What is Mindfulness-Based Resilience?
Mindfulness-Based Resilience is the framework I use to guide my training.
Links to the podcast are at the bottom of the page.
In 2013, I started teaching meditation to a group of friends, who then suggested that I teach it at a local church room. In 2015, I was asked to run some courses by my students who wanted more structured training. I had discovered the high level of stress in the modern world, so I started by including stress management and emotional regulation techniques with the mindfulness and meditation practices. I learned after some research that this combination contributes to resilience.
Resilience is the ability to cope with adversity in a way that helps us cope with future adversity.
Resilience is a process, not a state. At any given time, our resilience is either growing or diminishing. Since 2013 I’ve taught around 3,000 sessions, with an average of 10 people per session. I gather feedback at every stage. I continually research to better understand and improve my teaching, drawing from wisdom traditions and scientific studies. Building resilience has been my guide throughout most of this time.
The practices of Mindfulness-Based Resilience are aimed at five aspects: focus, calmness, relaxation, mindfulness, and resilience.
Focus is Attention Regulation. Attention Regulation comes about through practice. Meditation is that practice. Focus and calmness involve attention regulation, being aware of the mind's direction, and regulating its choices.
Mindfulness is the undistracted awareness of the experience of the present moment.
Mindfulness is awareness of all the sensory experiences happening right now. Life isn’t the past and the future. It is a succession of present moments. Unfortunately, we're trained to live in a world where the past and the future are like a continuum. And we are simply walking along this path from the past to the future. The present moment then becomes something to get out of the way to gain future happiness.
Mindfulness brings awareness of the present moment. It doesn't mean that you don't have any memories, or that what has happened in the past doesn't affect you. It isn't that you ignore your future or you stop caring about it. What does happen is that fear of the future and regret or resentment of the past no longer rules your present moment. Because life is a succession of present moments.
Mindfulness is the foundation of all the Mindfulness-Based Resilience techniques. For example, if you learn a stress management technique, you have to be aware that your stress is growing to know when to use it.
To Relax, we might have a glass of wine and watch TV. That is not relaxation. Relaxation is releasing the musculoskeletal tension that builds up in our bodies due to stress. I teach relaxation practices that are also great stress management tools.
Calmness is becoming comfortable with the mind, thoughts, and emotions. Training the subconscious to become sensitive to changes in state enables awareness and intervention using various tools, like extending the breath. Mindfulness-based resilience includes stress management, emotional regulation, and meditation practices to process emotions and improve focus, relaxation, and calmness. It's about integrating these skills and not relying on external factors.
I teach Mindfulness-Based Resilience in 6-week online and in person courses.
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