Riding the Wave

This morning I had the opportunity to hike with my dog in beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado.  If you are able to remove yourself from your environment and head to nature it lends itself to present moment awareness.  I define mindfulness as being present in one's moment to moment experience without judgement, ridicule, or comparison.  Being in nature is the perfect backdrop to mindfulness.  In nature...we find our nature.  In stillness...we find our stillness.

I created several simple breathing techniques while we were hiking that I wanted to share before I forget. The following two mantras can be used all together as one verse or as two separate verses.  Each line is a breath - breath in (one), breath out (two).

In the now
In the body
I Am
Home

Nothing to do
Nowhere to go
I Am
Home

In fairness, I spent almost a week at a Mindfulness for Educators retreat where I learned some new techniques that I assume have their roots in Zen Buddhism.  Well, either that or rooted in Thich Nhat Hahn who is rooted in Zen Buddhism...he loves his Buddha for sure.  The immersion in Zen Buddhism was eye opening, but the experience was amazing (and I probably wouldn't have gone had I known).  I know for myself I found mindfulness practice, as a mental health provider, linked to dialectical behavior therapy.  When I began researching mindfulness I practiced it myself, and the results were so clear and immediate that I started teaching it to students.

The breathing practices could be taught in a classroom or practiced on your own.  If you teach the practice in a classroom you should first practice them on your own (I'm sure you have that one figured out).  To refer to the title of this blog it has to do with an experience I had earlier in the week.  I had a bad day...a baaaaaaad day. With mindfulness I have learned to 'ride the wave' of discomfort.  In the midst of the emotional wrecking ball of mistakes, doubt, and fear...mindfulness practice has allowed for a deeper sense of knowing that the wave is part of something much bigger.