8. • What does mindfulness mean?
• Being conscious or aware of something
• According to Jon Kabat (teacher of mindful
meditation)
– Mindfulness means paying attention in a
particular way, on purpose in the present moment
and non judgmentally
9. • Life is becoming more stressful, demanding
and frantic
• Have you ever had the feeling that you
operate your life in an auto pilot mode
• We do chores out of habit and necessity
• Information overload
• Energy is sapped
• Productivity declines
10. when was the last time you actually held a mug and noticed
how it looked and how it felt in your hands?
Or you actually took the time to brew the tea to perfection and
inhaled its aroma
Did you enjoy the ritual of tea making and then finally
drinking it
• Attending a workshop–are you truly here?
• Act of driving a car – changing gears almost
unconsciously
11. o Knowing that you are eating is not the same as eating
mindfully
o In theory, awareness of the act maybe there
o But we are thinking/doing about 101 things at the
same time
o Very small part of our awareness is absorbed in eating
o Awareness of the bodily sensations and our thoughts
and emotions is non existent
o Thoughts wander in an unrestricted way because we
are dimly aware of them
o There is no conscious attempt to bring our thoughts
back to eating
12. Coming back to Mindfulness
“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular
way, on purpose, in the present moment and non
judgmentally”
• Dilemma with the human brain
– left to its own devices, the mind wanders between the
past and the future
– oscillates between feelings of anger, resentment,
depression , memories and anxieties
13. So what exactly is mindfulness?
1. Developing purpose
– To stay with present moment whether that is
a breath, an emotion or an act (eating) means you are
actively shaping your mind
– The brain actually rewires (changes) with mindfulness
2. Paying attention (non judgmentally)
– Its an emotionally non reactive state
– We don’t judge an experience being good or bad
– We simply accept what arises mindfully
– We observe it rising, passing and ceasing to exist
14. Mindful meditation exercises
• Focused breathing exercise
– Mindfulness meditation is practiced sitting with eyes closed, cross
legged on a cushion, or on a chair with the back straight.
– Attention is put on the abdomen when breathing in and out or
on the awareness of the breath as it goes in to and out of the nostrils
– As thoughts come up, one returns to focusing on breathing and keeps
repeating a word of gratitude to the creator
– One passively notice, ones mind has wandered but in an accepting
non judgmental way
– Meditation starts with 5 minutes a day or even 3 minutes
– With time it becomes easier to keep focused on breathing
– Eventually awareness can be extended to awareness of being
in the present
• Raisin tasting exercise (by Kabat)
– Raisin is tasted and eaten mindfully
16. • Mindfulness entails being concerned with
what's going on right now
• That doesn’t mean that we can’t think of the
past or future
• When we do so, we do it mindfully
• So we are aware that right now, we are
thinking about the past or future
17. • So lets try mindfulness meditation exercise for
a few minutes?
• Feedback?
• Keep at it
20. Scientific evidence
• MRI scans of the brain shows that ‘Hippocampus’
increased in the participants of mindful programs
– Hippocampus is associated with learning, memory,
compassion, introspection and self awareness
• Frontal lobe associated with executive function
also increases
• Conversely ‘Amygdala’ associated with stress and
anxiety decreases
21. Why is staying in the present moment
important?
Your feedback?
22. • Are the benefits of mindfulness limited to an
individual?
• How does someone's mindfulness other
people in a workplace?
23. A mindful leader means happier employees
• A leader’s mindfulness has positive effect on
others
– Mindfulness trains to accept feelings without
judgment
• Studies suggest the same
– 96 supervisors and subordinates took part in a
study
– Research confirmed that the more mindful the
leader , the lower the emotional exhaustion,
better will be job performance, work life balance
and good citizenship
24.
25.
26. • Mindfulness improves
– Social relationships
– Communication
– Conflict resolution
– Empathy towards others
– Enhances creativity
– Builds resilience
– Optimizes individual and team performance
27. • Organizations such as Mckinsey, Deutshe
bank, P & G, Apple, Google and Yahoo are a
testimony to the effectiveness of mindfulness
at work
29. Activities for children
• Listen to the bell
• Practice with the breathing buddy
• Raisin tasting or chocolate tasting
• Mindful walk (hunter exercise)
• Prayer and gratitude
• Mystery bag / smell and tell
• Sending friendly wishes (also develops
compassion)
• Heart beat exercise
• Heart to heart (a pre-requisite exercise)
• Sensory jars
30.
31. Mindfulness for Teenagers
• They learn that much of the chatter of the
brain is just that
• Its not a reality, its worry and anxiety
• Learning how to acknowledge anxiety without
getting caught up in the negative thoughts it
generates
32. Results of studies
• Students who meditate before an exam
perform much better than those who don’t
• Mindfulness interventions reduce symptoms
reduce symptoms of anxiety, stress and
depression
33. • Try to get them started when they are kids
• Never too late though
• Educate about the brain
• Be a role model yourself
• Emphasis on prayer/gratitude
• Mindful meditation exercises
• Train them to Stop, Breathe and think
