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Many mindfulness practices involve sitting and focusing on breath. They are valuable practices, because they help us to train our minds to shift towards or away from things as we need in order to be more comfortable, to tolerate things we can’t control, or to be more effective and productive in our lives. There are […]

As I look out my window this morning and hear the birds, the ground in covering in a light blanket of late season snow. Tomorrow’s forecast predicts a sunny 60 degree day. It’s hard to keep up with changes day to day. Mindfulness is paying attention, on purpose, in a particular way. That particular way […]

Loving Kindness for Loss It has been over a month since many of us began sheltering in place here in New York City. For those living in hospitals or other facilities, days may seem long with even less freedom than normal. You may notice a favorite staff member absent and have little information about what […]

Middle Ages Mindfulness We often think of mindfulness meditations as linked with Buddhism, and today, the concept of mindfulness as it is used in psychology, business, and the health sciences draws heavily on Eastern mindfulness traditions. But, in fact, all major religions have had contemplative practices at some point in their history. Julian of Norwich […]

Good Morning! I have been reflecting on how and why people practice mindfulness. Mindfulness can be thought of as self-care and often we do self-care only when we are calm and relaxed. In other words, when conditions are perfect, then we relax, light a candle, or take a bath. Ironically, those are the times when […]

Basic Breathing to Begin the Day Breathing can be thought of as the core of any mindfulness practice. Many of you might be thinking you do not have time to practice. You may be thinking that mindfulness will not fix all your problems. In fact, it may not fix anything, but it may help with […]

Gratitude Mindfulness Practice Today’s practice is about gratitude. Why should we practice gratitude? It turns out that noticing and appreciating things we are grateful for results in more overall happiness in one’s life. In one 10 week study, people were divided into two groups: one made a list of things they were grateful for each […]

Mindfulness Practice for Joy and Contentment This is Thich Nhat Hanh, the Buddhist Vietnamese monk and teacher who has written many helpful books on mindfulness. Today’s mindfulness is about cultivating joy and contentment in one’s life.   What brings joy? Having connections to people and activities that are important, achieving goals, noticing beauty in the […]

Today’s mindfulness practice is not only about being connected to the present moment. It is about how we get there and are able to remain connected. Shauna Shapiro, a mindfulness researcher and mindfulness teacher, has emphasized in her definition of mindfulness the concept of “kind attention.” Kind attention is a gentleness with one’s self and […]