Running Head: Mindfulness in a Small-Group Intervention Setting 1 Mindfulness: Action research examining the effectiveness of mindfulness in a Montessori small-group intervention setting By Jennifer Sherman A Master’s Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Montessori Adolescent Studies ________________________________________ Advisor’s Signature ______________________________________ Date University of Wisconsin—River Falls 2017
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Running Head: Mindfulness in a Small-Group Intervention Setting
1
Mindfulness: Action research examining the effectiveness of mindfulness
in a Montessori small-group intervention setting
By Jennifer Sherman
A Master’s Paper
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of
The Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Montessori Adolescent Studies
Justin 1. 4 5 + 1 2. 1 5 + 4 Feels calm now when he does his homework. 3. 2 6 + 4 Calm and quiet environment at group helps him
focus. Loud noises make him anxious. 4. 1 1 0
Jamal 1. 6 5 - 1 2. 6 6 0 3. 5 5 0 4. 5 4 - 1
Arianna 1. 2 4 + 2
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Question
Pre-interview
Post-interview
Change
Student Comments
2. 2 3 + 1 3. 1 4 +3 She focuses better for some types of math than
others. 4. 1 2 + 1
Cam 1. 4 5 + 1 2. 2 3 + 1 3. 5 5 0 4. 4 4 0
Lebron 1. 6 5 - 1 2. 5 6 + 1 3. 6 5 - 1 4. 6 6 0
Rose 1. 6 5 - 1 2. 5 4 - 1 Math homework getting harder. More anxiety. 3. 6 6 0 4. 4 2 - 2 Worried, very anxious about MCAs.
JuJu 1. 5 2 - 3 MCA test practice at group is causing anxiety. The
math problems are too hard. 2. 2 6 + 4 Mom has started helping at home. 3. 4 1 - 3 Significant problems with another student in group. 4. 3 5 + 2 Getting testing accommodations is helping.
Jasmine 1. 5 4 - 1 2. 1 1 0 3. 3 4 + 1 4. 1 1 0
Josh 1. 4 5 + 1 Liked mindful eating, breathing, hard to focus. 2. 3 3 0 3. 3 5 + 2 More focused but gets distracted being funny. 4. 6 6 0
Harley 1. 3 5 + 2 Feels more calm.
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Question
Pre-interview
Post-interview
Change
Student Comments
2. 6 NA NA No longer gets homework. 3. 5 5 0 4. 4 4 0
Conclusions
The original purpose of this action research was to determine whether short one- to three-
minute sessions of mindfulness would decrease students’ math anxiety and increase student
achievement. As the action research project unfolded, the original purpose grew to become an
exploration of whether mindfulness would be beneficial for use by interventionists and specialist
teachers who often are working with students for short periods of time in noisy spaces.
In analyzing the results of the pre and post interviews, the researcher concludes that there
were no direct benefits of mindfulness on decreasing anxiety in the majority of students. Only
one student, Felika, directly linked his decreased anxiety to mindfulness. However, students did
make small gains in decreasing their anxiety. This might be attributable to mindfulness, but
many of the gains were too small to be considered statistically significant. Only two of the 14
students reported a decrease in test anxiety; one of the students, JuJu, reported that her decreased
test anxiety was due to receiving testing accommodations. Several students—Perri, Rose,
Jasmine, and JuJu—reported increased anxiety due to the content of math group switching to
MCA test prep halfway through the action research. This is exactly the kind of anxiety that
mindfulness is meant to mitigate.
As the action research broadened to examine whether mindfulness is useful for teachers
who work with pull-out or push-in groups for short amounts of time in noisy environments, the
emoji tool became very useful for evaluating the emotional state of the students at the end of
each group session. There, the benefits are much clearer, although they do not match in with the
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original purpose of the action research. Eight of the 14 students reported being calm/focused at
the end of group sessions when they had participated in mindfulness. Those students who did not
participate in mindfulness often reported feeling stressed or excited, and only rarely reported
being calm/focused.
