On Friday, May 21 Lake Washington PTSA Council hosted Adam Riehl at our final Self-Care Series event this year. He shared his insights on Mindfulness and Meditation.
His messages regarding mindfulness and meditation:
- Be proactive and practice, it does not have to be perfect.
- Manage your emotions. Do not dismiss them which will lead to disease.
- Negative emotions will happen but manage them to not let them become behaviors.
- How you talk to yourself is important. Be trusting, loving and positive in your speech.
- Anxiety is about the future. Depression is about the past.
- Be an active listener. Pay full attention to the person you are talking to.
- Be the biggest fan of yourself, as we can also be our biggest/worst critic
- Everyone has heard of “Fight or Flight.” Another apt phrase for humans is “Freeze or Please.” That means fearing OR accommodating to please what the person wants you to do. Be mindful of both of these reactions.
- Good breathing technique: Look in mirror – Inhale, say: “I love you/myself”. Exhale, say: Thank you”
- When breathing: Inhale – through the nose so somatic system is activated. Exhale – through the mouth. Breathing only through the mouth becomes panting and makes the body react as if it is in fight or flight mode.
- Ground yourself: take off your shoes and walk in the dirt, play in the dirt! Take in your surroundings. Close your eyes a few times a day and listen to the sounds.
- Find a mantra, a word or phrase, to keep you in the present moment. “Cheeseburger” is a great example! Come up with your own.
Here are book recommendations to learn more about the practice of mindfulness and mediation.
- Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It by Kamal Ravikant
- You Are Here by Thich Nhat Hanh
- The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion by Christopher K. Germer, PhD
There are many great meditation apps. They are wonderful guides, especially if you are just starting out. Head Space provides a wide range of different kinds of meditation practices, tips and much more. Other apps include Calm and Breathe.
Many yoga studios have guided meditation sessions. It can be very beneficial to meditate with others.
Adam can be found on Facebook or Instagram. He teaches at Be One Yoga (Kirkland) and Bliss (Monroe).
Download the event summary as submitted by Irene Neumann and Hae Sue Park.
We are thankful to Lake Washington School District for generously funding this self-care series.
If you have questions, please contact Parent Education Chairs at parent.ed@lwptsa.net