Mindfulness Beyond the Buzz Word
Mindfulness is so much more than a buzz word. Every tool that has made my life better as a sober person has been based on mindfulness.
My introduction to mindfulness was born out of desperation. Not because of alcohol, but because of kids.
I first discovered mindfulness about ten years ago, as a middle school math and science teacher. (Yes, I taught middle school math! I can't believe it either.)
I'd been transferred to a different school, and my students that year had oppositional defiance disorder, PTSD from parents who were addicted to meth, one student even had a restraining order against a kid in another one of my classes!
I'd never before had students who would spend the entire class period completely ignoring my attempts to get their attention. Not just a student or two. The entire class. And these were 12 year olds, by the way.
I tried everything that had worked for me before, and nothing changed.
I was miserable, my students weren't learning anything, teachers all around me were crying daily, angry, or bitter, and I didn't know how I would survive an entire year in this school culture.
In a desperate web search, I stumbled across something new-- A mindfulness curriculum designed for middle school called MindUp.
I like to be really familiar with things I teach, so I purchased and read Dr. Jon Kabbat-Zinn's book Full Catastrophe Living and began my own mindfulness practice. The book came with CD's, and when I did this longer body scan, I was like, WHOA WHAT IS THIS.
It took all my skill to get the students to buy into daily mindful meditation, but it worked!
Our time together transformed. These students wanted to meditate.
Did it become perfect? No, but the change was astonishing, both for the students and myself.
So what happened next? Was this the beginning of a life change?
Well, no. I did admit for the first time that I had a problem with weed and booze, but it took me awhile to do anything about it.
At the end of the school year I got sucked right back into my usual cycle of summer substance abuse management with obsessive thinking and shame spirals.
Several years later, on my Day One, I returned to what I knew, and started doing daily mindfulness meditation.
My aha! moment came this month during the Self-Love workshop series, when I realized that just about everything in my life that works for me is founded on mindfulness. (I LOVE a-ha moments, don't you?)
This week I ran a poll on Instagram stories because I was curious about all of you-- and more than half of those that responded do not currently have a regular mindfulness practice.
Daaaaang! We've got to do something about that! :)
Research has proven how mindfulness helps with stress and anxiety, but the scientific community has been especially interested in how mindfulness can help during this ongoing Covid crisis. I hear about it in our weekly sharing circles-- the anxiety and depression are present in most of us to some degree.
If you don't have a practice currently, as someone who cares about you I invite you to consider starting one. Check out this round-up of free apps.-- so many great ones to choose from.
This is one of those habits that takes a few minutes, but can have an incredible impact on your overall quality of life.
They say the trick for habits is to attach it to another habit. Perhaps you could do it right after you finish your first cup of coffee. Maybe it's the way you wind down from your workday. Experiment and find out what works for you, then stick to it.
I love you, and I believe in you.
If you are reading this post, you are on the path to shining the beautiful light that is uniquely you.
Love,
Your Sober Girlfriend,
Naomi Veak