This is not surprising. Classroom teachers have known for years that some kind of
centering activity is beneficial before starting instruction. In the Montessori elementary school
where the research took place, several teachers incorporate centering activities, in particular the
Montessori exercise called “making silence.” In this researcher’s experience, however,
intervention teachers do not often use centering activities, such as one to three minutes of
mindfulness, in their daily lessons because they feel they do not have time to include such
activity. What the data gathered from use of the emoji tool shows is that there is benefit to the
students by starting with a calm, centering activity such as mindfulness, because these students
are maintaining their calm/focused feelings throughout the 30-minute group session.
Perhaps with regular use, more students would choose to participate in mindfulness and
the benefits of the calm/focused condition would spread throughout the small group. This
researcher intends to continue to use both the questionnaire and the emoji tool in her practice,
because they do provide valuable data to the classroom teacher about how students are feeling.
Montessori adolescent pedagogy requires that students use self-reflection tools to evaluate their
academic and social/emotional progress. This emoji tool seems like an effective elementary
version of a self-reflection tool.
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Limitations
There were several limitations noted in this action research that color the results,
primarily the length of the action research and the lack of quiet in the setting in which it was
conducted.
There were only eight sessions of mindfulness over the three-week period. This was due
to needing days for individual interviews, professional development days, and field trips. Taking
into account the very short length of the action research, it would be worth pursuing a similar
model of action research for a much longer period of time—like maybe 20 to 30 sessions of
mindfulness exercises.
The researcher occupied one-quarter of a classroom that also included space for the
reading specialist and the computer lab. This meant that there were often other activities going
on during mindfulness practice. The researcher observed that students would lose focus and
become distracted by sounds from the computers and conversation occurring in a nearby reading
group. Several students, particularly Beyonce and Perri, complained that the noise in the
classroom made it difficult for them to fully engage in mindfulness practice.
Implications
While this action research was too short and the distractions too significant to really
provide a reliable picture of whether short periods of regular mindfulness practice would work as
a tool for helping students manage anxiety, it did provide some indication that even short bursts
of mindfulness can increase feelings of calm and focus. It would be worthwhile to replicate this
action research with a much longer time period for data collection in a quieter setting.
It also would be worthwhile to do separate studies in Montessori adolescent environments
using the emoji tool and the questionnaire regularly in a math classroom to inform teacher
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instruction and determine whether increased information about students’ math anxiety would
lead to modified math instruction and decreased student anxiety.
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References
Bonamo, K. K. (2013). The influence of brief mindfulness exercise on encoding of novel words (Master’s
thesis). Retrieved from ProQuest Digital Dissertations. (UMI number: 1552176)
Donahoe, M. (2010). The way we gather. Cincinnati Montessori Secondary Teacher Education Program.
Ergas, O. (2014) Mindfulness in education at the intersection of science, religion, and healing. Critical
Studies in Education. 55(1), 58-72. doi: 10.1080/17508487.2014.858643
Grossman, P., & Van Dam, N. (2011, May) Mindfulness by any other name…: Trials and tribulations of
sati in Western psychology and science. Contemporary Buddhism. 12(1). doi:
10.1080/14639947.2011.564841
Hӧlvel, B. K., Lazar, S. W., Gard, T., Schuman-Olivier, Z., Vago, D. R., & Ott, U. (2011). How does
mindfulness meditation work? Proposing mechanisms of action from a conceptual and neural
perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science. November 2011, 537-559. doi:
10.1177/1745691611419671.
Kanagy-Borofka, L. (2013). Integrating mindfulness practices into the elementary curriculum to improve
attention-to-task behaviors and social relations (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest
Digital Dissertations. (UMI number: 3567437)
Liehr, P., & Diaz, N. (2010). A pilot study examining the effect of mindfulness on depression and anxiety
for minority children. Archive of Psychiatric Nursing. 24(1), 69-71.
Montessori, M. (2012). The Absorbent Mind. BN Publishing. (Original work published 1949)
Please circle the emoji that best describes how you feel right now.
Calm/Focused Stressed Excited
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Appendix B
Resources for Mindfulness Practice
This appendix contains the materials used in and developed for the action research. It
includes the lesson plan used for introducing mindfulness, information about the videos used to
introduce mindfulness, and the scripts used to introduce each of the types of mindfulness practice
used during action research.
