MINDFULNESS MEDITATION & MOVEMENT

INTRODUCTION

Pascal said, "All of humanities problems stem from a man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone." Richard Carlson (1997) states, "A quiet mind is the foundation of inner peace. And inner peace translates to outer peace." In a magazine article entitled "Who are you, really?" Martha Beck (2001) states: "Stillness scares them. If we hold still long enough, we begin to feel what we really feel and to know what we really know."

Pascal, Carlson, and Beck are not talking about being just physically still, they are also (and even more so) referring to being mentally still. What is this "stillness" and why does it sound difficult to master? Why is it beneficial to even bother trying to be still or still the mind? After all, didn't someone say, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." Would stilling the mind be considered wasting it? Why is this concept of "stillness or stilling the mind" now becoming an important tool in healing, not only mental and emotional issues, but spiritual and physical issues as well?

So many thoughts, so little time seems to be the theme going on in our heads at a "break neck" pace. I am sitting in front of the computer and typing away at this paper. At the same time I am thinking about flossing my teeth, making another pot of coffee, wondering if I stay up all night will I be too tired to work out tomorrow, will I have time to go to karate, I like the CD that's playing, where are the cats, should I go out to dinner, no - I shouldn't - I really need a salad, will Gregg call tonight, how is Patti doing, blah, blah, blah. All these thoughts came up in just this last paragraph. In fact, I couldn't type fast enough to keep up with all of the thoughts that were coming in and out of my "Monkey Mind" (Benson 1996).

Epstein (1995) gives some other examples of how our monkey minds run away with us. He states: "We are constantly murmuring, muttering, scheming, or wondering to ourselves under our breath: comforting ourselves, in a perverse fashion, with our own silent voices (p.109).

The swirling dervish of thoughts ever spinning in our heads often accompanies our bodies. We talk on the phone, while we are typing on the computer, cooking dinner, writing a grocery list, and then thinking about something else entirely. Not only are our minds going seven hundred miles an hour, our bodies are doing the same thing. Even being "physically" still, such as sitting in traffic, our "monkey minds" continue reciting conversations in our heads, making mental "to do" lists, ruminating over past events, tallying up future concerns, recycling fears or phobias about the unknown, and pondering all the while what is causing us to be so stressed out.

The opening passage [to this mindfulness page] Interview With God" by Reata Strickland reminds me so much of how we fail to stay in "the present moment." We are forever worrying about the future, ruminating over the past, concerned about things that who knows if they will ever happen, meanwhile the 'moment' at hand is being wasted away. Therefore it is easy to see why "We live as if we will never die and die as if we never lived."

MINDFULNESS

Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
Today is a gift.
That is why it is called "The Present."
Anonymous

Mindfulness is about having all your attention focused on where you are and what you are doing at the present moment. If you are typing on the computer, be fully engaged and focused at typing on the computer. If you are cooking dinner, pay all your attention to the task at hand of preparing the meal. If you are running, think about running: how your body feels as your feet strike the pavement, the feeling in your legs and lungs as you surge onward, etc.

This may sound either impossible or incredibly boring, however there are a few more things to consider when practicing mindfulness. One thing is to consider everything about what you are doing at the moment. If it is cooking dinner, notice all the colors of the foods you are preparing. Smell the different scents that are produced by the heat of cooking. Think about all the nutrients your body will receive from the foods. In some cases, you may want to even evaluate the food choices to see if they are the healthiest ones for your body. What ones may be better? How will your body respond to these choices?

I use foods and cooking as an example because mindfulness in this manner could assist in making healthier food selections. By paying more attention to what you are doing at the moment, your mind will slow down enough so many things will become clearer. Like Beck (2001) states: "We begin to feel what we really feel and to know what we really know."

There are some other important qualities to consider when learning the concepts of mindfulness. Kabat-Zinn (1990, listed also by Shapiro & Schwartz, 1999) list seven qualities of mindfulness:

• NONJUDGING: impartial witnessing, observing the present moment-by-moment without evaluation and categorization
• NONSTRIVING: non-goal oriented, remaining unattached to outcome or achievement, not forcing things
• ACCEPTANCE: open to seeing and acknowledging things as they are in the present moment; acceptance does not mean passivity or resignation, rather a clearer understanding of the present so that one can more effectively respond
• PATIENCE: allowing things to unfold in their time, bringing patience to ourselves, to others, and to the present moment
• TRUST: trusting both oneself, one's body, intuition, emotions, as well as trusting that life is unfolding as it is supposed to
• OPENNESS: seeing things as they are for the first time, creating possibility by paying attention to all feedback in the present moment
• LETTING GO: non-attachment, not holding on to thoughts, feelings, experiences; however, letting go does not mean suppressing

MEDITATION

Meditation is one method that can be used to still the mind and practice mindfulness. There are many different ways to describe what meditation is or means. Intentional self-regulation of attention, spiritual contemplation, suspension of logical thought process, altered state of awareness, relaxation response are just a few of the names and descriptive terms given to meditation or the process of meditating (Perez-De-Albeniz, 2000 , Benson, 1996). Reaching a stage of "enlightenment" (samadhi) through meditation is a practice common to Buddhists and yogis. "When through disciplined practice, one is free of thoughts, limitations, and distractions, then one can experience for extended periods of time the uninterrupted state of oneness with all things, called samadhi" (Sarley & Sarley, 1999, p. 57).

