{"id":1168,"date":"2017-03-29T13:43:25","date_gmt":"2017-03-29T18:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.med.virginia.edu\/mindfulness\/?p=1168"},"modified":"2019-02-28T09:43:49","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T14:43:49","slug":"mindfulness-as-a-life-giving-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.med.virginia.edu\/mindfulness\/2017\/03\/29\/mindfulness-as-a-life-giving-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"Mindfulness as a Life-Giving Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Mindfulness includes (but is not limited to) training the mind to focus and attend, to consciously shift the attention and to cultivate qualities of friendliness and kindness for ourselves and others.<\/p>\n<p>If you wish to learn the healthful benefits of mindfulness, you could google the topic and discover a multitude of research studies completed over the past two decades that support the concept. You might also choose to read books, blogs and articles that attest to the same notion.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes, however, it is the words spoken, the actions taken, that speak most powerfully to the transformational aspects of this practice.<\/p>\n<p>For example, several recent MBSR classes have voluntarily chosen to support their mindfulness learning by continuing to meet as a practice group after the course ends. They meet once or twice a month \u2013 to sit together, to check in and speak and listen mindfully (what they\u2019re noticing with their practices, insights or challenges), and to discuss readings or other topics chosen by the group to enhance learning.<\/p>\n<p>And finally, witness the words of recent graduates who were asked if they got something of lasting value or importance from the 8-week MBSR course:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>\u201cI\u2019m aware of how my wellness depends on me, not on changing another or the world.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cI\u2019m noticing my thoughts and feelings, my reactions to them, and I\u2019m aware I have choices.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cIncreasingly, I\u2019m reminding myself to be kind and compassionate, especially to my partner.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cI\u2019ve learned to handle the stress of uncertainty much better. I\u2019ve also learned not to believe all my thoughts, especially the negative ones, which has helped me to be less reactive to them.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cI learned <u>many<\/u> things of lasting value; one is that I\u2019m learning to stay with feelings\/ emotions rather than avoiding them.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cMy relationship to my children has been radically changed \u2013 for the good.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cI don\u2019t feel so hopeless (about anxiety and depression); my emotions are not me \u2013 they\u2019re valid, but they\u2019re not me.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cI\u2019m finding time for myself, taking care of my body and I\u2019m less reactive (to stressors).\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cI wish I had taken this course years ago. I\u2019m changing some lifelong habits from negative, harsh self-talk to something kinder and gentler.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cI say, \u2018this is how it is now\u2019 to remind myself that everything changes.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cI\u2019ve actually become aware of having all these thoughts! This has helped me to cope with stress.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cI feel like changes are occurring within me \u2013 I\u2019m consciously working with instead of against.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cThis practice has created changes in my life; I respond with more kindness to myself.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cThe change in my life as a result of taking this class is that the way I see and respond to everyday things has been altered.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>\u201cMy relationship to my thoughts and feelings and reactions to them has become one of acceptance.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mindfulness includes (but is not limited to) training the mind to focus and attend, to consciously shift the attention and to cultivate qualities of friendliness and kindness for ourselves and others. If you wish to learn the healthful benefits of mindfulness, you could google the topic and discover a multitude of research studies completed over [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research-updates"],"acf":false,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mindfulness as a Life-Giving Practice - Mindfulness Matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.med.virginia.edu\/mindfulness\/2017\/03\/29\/mindfulness-as-a-life-giving-practice\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mindfulness as a Life-Giving Practice - Mindfulness Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mindfulness includes (but is not limited to) training the mind to focus and attend, to consciously shift the attention and to cultivate qualities of friendliness and kindness for ourselves and others. 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