Deep gratitude to Her World magazine for featuring Mindful Moments in their April 2018 issue, as well as for writing about why we should pursue mindfulness and how we can practice it daily!
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In The Mindful People Series, we interview people from different walks of life and get them to share their mindfulness experience, as well as how learning and practicing mindfulness have made a difference to their personal and professional lives.  MiMo: How did you get into learning and practicing mindfulness? Gavin: Initially I didn't know what mindfulness was all about, until I read an article that was about how mindfulness helps with managing anxiety and relieving stress. After I attended the first and second sessions of the MBSR program, I did not yet have the habit of practicing mindfulness by myself. Only after I attended the second half of the 8-week program and the full day retreat did I begin to realize that mindfulness practice is very beneficial to my daily life. MiMo: Tell us about your experience in the MBSR program. Gavin: It has been a very fruitful learning journey of experiencing and understanding the concept and practice of mindfulness, and now I am applying the mindfulness skills I have acquired at my workplace and in my personal life too! MiMo: How has mindfulness contributed to your personal well-being? Gavin: Mindfulness has actually helped me in managing my OCD. Whenever I know that I am checking more than usual, I will be more aware and non-judgmentally conscious of myself during the process of checking. I have been able to reduce the number of times of checking. MiMo: How has mindfulness supported you in your professional work? Gavin: I am now able to think more logically and focus on my work better. Before learning mindfulness, I tended to be often distracted by the many thoughts I had while I was at work. MiMo: How have you incorporated mindfulness into your daily life? Gavin: Whenever I become very nervous (I have the tendency to feel nervous almost everyday), I have the mindfulness skills handy to work with my thoughts and emotions; I would say mindfulness is becoming a very important support to my well-being. MiMo: Any words of advice for people who are thinking about learning mindfulness? Gavin: Mindfulness is something that I find essential for our day-to-day life, since we are faced with stressful events all the time, be it at work or in our personal space. You will find mindfulness to be a very amazing skill to have as it is something that doesn’t take up a lot of your time but is so effective in promoting a healthy lifestyle! ------  About Gavin Lim Gavin has worked in the training industry for more than five years, with good experience of coordinating and working together with trainers and participants, and building conducive training environments. He has been actively participating in the Hair for Hope event on an annual basis. Gavin also loves to collect various public transport collectible items as well as spotting buses. During his free time, he likes hanging out and spending time with his friends. Are you a mindfulness practitioner or do you know one who would like to share their mindfulness experience on the MiMo blog? Do drop us a message!
In the Mindful Musings series, MiMo Founder and Mindfulness Coach Erin shares her personal thoughts and views about the practice of mindfulness.  I like to observe the environment around me, especially when I'm commuting from one place to another on the train. One thing I notice is how as a society living in crowded spaces, our physical bodies are so close in proximity to one another - sometimes in an almost smothering way during the peak hours, but our mind is often miles apart, not just from person to person, but also from ourselves. As I scan the space around me on the train, I find it interesting that the first thing I see would always be the crown of people's heads. Everyone would be looking down at their phones - either busy replying to messages, or browsing the web, or playing a game. Occasionally, they would look up to check which station the train was at, and then resume to bowing down to their gadgets again. Their attention would almost never leave the screen in front of them. I would then look more closely at their faces and expressions, and what I often recognize is a shared sense of deep-seated exhaustion - perhaps leftover from a day of working and firefighting, or from a lack of restful sleep at night, or from some personal troubles. I would think, if people are so tired, why don't they close their eyes and rest for a while? Why do they choose to have an external object drain more energy from them? Perhaps they don't want to know how tired their body feels, or they dread facing how much is on their mind, so watching a random video on their Facebook feed would obviously be a much "easier" option. As a society, we are collectively exhausted, and we don't know it. Or rather, we don't want to know it. We are living in a world full of external objects that stimulate the mind, and we have gotten so used to being absorbed in them or using them as a distraction, that we no longer have the capacity to turn our attention inwards to tend to what's going on inside us. Keeping ourselves occupied with something, even when we don't need to, seems to be much more accessible than just sitting and