Meditation is a practice that has been employed for thousands of years. It is most commonly associated with Eastern Religions, such as Hindu Yoga, but also has roots in Western Religion and Christianity, and for the most part has been considered a "spiritual practice." In the United States, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau started a movement in the Boston area in the late 1800's called "transcendentalism" (after transcendental meditation) which began a surge at that time in the US for this type of practice (Sarley & Sarley, 1999). This last decade or so meditation techniques became popularized in this country, not so much as a spiritual practice, but as a relaxation technique to aid with chronic pain and stress management (Kabat-Zinn 1990, Benson, 1996).

Many studies have been done over the past decade regarding the "mind-body connection" and how our thoughts can actually have a positive or negative effect on our mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical well being. By changing our mental or emotional state, we actually can change our physical state (Schopen & Freeman, 1992). Several articles discuss the benefits of using meditation to calm the thought process and still the mind as a technique to promote the body to heal and/or aid individual coping skills in dealing with chronic pain, stress management, heart disease, anxiety disorders, psychotherapy, and addictions counseling. Most recent to my area of interest, meditation has been implemented into fitness and competitive sports to aid in enhancing sports performance and injury prevention, as well as in increasing body awareness and focus.

Several studies document that there are many physical benefits to using meditative techniques. These benefits include an overall relaxation response (Benson, 1996), reduced pain and anxiety in patients (Kabat-Zinn, 1990), reduced blood lactate during and after meditation leading to more neutral responses to stress - physical or mental ( Schopen & Freeman, 1992). Over time, a practice of meditation has been shown to reverse some the ill effects of arteriosclerosis and reduce anxiety and depression in cancer groups, as well as boost the immune system (Barbor, 2001). The down side of some of these studies, some experts say, is it is difficult to document whether the effects are the result of the meditation practice or the placebo response.

Meditation techniques are used presently by health care professionals in many types of settings such as: hospitals, pain clinics, mental institutions, recovery programs, wellness clinics, support groups, and more. Meditation is being used by therapists, teachers, sports psychologists, personal trainers, fitness instructors, corporations - large and small, competitive and non-competitive athletes and all kinds of lay people.

TYPES OF MEDITATION

The two most commonly known types of mediation are transcendental and mindfulness. In transcendental meditation, a word, phrase, or prayer known as a mantra is focused on and repeated over and over again (until it becomes as spontaneous as breathing) to calm the thought process and still the mind (Health Watch, 2001). This is can be done as "chanting" such as the famous Buddhist Monks or even more familiar in the US is the OM mantra chanted in yoga classes. "Kyrie," a popular rock/pop song several years ago, is actually about a mantra, Kyrie Elesion, used by early Christians called The Desert Fathers (Schopen & Freeman, 1992). A great deal of concentration is required with "TM" and often is more difficult for beginners to at first successfully employ this type of meditation.

In mindfulness meditation, the focus is on "Being in the Present Moment." The meditation may begin by focusing on the breath, and as thoughts come and go, moment by moment, one would pay attention to the thought as it came in and went, without judgment or attachment to the thought (applying the qualities of mindfulness). I refer to it as your thoughts being "third party". There is you, your mind, and your thoughts. You observe your thoughts as though you were on the outside looking into your mind watching your thoughts come and go.

Robert Stahl, Ph.D. describes mindfulness meditation: "You don't think about what you are going to do next or what you have done in the past. You just try to observe what is occurring in your mind, your body, and your environment at this very moment" (Graham, 1997). The idea with mindfulness meditation is that it can be incorporated into everyday activities, such as washing dishes, working on the car, lifting weights, mowing the lawn, walking, running, etc.

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION & MOVEMENT

There are several well known exercises that are considered "Meditation in Motion." Hatha yoga is fast becoming extremely popular in health and fitness center across the country. The postures or poses (asanas) done in hatha yoga (considered to be "physical" branch) are done as a moving mindfulness meditation. Qi Gong (Chi Kung) is another example of mindfulness meditation in motion. Tai Chi Chuan is a movement pattern that is part of the Qi Gong exercises. Qi Gong also has different types of "walking" that incorporates mindfulness meditation. Many different styles of martial arts are considered "meditation in motion" as well. Another type of "meditation in motion" that is not so well known is a walking meditation through a labyrinth.

THE LABYRINTH

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