Free Mindfulness For Health Curriculum

Mental health is your physical health and your physical health is your mental health.

Stress worsens your health by affecting deep parts of your body.  

Even down to the level of the genes in your cells.

How Stress Makes Us Sick

Stress Affects Our Brains

How Mindfulness Helps With Stress

Introduction to Mindfulness

Mindfulness is not rocket science.  It's all stuff we know how to do.  But it can still be challenging because it feels like we're trying to get ourselves to do something we don't want to do.

And that's ok.  

With mindfulness, we are kind to that part of ourselves that resists, and every other part of ourselves.  When we feel anger, sad, guilty, anxious... we are kind that part of ourselves that feels that way.

Week 1 - Intention (Being in the Present Moment)

Week 1 Training Exercises

Week 1 is about getting our minds and bodies used to mindfulness.  

Plan for doing a combination of two of these exercises for at least 6 days in the week.

(1) The awareness of breathing exercise is the most basic practice.

(2) The body scan has us practice an awareness of the different parts of our body.

(3) The walking meditation has us practice an awareness of a very basic function we do with our bodies.

(4) The raisin exercise has us practice an awareness of eating, another very basic function of our body.

(5) The seeing exercise is for those of us who are very visually-oriented.  Listen to the recording and follow along with its prompts.

Week 2 - Preception (Being Nonjudgmental)

Week 2 Exercises

In Week 2 we start introducing the "body mindfulness" exercises (a.k.a yoga).  These exercises are a lot like doing a body scan, but we do it in different positions.

There are videos for practicing body mindfulness while (1) standing and (2) sitting.

Everyday, for 6 days this week:

1) We'll do an exercise from Week 1;

2) And we'll do an exercise from this week.

Week 3 - Being vs. Doing

Week 3 Exercises

This week we'll add a few new options to our practices.

(1) We'll add a loving kindness blessing to practice an awareness of kindly taking different perspectives.

(2) We'll add the mountain exercise to use guided imagery to practice looking at ourselves from an outside perspective.

Everyday for 6 days this week:

1) Practice an exercise from this week at least twice and mix in an exercise from Week 1 when you don't.

2) Practice an exercise from Week 1.

Incorporate these attitudes of intention, perception, and being vs. doing as we do routine tasks.  Examples include:

1) Brushing your teeth

2) Eating your food

3) Showering

Choose one and apply these attitudes everyday.

Week 4 - Awareness of Stress (Circle of Awareness)

Week 4 Exercises

By now we've been exposed to all of the exercises.

Instead of learning a brand new practice, we'll be using the Circle of Awareness with our practices.

Using the Circle of Awareness, everyday, for 6 days this week:

1) Do an exercise from Week 1 or Week 3;

2) Do an exercise from Week 2.

Continue incorporating these attitudes of intention, perception, and being vs. doing as we do routine tasks.  

Choose a task and apply these attitudes daily.

Week 5 - Being with Stress

Week 5 Exercises

This week is where we might say the money is.  

Now that we're aware of our stress, we're practicing being with our stress.  With the attitudes of intention, perception, and being vs. doing.

Focusing on "being with our stress," everyday, for 6 days this week:

1) Do an exercise from Week 1 or Week 3;

2) Do an exercise from Week 2.

Continue incorporating these attitudes of intention, perception, and being vs. doing as we do routine tasks.  

Choose a task and apply these attitudes daily.

When stressful situations due come up during the week, practice being with that stress instead of reacting to it.

Week 6 - Interpersonal Stress

Week 6 Exercises

A lot of stress comes from dealing with other people.  

This week's task is simple.  We will be aware of the stress that we get when dealing with other people.  We'll use all the skills we've learned up to this point for this extremely important task.

Everyday, for 6 days this week:

1) Do an exercise from Week 1 or Week 3;

2) Do an exercise from Week 2.

Continue incorporating these attitudes of intention, perception, and being vs. doing as we do routine tasks.  

Choose a task and apply these attitudes daily.

Week 7 - Becoming Independent.

There isn't anything new to learn this week, per se.  

What we're working on is becoming independent, working on doing the practices without formal guidance or recordings.  

You're going to make mindfulness your own.

From the formal exercises from the first few weeks, to the informal tasks you do like brushing your teeth, or when stress pops up in the middle of your daily life, it's up to you now to apply everything you learned as you go.

Are you supposed to be a master at this point?  No.  We never really become masters.  

This is a lifelong skill that you'll fit to the flow of your life.  

Congratulations.