#550 Mindfulness - State or Trait?

     "Passing states like joy, fear, excitement, or depression come and go like the weather. But enduring traits, like reliability or empathy or natural mindfulness, are more stable, and thus more dependable from moment to moment. Certain qualities can take the form of a state or a trait. Consider happiness, for example. Positive experiences might make you happy for an hour or a day, but as soon as the state passes, the feeling fades as well. By contrast, the trait of happiness, the enduring sense of subjective well-being, doesn’t come and go but abides as the backdrop and flavor of all your experiences. 
     Meditation that just induces a pleasant emotional or mental state for as long as you’re practicing, a state that then fades when you stand up and go about your day, has only limited value in the stress and strain of ordinary life. The purpose of mindfulness meditation is to cultivate & strengthen the TRAIT of mindfulness — enhanced present moment awareness — so you can extend it to every situation you encounter, no matter how challenging, and reap the ongoing benefits.
     ... The results of (this) study suggest that mindfulness intervenes in several ways in the usual stress cycle: by helping with the regulation of negative emotions that tend to intensify stress and by enhancing restful sleep, which in turn tends to moderate stress. ... Of course, for those of us who don’t score high on natural mindfulness, there’s always the practice of mindfulness meditation!"                     Stephan Bodian

http://www.mentalworkout.com/blog/2013/12/05/mindfulness-state-or-trait/

Garage, Rome, Italy

#363 Mind - Emotions - Body: Thoroughly Interconnected & Trainable

     Through mindfulness training, as well as other practices (see below), direct experience tells us that we are infinitely more trainable that we had imagined. This includes not only our bodies, but also our emotions, minds, and even our autonomic nervous system.

      “you cannot be anxious if you breathe slowly and regularly and do not tense your muscles. When you are anxious, the ‘natural’ response to the feeling of apprehension is to tense your muscles and breathe faster – this is a response of the sympathetic nervous system. But if this is the natural response of your body, how can you possibly change this pattern of response? Perhaps this is easier said than done, but in fact this approach is regularly taught in pre-birthing classes for expectant parents. It may not be the ‘natural’ response, but practice can change this. Breathe slowly and regularly, and when you feel tension in your muscles, you should unclench those muscles, and you will start to feel more relaxed. There are three interesting and important implications of this bit of advice. First, our ‘natural’ bodily responses are not fixed & immutable. The things we take for granted about the way our bodies work are not set in stone. Practice can change what seem like reflexive responses.
     Second, the same is true for our mental processes and responses. But in addition, you can change your emotional state by changing an aspect of your physical state.”

     Read the rest of this article by Howard C. Nusbaum: http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/1209.aspx#

 

RuthC   www.dpreview.com

A psychiatrist once told me that it is possible to reduce the symptoms of anxiety without medication or long therapy. In short, you cannot be anxious if you breathe slowly and regularly and do not tense your muscles. When you are anxious, the "natural" response to the feeling of apprehension is to tense your muscles and breathe faster--this is a response of the sympathetic nervous system. But if this is the natural response of your body, how can you possibly change this pattern of response. Perhaps this is easier said than done, but in fact this approach is regularly taught in pre-birthing classes for expectant parents. It may not be the "natural" response, but practice can change this. Breathe slowly and regularly, and when you feel tension in your muscles, you should unclench those muscles, and you will feel start to feel more relaxed. There are three interesting and important implications of this bit of advice. First, our "natural" bodily responses are not fixed and immutable. The things we take for granted about the way our bodies work are not set in stone. Practice can change what seem like reflexive responses. - See more at: http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/1209.aspx#sthash.bWOBmMxB.dpuf

A psychiatrist once told me that it is possible to reduce the symptoms of anxiety without medication or long therapy. In short, you cannot be anxious if you breathe slowly and regularly and do not tense your muscles. When you are anxious, the "natural" response to the feeling of apprehension is to tense your muscles and breathe faster--this is a response of the sympathetic nervous system. But if this is the natural response of your body, how can you possibly change this pattern of response. Perhaps this is easier said than done, but in fact this approach is regularly taught in pre-birthing classes for expectant parents. It may not be the "natural" response, but practice can change this. Breathe slowly and regularly, and when you feel tension in your muscles, you should unclench those muscles, and you will feel start to feel more relaxed. There are three interesting and important implications of this bit of advice. First, our "natural" bodily responses are not fixed and immutable. The things we take for granted about the way our bodies work are not set in stone. Practice can change what seem like reflexive responses. - See more at: http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/1209.aspx#sthash.bWOBmMxB.dpuf

A psychiatrist once told me that it is possible to reduce the symptoms of anxiety without medication or long therapy. In short, you cannot be anxious if you breathe slowly and regularly and do not tense your muscles. When you are anxious, the "natural" response to the feeling of apprehension is to tense your muscles and breathe faster--this is a response of the sympathetic nervous system. But if this is the natural response of your body, how can you possibly change this pattern of response. Perhaps this is easier said than done, but in fact this approach is regularly taught in pre-birthing classes for expectant parents. It may not be the "natural" response, but practice can change this. Breathe slowly and regularly, and when you feel tension in your muscles, you should unclench those muscles, and you will feel start to feel more relaxed. There are three interesting and important implications of this bit of advice. First, our "natural" bodily responses are not fixed and immutable. The things we take for granted about the way our bodies work are not set in stone. Practice can change what seem like reflexive responses. - See more at: http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/1209.aspx#sthash.bWOBmMxB.dpuf

A psychiatrist once told me that it is possible to reduce the symptoms of anxiety without medication or long therapy. In short, you cannot be anxious if you breathe slowly and regularly and do not tense your muscles. When you are anxious, the "natural" response to the feeling of apprehension is to tense your muscles and breathe faster--this is a response of the sympathetic nervous system. But if this is the natural response of your body, how can you possibly change this pattern of response. Perhaps this is easier said than done, but in fact this approach is regularly taught in pre-birthing classes for expectant parents. It may not be the "natural" response, but practice can change this. Breathe slowly and regularly, and when you feel tension in your muscles, you should unclench those muscles, and you will feel start to feel more relaxed. There are three interesting and important implications of this bit of advice. First, our "natural" bodily responses are not fixed and immutable. The things we take for granted about the way our bodies work are not set in stone. Practice can change what seem like reflexive responses. - See more at: http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/1209.aspx#sthash.bWOBmMxB.dpuf

A psychiatrist once told me that it is possible to reduce the symptoms of anxiety without medication or long therapy. In short, you cannot be anxious if you breathe slowly and regularly and do not tense your muscles. When you are anxious, the "natural" response to the feeling of apprehension is to tense your muscles and breathe faster--this is a response of the sympathetic nervous system. But if this is the natural response of your body, how can you possibly change this pattern of response. Perhaps this is easier said than done, but in fact this approach is regularly taught in pre-birthing classes for expectant parents. It may not be the "natural" response, but practice can change this. Breathe slowly and regularly, and when you feel tension in your muscles, you should unclench those muscles, and you will feel start to feel more relaxed. There are three interesting and important implications of this bit of advice. First, our "natural" bodily responses are not fixed and immutable. The things we take for granted about the way our bodies work are not set in stone. Practice can change what seem like reflexive responses. - See more at: http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/1209.aspx#sthash.bWOBmMxB.dpuf