What’s the difference? Meditation – comes from Buddhist practice and is based on the monastic tradition of looking inward, focus inwardly on body Mindfulness – values not monastic, related to rational thought and is easier to integrate with life. A bigger field of attention – actions, thoughts, emotions, state of mind

1. Meditation v Mindfulness

2. What’s the difference?
Meditation – comes from Buddhist practice and is based on the
monastic tradition of looking inward, focus inwardly on body
Mindfulness – values not monastic, related to rational thought and
is easier to integrate with life. A bigger field of attention – actions,
thoughts, emotions, state of mind
Meditation v Mindfulness

3. ∗ Gives the mind a rest from our discursive thinking i.e. replaying
painful experiences, getting lost in stressful thoughts
∗ Moves our thinking to out of ourselves – awareness of the world
around us rather than the world within us
∗ Learn to become an impartial observer equanimity (the
ability to be calm in the middle of pleasant/unpleasant
experiences)
Benefits of Mindfulness and
Meditation

4. ∗ It Makes Your Brain Plastic
Quite literally plasticky! Sustained meditation leads to
something called neuroplasticity, which is defined as
the brain's ability to change, structurally and
functionally, on the basis of environmental input.
More benefits………

5. A 2005 study on American men and women who
meditated a mere 40 minutes a day showed that they
had thicker cortical walls than non-meditators.
What this meant is that their brains were aging at a
slower rate.
Cortical thickness is also associated with decision
making, attention and memory. Showed that they had
thicker cortical walls than non meditators.
It Increases Gray Matter

6. It's Better Than Blood Pressure Medication
In 2008, Dr. Randy Zusman, a doctor at the Massachusetts
General Hospital, asked patients suffering from high blood
pressure to try a meditation-based relaxation program for
three months. These were patients whose blood pressure
had not been controlled with medication.
After meditating regularly for three months, 40 of the 60
patients showed significant drops in blood pressure levels.
Reason? Relaxation results in the formation of nitric oxide
which opens up your blood vessels.
Benefits of mindfulness/meditation

7. Brain scans show that meditation shifts activity in the
prefrontal cortex from the right hemisphere to the left.
People who have a negative disposition tend to be
right-prefrontal oriented; left-prefrontals have more
enthusiasms, more interests, relax more, and tend to be
happier.
Davidson and Kabat-Zinn, Psychosomatic Medicine 65
(2003))
Moving from left to right….

8. ∗ Maintain an awareness of keeping a "soft belly".
Check in, is the belly relaxed?
∗ Maintain an awareness of your posture. Are you
relaxed? Can you relax a little more?
∗ Maintain an awareness of the breath throughout the
day, no matter what you are doing. Keep checking in.
∗ Maintain an awareness of your mind-state. Is there
calm? Is there stress? Relax the mind.
How to be Mindful

9. ∗ Waking up: When you first wake up, take a few
mindful breaths. Gently stretch your body, staying
mindful of each movement as you stretch. Be mindful
of any resistance to getting up or any feelings of
rushing into the day.
∗ Routine Daily Activities: Choose a couple of brief
routine activities that you can commit to being
mindful of each day, such as: brushing your teeth,
showering, walking between the buildings, going
through a door, getting up from sitting.
∗ Going to Sleep: Do a gentle body scan before going to
sleep. Prepare to sleep in a mindful way.
Specific Daily Practices

10. • Take a minute of silence or reflection before you eat. You
might reflect on your gratefulness for the meal.
• Connect with your body and relax. Notice the food in front
of you. What does it look like, how does it smell…..
• With each piece of food, notice what it is i.e. potato, rice,
noodles etc.
• Chew your food, notice the taste and texture in you mouth
• Put your fork down between bites.
• Finish what's in your mouth before taking another bite.
Eating mindfully

11. ∗ The easiest form of meditation is to focus on the
breath – Vissapana.
∗ Breath in and out until you find your natural breath.
∗ Once you have found it, attach numbers to the
breath, so on the in breath count 1-9
∗ On the out breath count 9-1
∗ Try not to change the breath to match the numbers!
Meditation – How to

12. Practice sitting and breathing for short periods each day – 5 minutes if
possible at first, 2 times a day, then when this is comfortable increase to 10
minutes twice daily.
If the mind wanders, bring yourself back to counting, if you are
uncomfortable shift position slowly and try other positions until you find one
that does not cause to much discomfort.
Be aware (without judgment) of hindrances to meditation, i.e. distracted by
noise, drifting off, also notice when it works!
Try practicing with a group

13. ∗ The ‘normal position for meditation is to sit on the floor, either kneeling or cross
legged. People also sit with their backs to a wall and legs out straight.
∗ If sitting in a chair, keep both feet on the floor - use a cushion under the feet if
necessary.
∗ Hands relaxed. Usually one on top of the other (the dominant hand supports
the other), thumbs touching
∗ Lying down. The tendency to fall asleep is more of an issue, but there are ways
of encouraging alertness when lying down. Place your feet comfortably apart
on the floor with the knees up, the knees not touching. If you fall asleep, the
knees will bump each other or fall away and wake you up.
∗ Another choice is keeping one of your forearms perpendicular to the floor, with
your elbow and upper arm resting on the floor. If you get sleepy, it will drop.
Position for Meditation