Chapter 19: Self‐care and wellbeing
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Source: Adapted from Williams and Penman ([81]).
Source: Adapted from Sheridan ([69]).
Pre‐procedural considerations
Before taking part in any mindfulness practice, it is necessary to be able to sit physically for up to 20 minutes at a time and to have permission from a relevant manager, if attending during working hours. It is important that attendees declare any health conditions, so facilitators can respond appropriately to any symptoms that might be noticed or occur during sessions.
If attendees have any long‐term or chronic health conditions or suffer with pain in any part of the body (this includes conditions that are invisible, such as epilepsy), it is essential for them to consult with their GP or medical consultant before taking part in any sessions.
Box 19.10
Try this: 3‐minute breathing space meditation
Deliberately adopt an erect and dignified posture, whether sitting or standing. If possible, close your eyes. Then bring your awareness to your inner experience and acknowledge it, asking: what is my experience right now?
- What thoughts are going through your mind? As best you can, acknowledge thoughts as mental events.
- What feelings are here? Turning towards any sense of discomfort or unpleasant feelings, acknowledge them without trying to make them different from how you find them.
- What body sensations are here right now? Perhaps quickly scan the body to pick up any sensations of tightness or bracing, acknowledging the sensations, but once again not trying to change them in any way.
Now, redirect the attention to a narrow spotlight on the physical sensations of the breath, moving in close to the physical sensations of the breath in the abdomen … Expanding as the breath comes in … and falling back as the breath goes out. Follow the breath all the way in and all the way out. Use each breath as an opportunity to anchor yourself into the present. And, if the mind wanders, gently escort the attention back to the breath.
Now, expand the field of awareness around the breathing so that it includes a sense of the body as a whole, your posture and facial expression, as if the whole body were breathing. If you become aware of any sensations of discomfort or tension, feel free to bring your focus of attention right in to the intensity by imagining that the breath could move into and around the sensations. In this, you are helping to explore the sensations, befriending them, rather than trying to change them in any way. If they stop pulling for your attention, return your focus to sitting, being aware of the whole body, moment by moment.
When you're ready, let go of this brief practice and open your eyes.
Box 19.11
Try this: mindful hand washing
- Turn off your automatic pilot and soap up your hands as though you were doing it for the very first time. Slow down and be deliberate in your actions.
- Feeling each sensation: the warm water on your skin and the smell of the soap; take time to wash each finger, the backs of your hands, between your fingers and up to your wrists.
- Feel your feet anchored to the floor and the weight of your hands as they move over each other.
- Become aware of any sense of aliveness and vitality in your hands, noticing the simple pleasure of warm water on your skin and enjoying the feeling of clean hands.
- Picture all stress and worry spiralling down the drain with the water.
- As you dry your hands, continue being mindfully present, noticing all the sensations. No matter how many times you wash and dry your hands, each moment is refreshingly unique.