being with ourselves. But what we are giving up in exchange for a coping mechanism masked as a temporary relief from having to confront our exhaustion, is the opportunity to know the mind and body for what they are, and how they are doing. In the practice of mindfulness, we train ourselves to constantly turn our attention inwards to observe the mind and body. Being mindfully aware of what's going on inside us may seem counter-intuitive at first, since we instinctively want to avoid or fight off anything that feels unpleasant or negative to us; but when we are able to rest our attention inwardly, we can then recognize what the body is being put through, as well as understand what the mind may be unnecessarily holding on to, thus becoming better able to take care of ourselves. In The Mindful People Series, we interview people from different walks of life and get them to share their mindfulness experience, as well as how learning and practicing mindfulness have made a difference to their personal and professional lives.  MiMo: How did you get into learning and practicing mindfulness? Pam: I came to read about mindfulness very randomly. During a certain period, I found myself falling into anxiety and negative thinking more often than ever before. I started reading up on ways to combat them and one of the possible techniques suggested, which would come to help me gain some present moment awareness, was Mindfulness. What I liked the most while reading about this technique was that there is some scientific research supporting the whole method. MiMo: Tell us about your experience in the MBSR program. Pam: As a person who had never done meditation before, I knew this program was not only about meditation. It was clearly explained to us from the beginning that meditation would be a part of the program, and the main focus would be on bringing awareness to the body's physical sensations and the mind's thoughts through observing them and just letting them happen. During the 8-week MBSR program, we got to learn a full variety of mindfulness techniques, tried to be consistent with practice at home instead of just using them once a week in class, as well as developed more awareness of myself, my body and my feelings, and just letting things happen without engaging in further thinking. The sharing of experiences in class among the participants was very useful for everyone; it gave me other perspectives or another way of thinking about the overall experience, and the different ways of being mindful in my everyday life too. MiMo: How has mindfulness contributed to your personal well-being? Pam: I realized that the whole problem with my anxiety in my everyday life was because I didn’t let things just be; I would judge my thoughts, judge my decisions, and have my mind focusing too much on the future, without realizing that the present moment was all that I had in each moment. With mindfulness skills, I bring myself back to the present moment, then make my decisions from here and move on. I see myself appreciating things more than I used to, such as the small details of everyday life, nature and each moment of my breath. MiMo: How has mindfulness supported you in your professional work? Pam: With my mind clearer, I make better decisions. I have less anxiety and I have learned that there is another approach to every problem. I have learned how to appreciate my well-being and happiness even more. In the case of any unenjoyable emotions or feelings, I would not judge or try to avoid them, but just observe them as they are, and put a small buffer between the negativity and my emotions and reactions. I have learned how to better approach stressful situations too. MiMo: How have you incorporated mindfulness into your daily life? Pam: I use simple techniques such as taking a deep breath and placing a light touch of attention on my body to bring myself back to the present moment. I try to break the stress reaction cycle by not getting captivated by my own emotions. I do not practice mindfulness for the same amount of time as I had learned to during the MBSR program, but I do continue with sitting practice or paying attention to the physical movements and my body responses when I do sports. MiMo: Any words of advice for people who are thinking about learning mindfulness? Pam: What I have learned about mindfulness is that it doesn’t encourage you to escape from stressful situations, nor make you forget them; on the contrary, it teaches you to observe the stressful feelings in that moment. Just letting things be and accepting things the way they are. It is a very nice gift you can give to yourself and your well-being. Your future self will absolutely appreciate it. --- About Pamela Qafoku Hailing from Albania, Pamela is currently living and working in Singapore. She works as a marketing executive at an MNC in the Logistics and Supply Chain industry. She holds an Msc in Marketing Analytics and Management. Pamela has always been curious about learning and keen to know and understand different cultures, which was one of the reasons that brought her to Singapore. She has been volunteering at different NGOs and giving support to different causes. Being kind and polite to one another is her motto in life. Are you a mindfulness practitioner or do you know one who would like to share their mindfulness experience on the MiMo blog? Do drop us a message!