Mindfulness Introduction Lesson Plan
Introduction
Introduce idea of mindfulness to students. Speak generally about what mindfulness is.
Accessing Prior Knowledge
Remind students that we had discussed the action research a few months previously. Let students
know we are finally ready to start the action research. Ask students whether they have previously
done mindfulness practice in the classroom, outside of school, or in student support services.
Content
Show three videos introducing mindfulness and the brain science behind it.
Describe Action Research
Introduce the permission slip. Let students know all of the legal information surrounding their
participation, the freedom to turn down participation, etc.
Take Questions
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Mindfulness Videos
This section includes information about the videos used to introduce students to
mindfulness.
"Don't Flip Your Lid" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he-fW9_3egw Performed by Glenview Elementary of Madison, WI Posted to YouTube June 22, 2015
“Mindfulness and the Brain-Hand Model” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vESKrzvgA40&t=207s Posted to YouTube April 16, 2013 Blurb from YouTube video: Interpersonal Neurobiology. Dan Siegel, M.D., a clinical professor at the UCLA School of Medicine, codirector of the Mindful Awareness Research Center, executive director of the Mindsight Institute, and the founding editor of the Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology. His books include The Developing Mind, Mindsight, and The Mindful Therapist. The interactions we have with one another shape our mental world. Why Neuroscience Matters. Psychotherapy when based on a trusting, safe and emotionally significant relationship (right to right brain) helps the rational left brain sooth and modulate the affective right hemisphere, and the cortex in general to exert top-down inhibition of the emotion-generating limbic system.
“Just Breathe” http://www.mindfulschools.org/resources/explore-mindful-resources/ A film showing children talking about handling difficult emotions with mindfulness, by Julie Bayer Salzman and Josh Salzman, Wavecrest Films Posted to YouTube January 28, 2015.
This section includes the scripts that were used as daily mindfulness exercises.
Guided Meditation on the Breath Script
This guided meditation on the breath will help you learn to simply be and to look within yourself with mindfulness and equanimity. Allow yourself to switch from the usual mode of doing to a mode of non-doing. Of simply being. Sitting in an erect posture, either on a straight back chair or on a cushion. As you allow your body to become still, bring your attention to the fact that you are breathing. And become aware of the movement of your breath as it comes into your body and as it leaves your body. Not manipulating the breath in any way or trying to change it. Simply being aware of it and of the feelings associated with breathing. And observing the breath deep down in your belly. Feeling the abdomen as it expands gently on the inbreath, and as it falls back towards your spine on the outbreath. Being totally here in each moment with each breath. Not trying to do anything, not trying to get any place, simply being with your breath. Giving full care and attention to each inbreath and to each outbreath. As they follow one after the other in a never ending cycle and flow. You will find that from time to time your mind will wander off into thoughts. When you notice that your attention is no longer here and no longer with your breathing, and without judging yourself, bring your attention back to your breathing and ride the waves of your breathing, fully conscious of the duration of each breath from moment to moment. Every time you find your mind wandering off the breath, gently bringing it back to the present, back to the moment-to-moment observing of the flow of your breathing. Using your breath as an anchor to focus your attention, to bring you back to the present whenever you notice that your mind is becoming absorbed or reactive. Using your breath to help you tune into a state of relaxed awareness and stillness. Now as you observe your breathing, you may find from time to time that you are becoming aware of sensations in your body. As you maintain awareness of your breathing, see if it is possible to expand the field of your awareness so that it includes a sense of your body as a whole as you sit here. Feeling your body, from head to toe, and becoming aware of all the sensations in your body. So that now you are observing not only the flow of breathing, but the sense of your body as a whole. Being here with whatever feelings and sensations come up in any moment without judging them, without reacting to them, just being fully here, fully aware. Totally present with whatever your feelings are and with your breath and a sense of your body as a whole. And again whenever you notice that your mind wandering off, just bringing it back to your breathing and your body as you sit here not going anywhere, not doing anything just simply being, simply sitting. Moment to moment, being fully present, fully with yourself. Reestablishing your awareness on the body as a whole and on the breath as it moves in and out of your body. Coming back to a sense of fullness of each inbreath, and the fullness of each outbreath. If you find yourself at any point drawn into a stream of thinking and you notice that
