Published: LifeLines for Health, vol. 4 (Winter 2014)
by Dr. Maureen Strafford
Mindfulness is a word that we are hearing about quite a bit these days. In January, Time Magazine had a cover story called “The Mindful Revolution” with the subtitle “Finding peace in a stressed- out, digitally dependent culture may just be a matter of thinking differently.” Do a search on Amazon and 9,893 books are found with the word “Mindfulness” in the title, including a book by U.S. Congressman Tim Ryan called “A Mindful Nation.” One might think that “Mindfulness” has just been discovered by our 21st century society. In fact, mindfulness and the use of mindfulness meditation techniques can be traced back to ancient meditative and contemplative practices and are seen in many, if not all, religious traditions.
However, the practice of mindfulness techniques --- practiced in a non-religious, secular manner --- with the introduction of such techniques into health care settings, the classroom, the corporate world and even in the locker rooms of national athletic teams --- has increased dramatically over the last several decades. In 1979, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn introduced mindfulness meditation into mainstream medicine when the University of Massachusetts Stress Reduction Clinic was begun at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, MA. Patients with a variety of medical problems attended an 8-week, once a week meeting with a group of other patients and a leader. This course was called Mindfulness-Based-Stress- Reduction (MBSR) and has now expanded to thousands of hospitals across the world where many thousands of patients have found improvement in symptoms including anxiety, pain, and depression from a wide array of diagnoses.
But what do we mean when we say Mindfulness? The definition of Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn has been widely quoted.
“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment and nonjudgmentally.”
We have all experienced being “mindless.” We park our car in the morning and when we return at the end of the day, we have no memory where the car is. Where was our mind when we were parking our car? We
were certainly “not paying attention on purpose.” We have also experienced how one thought can spiral into an entire narrative usually of doom and gloom or negative self-descriptions or we can create a fantasy pleasurable scene and miss the unfolding of the present moment. We may experience pain and fear and anxiety that leads to panic that leads to increased suffering. Mindfulness slows down the reactive, out of control thinking called rumination. Mindfulness can help us observe the moments when our pain is different, diminishes, even disappears. The word nonjudgmental is so important. When we stop labeling every experience as good or bad, we eliminate the reactivity that causes us additional suffering.
The way we “practice” mindfulness starts with the formal practice of sitting meditation, or movement practices such as yoga, tai chi, or walking meditation. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to sit and meditate. The breath is a good anchor for our attention because it is always
there and has a changing quality to it. We may attend to the breath and have the shopping list for dinner pop into our heads and pull our attention away. As a parent firmly but lovingly moves the wandering child away from the dangerous road, so too with attention to the breath, we bring our attention back to the breath without judgment – no statements that “I’m a lousy meditator” or “This isn’t working.” With this commitment to attention and awareness, we move away from reactivity and rumination and the tendency of
the mind to create entire scenarios and screenplays that may be pleasant or unpleasant and move into the vibrant experience of the present.
While MBSR courses were blossoming all over this country and internationally over the last several decades, research on MBSR was also exploding and describing the positive effects of this practice on both physical and mental health. Research --- including a fascinating look at the brain with tools such as functional MRI (a scan of the brain where areas that are stimulated “light” up on the scan) --- began to suggest that indeed the brain can change and areas where anxiety, anger, and fear “reside” in the brain have been shown to quiet down when a person meditates. Of great interest is that the practice of mindfulness may have long-lasting effects and that the “brain” does indeed change. The “ruts” created by years of rumination, anxiety, and worry begin to “smooth over” as practice time increases. Mindfulness meditation --- even after the basic 8 week MBSR course --- has demonstrated a strengthening of the immune system, significant amelioration of depression comparable to the use of anti-depressant medications and improvement in the symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). The quality and quantity of excellent clinical research on the beneficial effects of mindfulness has exploded and drawn the attention of neuroscientists and other basics research scientists. Teachers, health care providers, veterans suffering from PTSD, prisoners, children and patients with a wide array of symptoms and challenges improve the symptoms of their diseases, diminish the risk of caretaker burnout, and uniformly report an improved quality of life, including improved relationships.
