how do you view these? what is mindfulness? what is mind? simply put why mindfulness? The Neuroscience of Mindfulness 12/8/15 ! Brain!

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1 how do you view these?! Brain! Mind The Neuroscience of Mindfulness Copyright held by Intuitive Psychology, PLC Sari Roth- Roemer, Ph.D. Intui4ve Psychology, PLC what is mind?! Our inner subjective experience! The awareness of our conscious experience! Made up of mental processes including thoughts, feelings, memories that influence our behavior and interaction with the world! It is both personal (embodied) and relational (connected) what is mindfulness?! Being purposefully aware, curious, accepting and open to the present moment without judgments or expectations.! Ability to disengage from automatic thoughts, feelings and behaviors.! Making a choice over where you put your attention.! Learning to live in the reality of the present. simply put! Paying attention! On purpose Jon Kabat Zinn Full Catasrophe Living Wherever you go, there you are.! In the present moment! Without making judgments why mindfulness?! Increased activation of areas of the brain associated with :! Executive Function! Decision- Making! Self directed Attention! Emotional processing and regulation! Higher rates of self efficacy! Higher rates of perceived quality of life! Greater recognition of positive experiences! Reduced emotional reactivity! Improved relationships! Improved health outcomes 1

2 try this! Close your eyes, spine erect, chin slightly tucked! Feel feet on the ground, hands in your lap! Feel your body supported in the chair! Hear the sounds around you, part of your experience! Begin to focus on your breath, but don t try to change it, just let it be! Notice when your mind drifts, and gently bring it back to your breath mindful or mind somewhere else?? we forget! We have thousands of thoughts.! Many of them are reruns! Our thoughts are just our thoughts.! We can choose which ones to focus on! We can change those that are not working for us! We can choose those that will help us on our path the antidote awareness! Paying full attention to the present moment! Mindful awareness allows us to take an active approach to our lives by helping us act with intention rather than out of habit or emotional reactivity.! It gives us perspective so we can expand our options for responding and make an active choice.! Mindful awareness helps us recognize and observe our emotions without getting caught in them intentional observation! Metacognition! Purposefully being aware and an intentional observer of self! Awareness of being aware! Choosing where we want to put our mind setting our intention! Breathe and focus connecting body, mind and spirit! Once we notice our reaction with kind attention, we ve already shifted open and curious! Letting go of preconceived expectations of how things should be! Letting go of judgments and unhelpful stories! Allowing genuine curiosity to replace fear, anxiety or worry! Actively look for new information! Opening up to new possibilities! It increases opportunities to enjoy our lives right now! 2

3 acceptance! Allowing ourselves to feel what we are feeling, rather than neglecting feelings or running away from them.! Letting go of judgments of our feelings.! We recognize our feelings, and then we take care of our feelings.! When we allow ourselves to let go of the judgments and stories about our experiences, we usually find that our strong emotions are neutralized.! This is how things are and I can open myself to it.! From this place, we can step out of our own way and make informed decisions about what comes next. Marcus Aurelius From Meditations, , AD A body of literature describing how to find and preserve equanimity in the midst of conflict by following nature as a source of guidance and inspiration When your mind changes, your brain changes too. Dr. Rick Hanson, Buddha s Brain Small actions every day, will add up to large changes, which will create new neural networks, literally changing your brain over time! - Rick Hansen, Ph.D. neural integration and mindfulness! Middle prefrontal cortex regulation! Ties the social, the somatic, the brainstem, the limbic, and the cortical, all into one.! Outcome of integration compassion towards ourselves and others Siegel, Daniel J.(2009) 'Mindful Awareness, Mindsight, and Neural Integration', The Humanistic Psychologist, 37: 2,

4 contemplative neuroscience making our brains better? Improved Focus Reduced awareness of time and space Knutson, B. (2011) Stanford University Monk Study Andrew Newberg meditation and grey matter changes mindfulness and brain injury! Improved attention! Improved cognitive efficiency! Improved working memory! Improved executive function! Lowered fatigue! Lowered anxiety! Improved mood Hölzel et al., (2011) Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density Psychiatry Res, 191 (1): gender differences?? protective against age related changes? Luders, E. et al (March, 2015) Larger hippocampal dimensions in meditation practitioners: differential effects in women and men, Frontiers in Psychology Luders, E. et al (Jan, 2015) Forever Young(er): potential age- defying effects of long- term meditation on gray matter atrophy, Frontiers in Psychology 4

5 what s good for the goose! Improved creativity and performance skills (executive function, attention, memory)! Improved creativity! Improved mood! Improved social skills! Reduced stress! Emotional regulation! Improved sleep! Improved health NIMH, Paul Thompson, UCLA BuImproved rke (2009) Journal of Children and Family Studies Harnett and Dawe (2012) Child and Adolescent Mental Health great so how is it done?! Purposely pay attention! Be aware of your thoughts! Catch yourself worrying! Step outside of yourself and observe! Your tactile experience! Washing dishes! Washing hair! Eating! Breathing! Hurting! Petting your dog! Feeling badly! Feeling joyful! Acknowledge that you have a choice and that you can cope!! Let go of judgment! Be compassionate with yourself! Meditate what is meditation?! A state of thoughtful awareness! Starts with an intention to clear your mind of thoughts and attachment to those thoughts! A reduced awareness of the external environment, particularly less aware of time and space! Initially Parasympathetic activation leading to feeling of relaxation! Followed by sympathetic activation bringing about a sense of mental clarity and alertness with an improved ability to focus! Increased feeling of connection and decreased feeling of seperateness! A chance to step out of ego, out of self and become an impartial observer meditations! Focus on the breath! Let thoughts come and go, put them on a screen, on a leaf, on a cloud! Focus on sounds around you, first obvious, then subtle! Focus on a single word or phrase, a mantra! Focus on compassionate thoughts, metta! Visualize yourself in a pleasant calm environment! Focus on an action (yoga, walking, washing dishes) not one size fits all! We re all different! Mindfulness and meditation is not one size fits all! Explore approaches with openness and curiosity and pick what works for you! Let go of judgments about how it should be.! Be gentle and kind with yourself alternate nostril breathing 5

6 compassion meditation! May I/you be filled with loving kindness! May I/you be well! May I/you be peaceful and at ease! May I/you be happy simple tips to be used with intention! Slow Down! Talk less! One thing at a time limit multitasking! Focus on your breath! Take time to unplug every day! Hug someone! Smile at someone! Walk in nature! Take time to be still where to find me 6