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you are no longer observing the breath, just using your breathing and the sense of your body to anchor you and stabilize you in the present. Just being with your breathing from moment to moment, just sitting in stillness, looking for nothing and being present to all. Just as it is, just as it unfolds. Just being right here, right now. Complete. Human. Whole. As the practice comes to an end, you might give yourself credit for having spent this time nourishing yourself in a deep way by dwelling in this state of non-doing, in this state of being. For having intentionally made time for yourself to simply be who you are. And as you move back into the world, allow the benefits of this practice to expand into every aspect of your life. Reference: Mindfulness Meditation, CD Series 1, Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mindful Breathing Script 1
Begin by finding a comfortable position, but one in which you will not fall asleep. Sitting on the floor with your legs crossed is a good position to try. Close your eyes or focus on one spot in the room. Roll your shoulders slowly forward and then slowly back. Lean your head from side to side, lowering your left ear toward your left shoulder, and then your right ear toward your right shoulder. Relax your muscles. Your body will continue to relax as you meditate. Observe your breathing. Notice how your breath flows in and out. Make no effort to change your breathing in any way, simply notice how your body breathes. Your body knows how much air it needs. Sit quietly, seeing in your mind’s eye your breath flowing gently in and out of your body. When your attention wanders, as it will, just focus back again on your breathing. Notice any stray thoughts, but don’t dwell on them. Simply let the thoughts pass. See how your breath continues to flow...deeply... calmly.
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Notice the stages of a complete breath... from the in breath... to the pause that follows... the exhale... and the pause before taking another breath... See the slight breaks between each breath. Feel the air entering through your nose...picture the breath flowing through the cavities in your sinuses and then down to your lungs... As thoughts intrude, allow them to pass, and return your attention to your breathing. (Pause) See the air inside your body after you inhale, filling your body gently. Notice how the space inside your lungs becomes smaller after you exhale and the air leaves your body. Feel your chest and stomach gently rise and fall with each breath. Now as you inhale, count silently... one As you exhale, count...one Wait for the next breath, and count again... one Exhale...one Inhale...one Exhale...one Continue to count each inhalation and exhalation as "one." (Pause) Notice now how your body feels. See how calm and gentle your breathing is, and how relaxed your body feels. Now it is time to gently reawaken your body and mind. Keeping your eyes closed, notice the sounds around you. Feel the floor beneath you. Feel your clothes against your body. Wiggle your fingers and toes. Shrug your shoulders.
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Open your eyes, and remain sitting for a few moments longer. Straighten out your legs, and stretch your arms and legs gently. Sit for a few moments more, enjoying how relaxed you feel, and experiencing your body reawaken and your mind returning to its usual level of alertness. Slowly return to a standing position, and continue with the rest of your day, feeling re-energized.
Mindful Breathing Script 2
The intention of this brief exercise is to focus your attention on your breath as you allow thoughts and sensations to come and go in the background. Find a comfortable place to sit. Put your feet flat on the ground and try to straighten your posture. Gently close your eyes. Let your shoulders drop down and away from your ears. Pay attention to your breathing and just allow yourself to continue to breathe naturally. Now, rest your hands gently on your belly with the fingertips of each hand lightly touching in the middle. Breathe in smoothly through your nose. And exhale slowly through your mouth. Continue to take slow, smooth breaths. When you breathe in, notice your belly push your hands gently apart, as you fill your lower lungs with air. When you breathe out, notice your belly sink back towards your spine as you release your breath. You can imagine that your belly is a balloon. Fill it with air and then watch it deflate. Now continue to focus on the gentle inhalation and exhalation of your breath. In...and out... If any other thoughts or images come into your mind during this exercise, just notice them, and gently bring your attention back to your breath. You may also become aware of physical sensations or feelings in your body. Simply notice them, and then again, bring your mind back to your breath. You don’t need to analyze or give these thoughts or feelings any meaning in this moment. Simply acknowledge them without judgment and bring your mind back to your breath.
