During a time of crisis, when we are under acute stress, practicing mindfulness can be very helpful for regulating our moods and can have positive effects on our emotional and physical health. When we practice mindfulness, we strengthen our ability to be aware of, observing, and not judging the present moment.
This series of videos introduces and demonstrates easy ways to integrate brief mindful exercises into our daily acitivities presented through different categories that can fill different needs during this period of crisis.
The mindfulness meditations section includes brief traditional meditations that can be done at the start or end of your day, or during a transition of your day, Guiding you through the experience of noticing your thoughts come up and pass, and teach skills to calm your body and mind.
The mindful behaviors include activities that you do all the time, such as eating or walking, and show you how to do these activities in a mindful way.
The noting exercises and the mindful time outs, like mindful behaviors, are opportunities to integrate mindfulness into the moments that come up normally during daily life.
The mindful first aid section includes techniques you can use “in a pinch” – to manage acute anxiety or stress, and to feel better quickly.
If you have questions, or would like to learn more, please contact us:
Introduction
Mindfulness On Call Introduction
Mindfulness On Call Intro Transcript
We’ve come up with a series of videos reviewing short mindfulness exercises that can be done on the run, or in the course of your daily routine. During this very stressful time, when it can sometimes like there is no time to eat or even think, we hope you can find a few moments during your day to try out some mindfulness on call.
Why mindfulness, and why mindfulness NOW?
Mindfulness Meditations
Loving Kindness Meditation
3 Minute Breathing Space
Awareness of Breath
Mindful Behaviors
Mindful Stretching Exercise
Mindful Walking
Mindful Eating
Noting Exercises
Noting Introduction
Noting Introduction Transcript
- Noting breaths
- Noting your hand
- Noting during hand-washing
- Noting your breaths. Give yourself a few seconds to experience your breaths going in and out of your body. Try inhaling through your nose, exhaling through your mouth. Try exhaling longer than your inhale. Where do you feel your breath most? In your nostrils, as it enters and leaves your body? In your chest, as your lungs expand and contract? In your abdomen, as your belly rises and falls? What does the breath feel like? What does it look like? As the air rushes out, what else leaves with it -negative energy, heaviness, stress?
- Noting your hand. Try to observe it as if looking at it for the first time. What do you see? What does it feel like? Is it heavy or light? Cold or warm? Tingling or numb?
- Noting during hand-washing. Take in the experience. Look at the sink. Feel the faucet, if there is one, as you turn on the water. What is the water temperature like? Whatdo your hands feel like during that first second when the water hits them? Do they feel comfortable, immersed, and safe? What does the soap feel like? What does the lather look like and smell like? What do you hear? What different sensations can you feel as you move your hands together –noticing the different sensations of the palms, the backs of the hands, the fingers, knuckles, nails. As you dry your hands, what do you notice?
Noting Your Breaths
Noting Your Hand
Noting Handwashing
Mindful Time Outs
Mindful Time Out
Mindful Time Out Transcript
Mindful Time Outs
Some days we don’t even feel that we have a minute to spare. During a crisis, this is common, but it’s also essential that we find moments of mental and physical recovery so we can stay in the game for the long haul. Fortunately, you don’t have to meditate to get some of the benefits of mindfulness. Even a second of being mindful gives you a little pause, and also puts a brake on the sympathetic nervous system (“fight or flight” system).
What are mindful time outs?
Pick a few moments of the day with some importance. Maybe it’s when you enter the hospital, or when you gown up for the first time of the day, or when you gather your team for rounds, or when you log into the Infonet or Zoom for your daily update from leadership. When one of those moments arises, just for a second, take a breath -be aware that you’re taking a breath. Maybe look up, or just close your eyes for a fraction of a second, to mark that breath. Maybe have a word that you will say in your head --“pause”, “space”, “here”, “breathe”. Then move on. If you want, try doing this with a teammate. Being in sync with another person has a calming effect on our nervous system.