So how does one learn “Mindfulness” and how does one implement the changes mindfulness can stimulate?
We practice! The “formal” practice complements and strengthens the “informal” practice. The formal practice
is the time we take to “practice” observing our experience in a different way. We can practice sitting and using the breath as our anchor. We can practice yoga and observe our movements in a mindful manner.
We use the skills learned and practiced during formal sitting meditation to observe the simple activities of daily life with an energized and creative curiosity. This is the “informal practice” of mindfulness when we observe the sensation of the splash of water on our face, the feel of the weather on the skin, the taste of a small morsel of food and in this “informal” practice, we experience life in a more deeply felt manner with less reactivity and suffering. We also experience benefits in the informal practice of mindfulness when we have pain or anxiety. We may observe moments when our pain is intense and moves to areas of our body and even a moment when the pain disappears. We learn that we are not our thoughts and we can move away from the “over and over” rumination of our worried mind.
How does one train or learn more about mindfulness and how to include it as part of a health self-care regimen?
There are now programs throughout the US, many based in hospitals that may be covered by health insurance. There are also therapists who have been trained
in MBSR and offer traditional 8-week MBSR courses. A review of the UMass Center for Mindfulness website - http:// www.umassmed.edu/cfm/ - is a wonderful place to start in understanding the training required for MBSR teaching. A web search for MBSR courses and teachers in your area will be a productive place to start and after reviewing the UMass site, you will have good questions to ask when looking for MBSR courses. While programs are more limited for children, local mindfulness teachers can guideone in finding well-qualified teachers for children. There are increasing resources in books and apps that will also be helpful and asking your child’s pediatrician and teachers can also be a helpful place to start. The 8-week MBSR course
is very helpful if doing it on your own is more difficult, and the group format adds to the insights gained as one progresses through the course. For those who are interested in more individual work or want to investigate a bit more on your own before committing to an MBSR course, there are many books, online courses and apps to help you.
We have a wealth of resources to learn about Mindfulness and the effect on health, well-being and relationships. But even before one Internet search or book is ordered, remember we always have our breath. Our anchor. Sitting here reading, take a moment to find your place in your seat. Slowly bring attention to bringing your shoulders back, and moving your body into a more upright position, slowly close your eyes if that feels comfortable where you are and bring your attention to that part of your body where the breath is noted – the nostrils, the upper chest, the belly. Notice how the quality of the breath changes with breathing in and breathing out. Notice how thoughts –“I don’t have time right now.” “I think this is not going to work.” “I can’t forget to send the check.” pop into the mind like popcorn being cooked. And with the gentle firmness and kindness of the parent moving the child off the dangerous road, bring your attention back to the breath. Some days, you may find yourself pulling the wandering mind back after every breath. That’s practice .... not “bad” meditation because there is no “good” or “bad” meditation. A great start to understanding mindfulness is with you at all times --- your breath.
As a parent, you might find it helpful to do some practice and observe the positive effects with yourself before introducing some of the practices o your child. The introduction of mindfulness into the classroom has found positive results. Better classroom management and calmer children result when mindfulness has been utilized and teachers feel less stress as well. Programs such as the Mind-Up Program (www. thehawnfoundation.org/mindup) and Mindful Schools (www. mindfulschools.org) have established programs for teachers and schools.
An overview of some of the books, programs and apps available might be helpful as you seek out more information about mindfulness and how to help yourself and your family with dealing with the stress of everyday life and the particular stress of learning healthy coping strategies for chronic medical conditions.
Dr. Maureen Strafford, Associate Professor of Anesthesia and Pediatrics, Tufts University School of Medicine. The study of the effects of pediatric pain and the positive effects of mindfulness has been a career long concentration.