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It’s normal for your mind to wander. Simply notice that your mind has wandered and gently bring your attention back to your breath. Continue to focus on your breathing and stay in this relaxed state for as long as you like. When you are ready, slowly open your eyes and bring your attention back to your surroundings. Reference: Anxiety BC Youth/Resources.Results.Relief
Basic Mindfulness Meditation Practice Script
Sitting on a straight-backed chair or couch or on a cushion on the floor, allow your body to become still. The back is straight without being stiff; the posture is relaxed, awake, and dignified. The hands can rest gently on the knees or in the lap. The eyes are open, simply resting the gaze on whatever is in front of you, without thinking too much about what you’re viewing. Settling into this moment, begin watching the breath. Become aware of the fact that you’re breathing. Become aware of the movement of the breath as it flows into and out of the body. Feel the breath as it comes into the body and as it leaves the body. Simply remain aware of the breath flowing in and flowing out, not manipulating the breathing in any way. Simply being aware of it and noticing how it feels. When your mind becomes distracted—and it will become distracted— simply return to the breath. No commentary. No judgment. Allow yourself to be with this flow of breath, coming in and going out. Notice the feeling of the breath as the lungs fill with air on the in-breath and deflate as you breathe out, the chest expanding and collapsing. Perhaps feeling the breath in the abdomen, rising as you breathe in and flattening and sinking as you breathe out. Allow your attention to gently ride on the sensation of each breath, not thinking about breathing, without the need to comment. Simply watching your breathing. Allow the breath to naturally breathe itself, not needing to change it in any way, giving full attention to each breath. Observe the full cycle of each breath, locating the very beginning of the breath, as it enters the nose or mouth, and following it as it fills the lungs and expands the chest and the abdomen, then comes to the gap where there is neither in-breath nor out-breath, before it turns around and makes its journey out of the body. Simply remain present for the cycle of each breath, being there, letting your attention gently float on the awareness of your breath. After a short time, you may notice that the mind wanders off to thoughts of the past, fantasies, memories, or regrets. Or it may move to anticipation of the future, planning, wishing, and judging. You may find yourself thinking about what you’ll do after this exercise, what you have to do at work, things that you have to do. As soon as you become aware that the attention has moved off the breath, guide it back to the next breath with a gentle and firm awareness. There’s
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no need to give yourself a hard time, saying, “How did I become so distracted?” Simply come back to this breath. Watching the breath and the arising thoughts without judgment, simply observing. Once again, bringing the attention to this breath, in this moment. Breathing in with the in-breath, breathing out with the out-breath. Feeling the movement in your body. The breath anchoring the attention in this moment. When the mind wanders, bring your attention back to the breath, knowing that you can always use the awareness of your breath to refocus your attention, to return to the present. Whenever you notice that you have drifted from the present—when you become distracted, preoccupied, or restless—the attention on the breath can be a powerful anchor to this moment and to this state of awake stillness. And now, for the time remaining, let go of all particular objects of attention, allowing yourself to simply be here, simply present. Breath moving, sensations in the body, sounds, thoughts, all of it coming and going…allowing all of it…and dropping into being, into stillness, present with it all, as it unfolds, complete, as you are, whole. Copyright 2011 Minding the Bedside by Jerome Stone, MA, RN
Guided Body Scan Meditation Script
This guided body scan meditation is intended to help you enter a very deep state of relaxation. It is best if you can manage to stay awake throughout the entire exercise. It’s important to remember to not try to relax. This will just create tension. What you’ll be doing instead is becoming aware of each passing moment and just accepting what is happening within you, seeing it as it is. Let go of the tendency of wanting things to be different from how they are now and allow things to be exactly as you find them. Just watch the activity of your mind, letting go of judgmental and critical thoughts when they arise, and just doing what the exercise guides you to do as best you can. Closing your eyes, and letting your arms lie alongside your body, your feet falling away from each other and slowly bringing your attention to the fact that you are breathing. Not trying to control your breath in any way but simply experiencing it as the air moves in and out of your body and noticing your abdomen and feeling the sensations there as your breath comes into your body and your abdomen gently expands. Then noticing your belly deflate as the breath comes out of your body. And following the rhythmic movement of each breath…the rising of your belly on the inbreath and on each outbreath just letting go, letting your body become heavy as it sinks a little bit deeper into relaxation. Just bringing full attention to each breath in each moment. Now bringing your attention to your feet, becoming aware of whatever sensations are there. If you are registering a blank as you tune in, then just experiencing nothing. And as you breathe in, imagine your breath moving all the way down to your feet and then when you reach your feet, begin your outbreath and let it move all the way up your body and out your nose. So that you’re breathing in from your nose and breathing out from your feet. And when you are ready, letting
