Mindfulness for focus and calm, session 5

Here is sample of the guided practices that Kara shares in her Mindfulness sessions.

Transcript

1. Mindfulness for more focus and calm With Kara Matheson Education Officer NSW Community Languages Schools Program Hunter Community Languages https://www.hptacls.org We will use www.slido.com with #925895 Photo by Laura Barry on Unsplash
2. Acknowledgement of country I acknowledge and respect the traditional custodians of the land on which I work, the Pambalong Clan of the Awabakal people. Today we come together from lands far and wide that have been cared for by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for over sixty thousand years. Let us pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future.
3. Let’s set our learning intention. We are learning to: Practice directing our attention and seeing what we notice, without judgement (mindful attention). Learning how to bring mindful attention to emotions.
4. Why? Being a human is stressful (especially in covid times) and this stress impacts our body and mind It can be hard to pay attention BUT with practice, we can become more aware/more conscious of our experience/better at paying attention With increased awareness of our experience, we are happier and more able to self-regulate You can share these practices with your students or just use them for yourself
5. How will you achieve our learning goals? Participate! Try the practices and share your experience
6. ‘Plus 2’ Breathing Breathe in for e.g., the count of 3 Plus 2 Breathe out for 5
7. What did you notice? ⓘ Start presenting to display the poll results on this slide.
9. What if you feel really awkward, like the conversation is too hard, like you want to hide? Photo by Dmitry Ratushny on Unsplash
10. Feelings Be with them, not caught by them Photo by Justin Clark on Unsplash
11. Have you ever been dumped by a wave? Being hit by a big emotion can feel like that! Photo by Gustavo Zambelli on Unsplash
12. Why practice being with emotions? • When it comes to regulating difficult emotions, there are two ways most people respond: They act out or they suppress. • What many people aren’t aware of is that there’s another way to regulate our emotions: Feel the feeling in real time. • Emotions are like energy waves, varying in shape and intensity, just like ocean waves. Their nature is to arise and pass away pretty quickly, like all natural phenomena. • Tragically (and ironically), efforts to “talk yourself out of your emotions” often mean you will keep thinking about and holding onto those emotions you’re trying to avoid. • Learning to feel your emotions in real time helps them to move on.
13. Some research https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_regulate_your_emotions_without_suppressing_them • Physicians, police officers and elite military were taught to feel their emotions in real time. • These highly trained professionals have been taught to suppress or deny their challenging emotions in order to function effectively in high-stress jobs - taught to completely “turn off” their feelings. • After the training in feeling emotions in real time, US Army Special Forces, long-serving police detectives, and neurosurgeons reported better sleep, increased job satisfaction, closer connections to colleagues, reduced headaches, and, most surprisingly to them, improved job performance.
14. Let’s practice being with emotions 1. Ground your presence in your feet and breath 2. Think of a time when you felt either: • Happy or • Grateful Picture that time vividly in your mind, with all your senses. 3. Where do feel this in your body? 4. Name it: “This is the emotion happiness /gratitude in my body. I am being with happiness /gratitude. I can just be with this emotion. This is a normal part of being human.” 5. What need has been met?
15. What did you notice? ⓘ Start presenting to display the poll results on this slide.
16. Transition with some energy to let it go Shake it out and brush it off Photo by Ankush Minda on Unsplash
17. What did you notice this time? ⓘ Start presenting to display the poll results on this slide.
18. ‘F.O.F.B.O.C.’ - Feet On Floor Bottom On Chair Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
19. What did you notice this time? ⓘ Start presenting to display the poll results on this slide.
20. More support If you feel wobbly and want to talk to someone: Beyond Blue – with language support Lifeline – with language support Guided meditations by Kara: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6nGHMwFoULH7PsjmRMkNYr https://music.apple.com/us /artist/kara-matheson/560828921
21. Thanks for being here. Stay well. Access support at our website: www.hptacls.org Beautiful, copyright-free images: https://unsplash.com Hunter Community Languages is funded by the NSW Government to support the NSW Community Languages Schools Program, which is administered by the NSW Department of Education