from home, makes it fairly easy for me to fit formal practice into my day during 4/5 of weekdays.  Mid-morning and mid-afternoon are pretty good times for me.

The days when I am home with Gabriel (Wednesdays and Sundays) are more challenging.  On Sundays, I can get some help from Matthew during the day.  On Wednesdays, I’m limited to nap time or the evening, after G is in bed.

For mindfulness of breathing, I really like guidance (i.e., listening to an audio track) to get started, but I’m finding that after 2-3 minutes, I’m ready for silence.  Most guided tracks have talking (i.e., guidance) interspersed with moments of silence.  To have the best of both worlds, I’ve been using a meditation timer along with the “Mindfulness of Breath” track on the CD.

Screenshot from OnlineMeditationTimer.com
Screenshot from OnlineMeditationTimer.com

I set the meditation timer for the total time I want to practice (10-15 minutes usually, at this point), start the track, and then, when I’m ready, stop the track and sit in silence with my breathing until the timer chimes.

Looking ahead
I’m not sure how I will do when the class, and the external incentive to practice, ends.  Keeping a log of my daily practice seems helpful, so I plan to continue that.  I’d welcome any tips or suggestions from those of you who have had success in incorporating regular meditation (mindfulness-based or otherwise) into your daily lives.

Resources
For a timer, I like OnlineMeditationTimer.com (also available as an app, if you have a phone that’s smarter than mine).  Here is a link to an Awareness of Breath Meditation that is similar to the one I use.  I also like this Standing Mindful Yoga sequence.

Mindfulness training

So, back in June, I wrote this post about stress and health.  I know what I can do to reduce stress and support mental (and physical) health: eat well, get enough sleep, exercise . . . .  I’m pretty good at all of those things (except for when the stress is interfering with sleep).

But what about the mind-body connection, and practices such as meditation and yoga?  I know there’s research backing it’s importance, but this is a weak link for me.

A year-and-a-half ago, when I was struggling with depression (a follow-up to my post-partum depression), my mom (who’s a licensed clinical social worker) sent me Jon Kabat-Zinn’s The Mindful Way through Depression.  She has quite a bit of experience with mindfulness practice and recommends it highly.  I’d like to say it changed my life, but that wasn’t quite what happened.

The book lays out an 8-week program, with readings and suggested practice for every day of the eight weeks.*  I had good intentions, and I stuck with it for two or three weeks (practicing most days), and then, I don’t know, life happened, and I put mindfulness practice on the back burner.

While talking with my mom last month, she once again encouraged me to look into mindfulness practices, specifically Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) workshops.*

A quick internet search turned up two main options in St. Louis.  The first local MBSR course that came up is one offered at UMSL.  It is primarily for UMSL employees (and their spouses/partners), but the site says they have a limited number of seats for the “general public.”  However, the next session doesn’t start until January, and driving out to UMSL once a week in [possible] winter weather didn’t sound that appealing.

The second option was the Mind-Body Stress Reduction program offered by Masterpeace Studios.  Held in Webster, the location of these classes was much more appealing, and there was a fall session about to start.  Convenient location, reasonable cost, and workable dates.  (The course offered at Masterpeace is a condensed 6-week version of what is normally an 8-week program.)

I went to their free intro class/info session on September 8th.  I turned in my registration paperwork that night, for the session to start the following week, but held off on writing a check.  Once I wrote that check, I would be committed, and I was still on the fence.  Did I really want to do this?  Could I make the commitment to practice every day for six weeks?

Even though it meant I would be out one night a week for the next six weeks (leaving Matthew solo with G at bedtime), Matthew was very supportive, and really encouraged me to go through with it.

I went into it unsure if mindfulness would “work” for me.  What if my brain just couldn’t do it?

Bridget, the instructor, told us from the beginning that the mind is a muscle.  If you want to be reap the benefits of mindfulness you have to practice.  When practicing, your mind will wander, and you just have to keep bringing it back, over and over again.  (Bridget uses the analogy of training a puppy to heel.)

With those things in mind, and with the motivation of being part of a class (that I paid good money to take) plus a log to record our daily practice sessions, I’m now into the third week of the course, and I’ve devoted time to practicing every day.

It’s not always easy, and I’m not “good” at it, but I’m doing the work, building that brain muscle.  I have to bring my mind “to heel” constantly — thoughts of decisions I’m trying to make are particularly intrusive.  Mindfulness practice won’t make the hard things go away, but it can lessen their negative effects.  No matter what was happening prior to practicing, I almost always feel calm and centered after practicing, ready to take another stab at life’s challenges.

I’ll check in again here in a couple of weeks with an update on my practice, challenges, observations, etc.

If you’re struggling with stress (and who isn’t?), anxiety, chronic pain, and/or depression, I’d highly recommend looking into Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction.  If you’re not lucky enough to have a nearby program, you can try it on your own, using the book I mention below.  The University of Missouri Mindfulness Practice Center has some guided mindfulness meditations that you can listen to or download to help you get started.

 

*The original 8-week program, as practiced in Kabat-Zinn’s Stress Reduction and Relaxation Program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, is described in his earlier book, Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of the Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness.  There is very strong scientific evidence for the benefits of mindfulness practice, and specifically the 8-week, which is explained well in the book.