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your feet dissolve in your mind’s eye. Become aware of the shins and calf muscles and the sensations in the lower legs, not just on the surface but right down into the bones, experiencing and accepting what you feel here and breathing into it, then breathing out from it. Then letting go of your lower legs as you relax into the bed or mat. And moving now into the thighs and if there’s any tension just noticing that. Breathing into and out from the thighs. Then letting your thighs dissolve and relax. And now shifting your attention to your belly again and experiencing the rising and falling of your belly as you breathe. Feeling the movements of your diaphragm, that umbrella-like muscle that separates your belly from your chest. And experiencing the chest as it expands on the in-breath and deflates on the out-breath. And if you can, tune into the rhythmic beating of your heart within your chest. Feeling it if you can. As well as the lungs expanding on either side of your heart. Just experiencing your chest, your belly, as you lie here…the muscles on the chest wall, the breasts, the entirety of the front of your body. And now just letting this region dissolve into relaxation as well. Moving your attention now to your fingertips and to both hands together, just becoming aware of the sensations now in the tips of your fingers and thumbs where you may feel some pulsations from the blood flow, a dampness or a warmth or whatever you feel. Just feeling your fingers. And expand your awareness to include the palms of your hands and the backs of your hands and your wrists. And here again perhaps picking up the pulsations of the arteries in your wrists as the blood flows to and from your hands. And becoming aware as well of the forearms. And the elbows. Any and all sensations regardless of what they are. Allowing the field of your awareness to include now the upper arms. Right up to your shoulders. Just experiencing your shoulders and if there are any tensions, breathing into your shoulders and arms. And letting that tension dissolve as you breathe out. Letting go of the tension and letting go of your arms. All the way from your fingertips, right through to your shoulders. As you sink even deeper into a state of relaxed awareness. Just being present in each moment. Letting go of whatever thoughts come up or whatever impulses to move and just experiencing yourself in this moment. And now focus your attention on your neck and throat and feel this part of your body, experiencing what it feels like perhaps when you swallow and when you breathe. And then letting it go. Letting it relax and dissolve in your mind’s eye. Becoming aware of your face now. Focusing on the jaw and the chin, just experiencing them as they are. Becoming aware of your lips and your mouth. And becoming aware of your cheeks now…and your nose, feeling the breath as it moves in and out at the nostrils. And be aware of your eyes. And the entire region around your eyes and eyelids. And if there’s any tension, letting it leave as the breath leaves. And now the forehead, letting it soften to let go of stored emotions. And the temples. And if you sense any emotion associated with the tension or feelings in your face, just being aware of that. Breathing in and letting the face dissolve into relaxation and stillness. And now become aware of your ears, and back and top of your head. Now letting your whole face and head relax. For now, just letting it be as it is. Letting it be still and neutral. Relaxed and at peace. Now letting your breath move through your entire body in whatever way feels natural for you. Through the entire length of your body. All of your muscles in a deep state of relaxation. And
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your mind simply aware of this energy, of this flow of breath. Experiencing your entire body breathing. Sinking deeper and deeper into a state of stillness and deep relaxation. Allow yourself to feel whole. In touch with your essential self in a realm of silence, of stillness, of peace. And seeing that this stillness is in itself healing. And allowing the world to be as it is beyond your personal fears and concerns. Beyond the tendencies of your mind to want everything to be a certain way. Seeing yourself as complete right now as you are. As totally awake right now. As the exercise ends, bring your awareness back to your body again, feeling the whole of it. You may want to wiggle your toes and fingers. Allow this calmness and this centeredness to remain with you when you move. Congratulate yourself on having taken the time to nourish yourself in this way. And remember that this state of relaxation and clarity is accessible to you by simply paying attention to your breath in any moment, no matter what’s happening in your day. Let your breath be a source of constant strength and energy for you. Reference: Mindfulness Meditation, CD Series 1, Jon Kabat-Zinn
Short Body Scan Script
Begin by bringing your attention into your body. You can close your eyes if that’s comfortable for you. You can notice your body seated wherever you’re seated, feeling the weight of your body on the chair, on the floor. Take a few deep breaths. And as you take a deep breath, bring in more oxygen enlivening the body. And as you exhale, have a sense of relaxing more deeply. You can notice your feet on the floor, notice the sensations of your feet touching the floor. The weight and pressure, vibration, heat. You can notice your legs against the chair, pressure, pulsing, heaviness, lightness. Notice your back against the chair. Bring your attention into your stomach area. If your stomach is tense or tight, let it soften. Take a breath. Notice your hands. Are your hands tense or tight. See if you can allow them to soften. Notice your arms. Feel any sensation in your arms. Let your shoulders be soft.