Mindfulness Coach and MBSR Teacher Erin Lee gives an introduction to MBSR, highlighting six things you should know about the classic research-proven mindfulness training program. MBSR stands for Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. This is an 8-Week mindfulness training program, that was developed in 1979 by Professor Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Over the decades the program has helped many people significantly improve their well-being.
Here are some things you need to know about the MBSR Program: #1 - It is backed by many strong research studies showing positive benefits to our well-being, including reducing chronic pain, anxiety, and depressive symptoms; research has also shown that the program helps us increase our positive moods and regulate our stress levels more effectively. #2 - The classic MBSR program on which many of the research benefits are based, should follow a structure of 8 weekly classes, two and a half hours per class, plus one all day retreat. It should be taught by an approved facilitator who has been trained to teach MBSR, and it should also be taught in a group setting. #3 - This program is highly experiential, and it focuses less on theoretical or conceptual knowledge, and more on actually practicing and experiencing mindfulness. #4 - The practices we do in an MBSR program does not only include sitting down, there are also lying down and movement practices. There will be discussions among participants during class, but you are not required to share anything personal - because this is not therapy, you are only encouraged to inquire into your own experience of mindfulness practice. #5 - What's really unique and beneficial about the MBSR program is that you learn to incorporate mindfulness into your daily life, which is very important, since mindfulness is a way of life, and it should be a lifelong practice. #6 - This is what I highlight to many people who are considering an MBSR program - a certain level of commitment is needed to maximize the effectiveness of your learning. If you take part in an MBSR program, you are required to commit to a home practice of about 45 minutes a day in between the weekly classes.  So we are nearing the end of 2016, and about to welcome a brand new year ahead. Have you set your New Year Resolutions yet?
As an advocate of mindfulness as a way of life, I invite you to incorporate mindfulness as a part of your New Year Resolutions. You might want to commit to doing one thing mindfully per day, or establish a more routine mindfulness practice. You might even want to get yourself formally trained in mindfulness, if you have been toying with the idea for some time. Perhaps you already have a New Year Resolution in mind, and you could be more mindful about achieving or sticking with it. Here are some simple suggestions on how you can have a more mindful year ahead: Doing one thing mindfully everyday: this could be any activity within your daily routine, such as brushing your teeth, locking your apartment door (we know how absent-minded we can be about this!), drinking your first glass of water or first cup of coffee in the morning, waiting for the bus, a household chore like washing the dishes - the possibilities are endless! When mindfully doing that one thing you've chosen, you are essentially paying attention to what you're doing as you're doing it; multi-tasking is a big no-no in mindfulness practice, so don't for example drink your coffee and read the news at the same time. As you pay attention, notice the details using your five senses - see the colors and shapes with your eyes, hear the sounds with your ears, smell the scents with your nose, taste with your tongue, and feel textures and sensations with your hands and skin. When we open up our senses to what we're doing, we stay focused and the mind settles more easily into the present moment by moment. Establishing a more routine practice: Those of us who have had training or experience in mindfulness would probably know that one of the most challenging aspects of mindfulness is keeping up with our practice. Whether it's because of our busy lives or a lack of commitment or some other circumstances, we have probably tried really hard to practice regularly, but there is just no denying that the real research-proven benefits of mindfulness come from a sustained, routine daily practice. When it comes to establishing a routine mindfulness practice, I encourage you to 'start small' and slowly build up your practice. This could mean a simple awareness of breath for just 5 minutes every morning when you wake up or every night before you sleep. When you have gotten used to this 5-minute routine, extend it to 10 minutes a day, then 15 minutes, 20 minutes... If you're commiting to longer mindfulness practices (such as 30 or 40 minute durations), you might want to break it up into several parts practiced over different times of the day. For example, split a 30 minute practice into 10 minutes when you wake up, 10 minutes during lunch time at work, and 10 minutes in the evening or before bedtime. If you have