Mindfulness is a practice that enables you to take better care of yourself by exploring the connection between mind and body, as well as enabling you to access your own inner sources of strength. It involves paying close attention to whatever is happening in your life with a sense of interest and curiosity, letting go of judging and critical thoughts. By allowing things to be the way they are, rather than fighting against what life presents, you become better able to sit with and respond to difficult feelings and experiences.

Mindfulness is also about living in the present moment. Most of the time, we are thinking about the past or thinking about the future, rather than experiencing what is occurring in our lives as it is happening. Paying attention to the here and now, engaging the five senses, noticing the feeling of the sun against your skin or the breath as it moves in and out of your body are some examples of living mindfully.

The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program (MBSR), originally developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, is a highly engaging and supportive program comprised of eight weekly two-and-a-half hour classes, as well as an extended practice session between the sixth and seventh classes. The program includes:

- Guided instruction in mindfulness meditation practices;
- Gentle stretching;
- Group dialogue;
- Daily home assignments; and
- Home practice materials, including guided mindfulness practice CDs.

Research has shown that participants who engage in mindfulness-based stress reduction can experience:

- A decrease in physical and psychological symptoms;
- An increased ability to relax;
- An enhanced ability to cope with pain;
- Greater energy and enthusiasm for life;
- Improved self-esteem;
- An ability to cope more effectively with both short and long-term stressful situations.

Above text adapted from the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, with appreciation.

ABOUT CINDY
Cindy Gittleman, MA, MA, CAGS, is a Licensed Educational Psychologist who holds graduate degrees
from Columbia University and City University of New York. She undertook additional graduate training in psychology at Adelphi University and earned a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies from the University of Massachusetts in Boston.  She completed the Stress Reduction Program and the Practicum in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction at the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society, affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. She has appeared as a guest on the cable television programs "Shrink Rap" and "Where's Wilmington," and has presented workshops on mindfulness-based stress reduction to various organizations and groups.
 

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