Working Out Your Mindfulness Muscles

Behind The Line

Show Notes:

Today’s episode digs into the myths and truths about mindfulness in an effort to make the case for implementing mindfulness skills as a part of our strategic wellness action plan. An episode like this is necessary because I see SO many front line workers roll their eyes when we talk about mindfulness and related skills, like they can’t imagine this kind of “new-age BS hippy-dippy junk” (actual words I’ve heard from clients and those I know) can be useful to them. But the science doesn’t lie, and it behooves us to take a closer look at how some simple and seemingly small tools can make a big difference in strengthening areas of our brain that help to counterbalance the impacts of ongoing, persistent stress and trauma.

First Response & Front Line Work invite us to over-train the parts of our brains that are responsible for risk management and survival – making this the part of the brain that feels most able to respond even when it’s not appropriate. When we over-train this part of our brain and fail to train the parts intended to counterbalance and regulate the stress response areas, we end up having stress responses to everything all the time…which is exhausting and our brains are not meant to live in full-time, which then leads to numbing and dissociating. It’s a catch 22. We have to work at integrating skills that work to strengthen parts of our brain that help to carry the load and give our stress system a break now and then by being capable of picking up some of the heavy lifting. Mindfulness skills, when developed as a practice, can be a big part of how we strengthen these other systems to help ourselves have a more diverse and more human experience. At it’s core, mindfulness is a group of skills or practices that support our brain and body in being connected to the present moment, in space and time.

In the next episode, we are going to talk about specific mindfulness tools that you can start to incorporate into your daily/weekly routine. But in the meantime, I offer a few categories of mindfulness skills in this episode including:

1. Meditation: No religious/spiritual associations required. Meditation is intended to be a dedicated time of quiet contemplation of the present. This can look like a lot of things and doesn’t have to last for long. If you’re new to meditation, I would encourage you to look up “guided meditation” and find some audios that walk you through the process.

2. Movement Based Mindfulness: Obvious options like yoga or tai chi integrate mindfulness into the movement by encouraging being aware of how poses/movements feel and your breath while you engage in the movements. Meanwhile, other options like going for a walk and gently working at bringing your mind back to noticing what you are seeing/hearing/smelling, etc. as you walk can be a version of movement-based mindfulness as well. Moving our bodies has a ton of benefit to work stress out of our systems and restore homeostasis (ie. stabilize), and incorporating mindfulness into movement of any kind can help quiet the stress centre and enhance the parts of our brain that work to counterbalance our stress centre.

3. Cognitive Directing Skills: These skills focus on how we attend our thoughts. Directing our thinking to really attend to what is around us and what we are doing in present space and time can help us strengthen connections to the parts of our brain that help counterbalance the stress centre. Describing everyday tasks, surroundings, etc. in detail can be a great, small way to start.

Start small, add some pieces in a little bit at a time, and experiment to see what fits for you. Mindfulness is not a magic bullet, but when done consistently it adds up to be significant and meaningful. The sooner you start the sooner you’ll see your brain strengthening and growing connections that benefit you. Try using prompts like post-it notes or reminders on your phone to help you get into a routine.

During the episode I mentioned a couple of links I would put in the show notes, including the article from UC Berkley which can be found here, and a link to my favorite yoga app which can be found here.

Episode Challenge:

Try to notice any reactions or preconceived notions that might be barriers to adding mindfulness skills to your arsenal.

Find a couple of guided meditation practices that you can add into your weekly routine, they don’t have to be long, but aim for a few days out of your week. Then gradually add additional skills.

Listen in next week when we’ll talk about some of my favourite mindfulness skills and ways you can use these to inspire your own scrappy and creative interpretations that fit you and your life the best.

Additional Resources:

During the episode I mentioned a couple of links I would put in the show notes, including the article from UC Berkley which can be found here, and a link to my favorite yoga app which can be found here.

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