been exposed to or trained in a variety of mindfulness practices (awareness of breath, body scan, movements, choiceless awareness etc.), you might want to start with a practice that you feel most comfortable with and can ease into more effortlessly. If you've established a routine of one particular practice, you might want to switch to another one that is more challenging to you. Look for an App that helps you stick to your routine mindfulness practice - I highly recommend Insight Timer, a meditation App that not only allows you to track your practice hours (and achieve miletones!), you also get to connect with fellow mindfulness practitioners from around the world. Best of all, it's free! Getting formally trained in mindfulness: Many people have probably thought about attending a mindfulness class, but have yet to act on it. If you've been thinking about getting mindfulness training, pick a class or program that allows you enough time to learn the skills and that scaffolds you through the learning process in a more structured way. We recommend the classic 8-Week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program, which is research-proven and usually taught by an approved facilitator in a group setting. There are important benefits to learning mindfulness in a group setting and over an extended period of time. Being mindful about your New Year Resolutions: Maybe you already have a New Year resolution in mind for 2017 - such as learning a new language or mastering the guitar, and you're wondering if you might actually stick with it or achieve it successfully this time. The practice of mindfulness teaches us to focus our attention and minimize judgments or criticisms towards ourselves. With mindfulness, you can actually cultivate more patience in the process of learning the guitar, and offer yourself the compassion you need when things don't turn out as you had expected. --- Can you think about how else you might be able to have a more mindful 2017? Share it with Mindful Moments!  Mindful Moments will be participating in the Green Bazaar at KK Women's and Children's Hospital!
Date: Wednesday 16 November Venue: KK Women's and Children's Hospital, 100 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 229899 Location: Children's Tower Level 1 Cost: Free Visit our information booth between 10 am - 4 pm to get a free consultation or chat with Mindfulness Coach Erin, and ask her questions about mindfulness training. Erin will also be conducting a workshop - Introduction to Practical Mindfulness - during the lunch hour (12 pm - 1 pm) at the Training Room. Members of the public can walk in and register. See you there! In The Mindful People Series, we interview people from different walks of life and get them to share their mindfulness experience, as well as how learning and practicing mindfulness have made a difference to their personal and professional lives.   MiMo: How did you get into learning and practicing mindfulness? CK: I found a book five years ago which focused on being in the present moment by Thich Nhat Hanh. Shortly after that I saw a book called ‘Mindfulness’ at the local WHSmiths whilst I was waiting for a train back in England. Both of these books made a real difference to the way I thought about life. They helped me feel better about the situations and experiences I was encountering at that time. Since then I have been learning and practicing mindfulness, with the pinnacle moment of my involvement in mindfulness occurring around two years ago when I fell sick with a long and tough illness. That period of my life is when my reading, understanding and practicing of mindfulness really took off. I have been practicing since then, but I wanted to make it a more habitual, automatic behaviour, as I sometimes struggled to create consistency and motivation about my practice. Now, thanks to the MBSR programme, my practice has become more automated, and even when I take a few days off and do not practice, it is easy for me to recommence. MiMo: Tell us about your experience in the MBSR program. CK: I learned a lot about my body. My awareness of the frequency and intensity of thoughts and emotions increased. My awareness of my body through breathing and stretching exercises also increased. I gained structure and discipline around my practices, in a gentle way. There was a sense of camaraderie and friendship amongst my group, which was a very enjoyable and motivating factor for me. It was enjoyable and I came away from each weekly session feeling happier, lighter, and more energised. The all day retreat was lovely, it was nice to be in nature with my new friends. I enjoy the recordings we can do in our own space, at home. I feel the home practice has been integral to this course. Erin is fantastic. Her voice is like honey. She has the patience of a saint, and she is so authentic, genuine and focused. I am creating the habit of doing mindfulness exercises again, and enjoying it. The MBSR programme helped my practice become more automated, relaxing, and habitual for me. This is the reason I chose to attend the 8-week mindfulness