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Notice your neck and throat. Let them be soft. Relax. Soften your jaw. Let your face and facial muscles be soft. Then notice your whole body present. Take one more breath. Be aware of your whole body as best you can. Take a breath. And then when you’re ready, you can open your eyes.
Guided Sitting Meditation Script
This guided sitting meditation will help you learn to simply be and to look within yourself with mindfulness and equanimity. Allow yourself to switch from the usual mode of doing to a mode of non-doing. Of simply being. As you allow your body to become still, bring your attention to the fact that you are breathing. And become aware of the movement of your breath as it comes into your body and as it leaves your body. Not manipulating the breath in any way or trying to change it. Simply being aware of it and of the feelings associated with breathing. And observing the breath deep down in your belly. Feeling the abdomen as it expands gently on the inbreath, and as it falls back towards your spine on the outbreath. Being totally here in each moment with each breath. Not trying to do anything, not trying to get any place, simply being with your breath. You will find that from time to time your mind will wander off into thoughts, fantasies, anticipations of the future or the past, worrying, memories, whatever. When you notice that your attention is no longer here and no longer with your breathing, and without judging yourself, bring your attention back to your breathing and ride the waves of your breathing, fully conscious of the duration of each breath from moment to moment. Every time you find your mind wandering off the breath, gently bringing it back to the present, back to the moment-to-moment observing of the flow of your breathing. Using your breath to help you tune into a state of relaxed awareness and stillness. Now as you observe your breathing, you may find from time to time that you are becoming aware of sensations in your body. As you maintain awareness of your breathing, see if it is possible to expand the field of your awareness so that it includes a sense of your body as a whole as you sit here. Feeling your body, from head to toe, and becoming aware of all the sensations in your body. Being here with whatever feelings and sensations come up in any moment without judging them, without reacting to them, just being fully here, fully aware of whatever you’re experiencing. And again whenever you notice that your mind wandered off, just bringing it back to your breathing and your body as you sit here not going anywhere, not doing anything just simply being, simply sitting. Moment to moment, being fully present, fully with yourself.
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Now as you sit here once again allowing the field of your awareness to expand. This time, expanding your awareness to include thoughts as they move through your mind. So letting your breathing and sense of your body be in the background and allowing the thinking process itself to be the focus of your awareness. And rather than following individual thoughts and getting involved in the content and going from one thought to the next, simply seeing each thought as it comes up in your mind as a thought and letting the thoughts just come and go as you sit and dwell in stillness, witnessing them and observing them. Whatever they are…just observing them as events in the field of your consciousness…as they come into your awareness and they linger and as they dissolve. If you find yourself at any point drawn into this stream of thinking and you notice that you are no longer observing them, just coming back to observing them as events and using your breathing and the sense of your body to anchor you and stabilize you in the present. The thoughts can take any form, they can have any content and they can be either neutral or very highly charged. If thoughts come up that have fear in them, then just be aware of fear being here and letting these thoughts come and go. The same for worries, preoccupations, and so on. Regardless of the feeling that a thought might create for you, just observing it as simply a thought and letting it be here without pursuing it or without rejecting it. Noticing that from moment to moment, new thoughts will come and go. As the meditation ends, you might give yourself credit for having spent this time nourishing yourself in a deep way by dwelling in this state of non-doing, in this state of being. For having intentionally made time for yourself to simply be who you are. And as you move back into the world, allow the benefits of this practice to expand into every aspect of your life. Reference: Mindfulness Meditation, CD Series 1, Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mindful Eating Script
If you’ve heard about mindful eating but aren’t sure where or how to start, here are instructions for a brief mindfulness eating exercise. The following exercise is simple and will only take a few minutes. Find a small piece of food, such as one raisin or nut, or a small cookie. You can use any food that you like. Eating with mindfulness is not about deprivation or rules. Begin by exploring this little piece of food, using as many of your senses as possible. First, look at the food. Notice its texture. Notice its color.
