Mindfulness: It’s Not Just for Stress Management
June 06, 2017
A personal mindfulness practice not only relieves stress, it changes how you experience your life.
A sea change is defined as a striking change, or major transformation*. Ten years ago Carol McSorley Gethers realized that her life simply wasn’t working well. She was dissatisfied in many areas, including her health, job and interpersonal relationships. She realized that the common denominator was the way that she experienced these aspects of her life. She knew she needed to change. In this interview, Carol described the role of mindfulness in her “sea change”.
As participants in our Mindfulness-based Stress Management program learn and practice mindfulness regularly over the course of eight weeks, they gradually begin to notice the effects of the practice in their lives. Carol described one effect she noticed as “less resistance and more allowing” in ordinary life activities and interactions, such as how she remained cool, calm and collected when her teenager was freaking out one morning before school. Often participants notice how they remain neutral in situations that would ordinarily trigger irritation, like when standing in line at the supermarket. Other commonly-reported effects include noticing reductions in thinking-related anxiety and increases in fascination and awe in ordinary moments such as weather (e.g. noting the blue skies, the sound of rain falling, the sensation of wind blowing against skin).
Dr. Amishi Jha, a neuroscientist and mindfulness researcher at the University of Miami states how mindfulness “strengthens the muscle of attention” and in addition to improved mood, has a host of other benefits. Read here about what Dr. Jha is finding about the impact of mindfulness training on productivity and performance.
*Dictionary.com
Want to be share how mindfulness is making a difference in your life? Contact us to share your story, and perhaps it will be featured here on our blog.
Follow us on Facebook