Mindfulness Meditation What’s the Big Deal about Breathing?

What is Mindfulness? Mindfulness is paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally. Jon Kabat-Zinn

Once there was a man who filmed his vacation. The Vacation By Wendell Berry Once there was a man who filmed his vacation. He went flying down the river in his boat with his video camera to his eye, making a moving picture of the moving river upon which his sleek boat moved swiftly toward the end of his vacation. He showed his vacation to his camera, which pictured it, preserving it forever: the river, the trees, the sky, the light, the bow of his rushing boat behind which he stood with his camera preserving his vacation even as he was having it so that after he had had it he would still have it. It would be there. With a flick of a switch, there it would be. But he would not be in it. He would never be in it.

Emotional Regulation The brain’s braking system: Right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (RVLPFC)

Benefits of Mindfulness Stress Reduction/Emotion Regulation Focus/Attention Cognitive Flexibility Relationship Satisfaction Empathy Compassion More “we,” Less “me”

Ways to Practice Mindfulness Mindful Breathing Mindful Walking Yoga/Exercise Body-scan meditation Mindful Eating Mindful Listening Mindful Emotions

What Mindfulness is Not Not about “fixing” you Not about stopping your thoughts Does not belong to a religion Not an escape from reality Not a panacea More than just “stress reduction”

Practice

“Mindfulness and the self-awareness it cultivates, is a fundamental ingredient of excellent care.” Dr. Ronald Epstein

Resources Wherever You Go, There You Are, Jon Kabat-Zinn Mindful Magazine www.mindful.org Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/ NeuroLeadership Institute https://neuroleadership.com/

Joe Barry, MA, currently serves as Director, Mission Integration, Seton Healthcare Family. He is a cohort facilitator for the Ascension Foundations of Ministry Development and the Seton Cove Leadership Pilgrimage. Prior to his current position, he served Seton as a Learning Consultant designing, developing and implementing courses in management skills and leadership behaviors. Joe holds a Master of Arts in Applied Behavioral Sciences, City University of Seattle and a Bachelor of Arts in Theology, University of Notre Dame. He is a certified Master Practitioner for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and holds a Certificate in the Foundations of NeuroLeadership from the NeuroLeadership Institute. jbarry@ascension.org