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Now, close your eyes, and explore the food with your sense of touch. What does this food feel like? Is it hard or soft? Grainy or sticky? Moist or dry? Notice that you’re not being asked to think, but just to notice different aspects of your experience, using one sense at a time. This is what it means to eat mindfully. Before you eat, explore this food with your sense of smell. What do you notice? Now, begin eating. No matter how small the bite of food you have, take at least two bites to finish it. Take your first bite. Please chew very slowly, noticing the actual sensory experience of chewing and tasting. Remember, you don’t need to think about your food to experience it. You might want to close your eyes for a moment to focus on the sensations of chewing and tasting, before continuing. Notice the texture of the food; the way it feels in your mouth. Notice if the intensity of its flavor changes, moment to moment. Take about 20 more seconds to very slowly finish this first bite of food, being aware of the simple sensations of chewing and tasting. It isn’t always necessary to eat slowly in order to eat with mindfulness. But it’s helpful at first to slow down, in order to be as mindful as you can. Now, please take your second and last bite. As before, chew very slowly, while paying close attention to the actual sensory experience of eating: the sensations and movements of chewing, the flavor of the food as it changes, and the sensations of swallowing. Just pay attention, moment by moment. Using a mindfulness eating exercise on a regular basis is only one part of a mindfulness approach to your diet. The liberating power of mindfulness takes deeper effect when you begin to pay mindful attention to your thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations, all of which lead us to eat. Mindfulness (awareness) is the foundation that many people have been missing for overcoming food cravings, addictive eating, binge eating, emotional eating, and stress eating. You may republish this article on any website, as long as all content remains 100% intact and you include the following text (including live link): Article courtesy of http://www.mindfulnessdiet.com/.
Holding First, take a raisin and hold it in the palm of your hand or between your finger and thumb. Focusing on it, imagine that you’ve just dropped in from Mars and have never seen an object like this before in your life.
Seeing
Take time to really see it; gaze at the raisin with care and full attention. Let your eyes explore every part of it, examining the highlights where the light shines, the darker hollows, the folds and ridges, and any asymmetries or unique features.
Touching
Turn the raisin over between your fingers, exploring its texture, maybe with your eyes closed if that enhances your sense of touch.
Smelling
Holding the raisin beneath your nose, with each inhalation drink in any smell, aroma, or fragrance that may arise, noticing as you do this anything interesting that may be happening in your mouth or stomach.
Placing
Now slowly bring the raisin up to your lips, noticing how your hand and arm know exactly how and where to position it. Gently place the object in the mouth, without chewing, noticing how it gets into the mouth in the first place. Spend a few moments exploring the sensations of having it in your mouth, exploring it with your tongue.
Tasting
When you are ready, prepare to chew the raisin, noticing how and where it needs to be for chewing. Then, very consciously, take one or two bites into it and notice what happens in the aftermath, experiencing any waves of taste that emanate from it as you continue chewing. Without swallowing yet, notice the bare sensations of taste and texture in the mouth and how these may change over time, moment by moment, as well as any changes in the object itself.
Swallowing
When you feel ready to swallow the raisin, see if you can first detect the intention to swallow as it comes up, so that even this is experienced consciously before you actually swallow the raisin.
Following
Finally, see if you can feel what is left of the raisin moving down into your stomach, and sense how the body as a whole is feeling after completing this exercise in mindful eating.
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Reference: Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal, and Jon Kabat-Zinn (2007). The Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness. New York: Guilford Press.