Everyday Mindfulness 10-Week Course

Welcome to the Everyday to Mindfulness course! During this course, we believe that experience is key. We will not only provide a comprehensive overview of mindfulness and its benefits, but we will also guide you through your own personal practice, using a praxis approach. This means that we will connect your experiences with new learning to ensure maximum understanding and growth. Our focus on the development of insight through practice will remain a central part of this course, as we aim to provide you with the tools necessary to incorporate mindfulness into your daily life. Thank you for embarking on this journey with us.

Objectives

• Understand the physical and emotional benefits of mindfulness and mindfulness practice.
• Complete a Breath Awareness Meditation
• Understand the definitions of "focused attention" and "the present moment"
• Complete a Grounding Meditation
• Complete a Feel Your Feet Meditation
• Review the importance of daily practice

We all know that sometimes learning or practicing mindfulness can bring up some not-so-great feelings, thoughts, or memories. But guess what? That's totally normal! In fact, it's all part of being human. The cool thing is, we can actually learn to embrace these experiences and let them go as we become more present in the moment.

In this session, we'll help you keep building your tolerance and your ability to manage your own emotions by inviting and exploring a range of feelings and sensations - from the not-so-great ones to the totally neutral ones and even the really great ones. Instead of being judgmental or rating them, we'll teach you how to simply observe and release them. It's all about finding your own balance and being open to everything that comes your way. So let's dive into this journey together!

Objectives

• Define "judgment" and understand how it is an obstacle to mindfulness
• Define and understand managing unpleasant emotions
• Build tolerance for experiencing emotions and sensations
• Practice sitting with a difficulty without solving it
• Understand resistance and avoidance to unpleasant emotions or sensations
• Practice labeling "unpleasant", "neutral", and "pleasant" experiences

Hey there! In today's session we're going to be talking about two topics that are closely connected: communication and leadership. Over the past few sessions, we've been practicing mindfulness as a way to help us deal with difficult emotions and feelings. Today, we're going to explore how we can use these mindful practices to improve our relationships and interactions with others, whether it's at work, school, or in our personal lives.

The focus today is on building healthy boundaries while still showing compassion for others. We'll learn how to avoid losing ourselves in an effort to help others and how not to approach conversations with the goal of winning. When we practice mindfulness with others, we can develop empathy, acceptance, and true compassion for the people and situations we encounter.

I hope you're as excited as I am to learn and grow together in this session!

Objectives

• Understand the distinction between "compassion" and emphathetic distress"
• Practice a guided mindful conversation
• Practice mindful listening
• Understand the 3 levels of a difficult conversation
• Understand and apply methods to prepare for difficult conversations
• Practice a compassion and "just like me" meditation for empathy and healthy boundaries

Let's remember that resilience is not something we achieve once and then we're done. It's a continuous journey, just like practicing mindfulness. We don't become resilient overnight and stay that way forever. We're not trying to become invulnerable to pain or distress. Instead, resilience is a cycle - we build it, strengthen it, rely on it when faced with challenges, and then strengthen it again.

The practices in this session are aimed at exploring resilience not as a way to toughen ourselves up for battle, but as a mindset that helps us stay calm, balanced, clear, and kind in the face of challenges. Strength and fortitude are inner resources that enable us to offer compassion. So come join us in this session as we delve into the art of resilience and discover how it can bring more peace and kindness into our lives.

Objectives

• Understand the definition of "resilience"; "emotional resilience"; "cognitive resilience"; and "inner calm"
• Reframe disappointment and setback as normal occurrances that can be met with compassion and loving kindness
• Understand the components of RAIN and practice applying the steps in a resilience meditation
• Acknowledge negative self-talk and meet it with empathy and compassion
• Strategically prepare phrases or mantras for anchor phrases

In this session, we're all about finding ways to feel more relaxed and at ease. Our focus is on understanding anxiety and learning how to manage it in a gentle and compassionate way. We'll explore different techniques to help bring a sense of calm and present-moment awareness to those moments when anxiety takes hold. Please note that the practices we'll be exploring are not intended to diagnose or clinically treat anxiety, but they can definitely help us feel more grounded and peaceful. 

Objectives

• Understand the definition of "anxiety"
• Understand the distinctions among "anxiety", "fear", "worry", and "rumination"
• Identify sources of anxiety and anxiety triggers
• Locate and rate anxiety in the body
• Separate anxious thoughts from emotions, sensations, and the self

In this session, we'll be exploring the concept of mindfulness in the context of work and career. Everyone's workplace is different, ranging from corporate settings to classrooms, job sites, volunteer venues, or even in-home environments. But regardless of the specific place of work, what's important is how we communicate, build relationships, and become more self-aware.

Often, we tend to see things in black-and-white terms - right or wrong, good or bad, powerful or powerless. This mindset can lead to judgment and hinder our ability to be fully present and mindful. In this session, our focus will be on how students relate to others in their specific work roles, whether that's as a parent, manager, server, or any other role. Feel free to adapt the language to fit your own circumstances, such as using "family members" or "care recipients" instead of "coworkers" or "colleagues".

Objectives

• Recognize the areas we control and areas we do not control
• Practice finding balance in body posture, breath, alertness, and positive/negative external expereinces
• Understand the negative effects of distraction
• Practice finding interconnectedness with others
• Practice mindfulness of speech
• Practice saying "yes" and "no" with integrity

Welcome to our final session! In this session, we will focus on helping students envision the future of their mindfulness practices. Our aim is for them to develop the skills, techniques, endurance, and enthusiasm to meditate daily and utilize mindfulness techniques when confronted with stress or conflict. It's important to remember that this course is just the beginning of their journey, laying the groundwork for continuous growth and learning. While not everything learned or experienced will be carried forward, everything offered in this course has contributed to expanding their understanding and awareness.

As we wrap up the course, it's not uncommon for students to express a desire to stay connected with you or their fellow classmates. Before the final session, take a moment to consider your comfort level with maintaining contact outside of class and establish clear boundaries with kindness and understanding.

Objectives

• Understand the importance of daily practice
• Reflect on the practices and tools that have been helpful so far, and how they envision incorporating course materials into their daily lives
• Make a personal mindfulness plan of action
• Practice offering care to others and the self
• Practice visualizing a beautiful place
• Practice finding the higer self