A note about this program: Mindfulness practice does not replace clinical therapy, and we do not present this training as a cure for any mental or physical medical condition. If at any time during a practice you feel uncomfortable or overwhelmed, simply open your eyes and look around the room. Take a few deep breaths to slow your breathing. Stand up and walk around. Get a drink of water. Take care of yourself.
The Dangers of Distraction
Modern life bombards the prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain responsible for the ability to be reasonable and effective, and to solve problems with clarity and focus. On a daily basis, we’re presented with 5x the amount of information we received 25 years ago. We have to build strength to withstand the onslaught with “mental fitness exercises” that help us stave off distraction and burnout.
Neuroscience & Mindfulness
From before birth until the day we die, the connections in our brain are reorganizing in response to changing needs. It’s called neuroplasticity, and it’s really good news. Contrary to what we once believed, our brain can grow and change. The question is: What mental muscles will you build?
Simple Workouts for Your Brain
Mindfulness exercise starts with simply paying attention to something — anything. We usually begin with the breath, because you always have it with you. We also use other anchors such as body sensations, awareness of surroundings, thoughts and emotions, and our human connections.
Noticing Internal Experiences
Our emotional world — the inner state that includes thought patterns, emotions, and implicit biases — has an enormous impact on our well-being. And yet so many of the events in our emotional world happen without our awareness.
Name It to Tame It
Labeling emotions for what they are — sadness, anger, frustration — can neutralize them, taking away their power to control us.
Fact vs Fiction
Human brains are wired to make sense of things. But that often leaves us making up stories that magnify our anxieties and fears with worst-case scenario plots. The brain’s “negativity bias” will most often conjure the catastrophic “what if?” scenario.
Inner Critic to Inner Mentor
Your brain doesn’t actually care about your happiness. It’s focused only on your survival. And it carries a built-in negativity bias with a “better safe than sorry” threat detection system. So the inner critic (we all have one) tends to get noisy when we really just need some support.
Replenish Inner Energy
Running on autopilot drains your brain’s “battery,” leaving you more impatient, more impulsive, and more fatigued. Mindfulness practice renews your personal resources.
Connect With Your Purpose
What motivates you? Why do you do your job, volunteer for a particular organization, or pursue a certain hobby? Mindfulness can help you remember or uncover that purpose, a reflection that improves resilience during challenging times such as a global pandemic.
The Science of Connection
If you’ve ever felt your mood change because of someone else’s presence, you’ve experienced the power of mirror neurons.
Cultivating Our Human Capacity for Compassion
Compassion is innate, but like other “muscles,” it atrophies without exercise. You can strengthen it by focusing attention on ways you are alike with others, and the feelings you have when you spend a moment to actively send them well wishes. Recent advances in neuroscience show that compassion can be enhanced through simple practices such as this.
Kindness as a Strategy
Research shows that the giver of kindness benefits just as much as, if not more than, the receiver, making it an important element in both mental and physical wellness.