course. MiMo: How has mindfulness contributed to your personal well-being? CK: I find it more normal to practice, and I feel less resistance. I almost look forward to it now, whereas before I sometimes dreaded it. I am more calm and collected in dialogues with others, and am able to respond slower and more mindfully in situations which may have previously ignited strong emotion and non-mindful behaviour in the past. That has been a great benefit which I did not notice until I started being in the same situations as I had previously been in (prior to the MBSR) where things had not gone so well, and I noticed that I have been responding in a way I much prefer. I am proud of that change, and I attribute it to the MBSR programme. I have reignited my enjoyment of mindfulness, breathing, and observing. I am more mindful generally of my experiences. I also learned not to chide myself for having racing thoughts or strong emotions, I learned it is okay to accept these and to simply observe them without feeling the need to resist them. This is something I am still improving on, but now I feel that I really understand this notion, I feel I have a good foothold to continue learning to accept my thoughts and emotions without being negative about it. MiMo: How has mindfulness supported you in your studies? CK: I have been calmer and more productive in writing essays for my university course. It has helped reduce stress and stop me from putting so much pressure on myself. It has taught me to take breaks and take care of myself first and foremost over achieving things. MiMo: How have you incorporated mindfulness into your daily life? CK: I have been practicing regularly, and every time it makes me feel better going on into my day. I do 20-40 minutes in the morning, and as a treat sometimes I do some in the afternoon. I don’t do it every day, although this is something I am changing. I intend to do it every day going forward. It was a gradual journey but now it seems normal to do 40 minutes a day (if you had said this to me before the MBSR programme I would have baulked as I was impressed when I managed five minutes). It’s very cool that I see longer practices as good and normal. In addition I am more mindful of activities I do day-to-day, from walking, to sitting on the MRT, to cooking, to doing housework. I am able to spot when my mind is running away, and can usually bring myself back to a certain level of peace through practicing mindfulness in these moments. MiMo: Any words of advice for people who are thinking about learning mindfulness? CK: I would say, go for it. Don’t be afraid. It’s a gentle journey where, ultimately, you learn things without realising you have. Your brain will sneakily pick up the necessary skills you want, even if you think you are not getting anywhere consciously. You will subconsciously learn a lot, and it is these new behaviours that will pleasantly surprise you when you go about your day-to-day activities. You will also meet new and different kinds of people, who you realise are very similar to you in many ways. You will feel supported and encouraged, which are the two things I did not feel prior to enrolling in this course. --- About Caroline King Caroline is of Eurasian heritage and grew up in the UK. Her formative years were spent in Bristol, and she later studied modern European languages at Edinburgh University. As a language student she lived in Berlin, Milan and, later, Buenos Aires. She has a deep passion for travel, meeting people from different countries, and learning new languages. Having completed law school in London, she worked as a finance lawyer for 4 years both in London and in Singapore. She was living a full life and after a period of long hours and stress, she fell ill and was later diagnosed with M.E.. She has been on a fascinating journey of the self since that moment, and is looking forward to feeling her best again and reaching her full potential. She is currently enrolled in a Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences and Psychology as she has a keen interest in the brain, the mind-body connection, and people’s behaviours. She is also looking forward to developing her interests in public international law and human rights law. Are you a mindfulness practitioner or do you know one who would like to share their mindfulness experience on the MiMo blog? Do drop us a message!
In The Mindful People Series, we interview people from different walks of life and get them to share their mindfulness experience, as well as how learning and practicing mindfulness have made a difference to their personal and professional lives.  MiMo: How did you get into learning and practicing mindfulness? OCY: I knew about meditation way back but the very first time I got to know about mindfulness was when Erin and I had a discussion about Vipassana Meditation. MiMo: Tell us about your experience in the MBSR program. OCY: I enrolled in the MBSR program in August 2015 in Singapore. The 8-week program was fulfilling and experiential. I could put all the teachings and principles of mindfulness into action and apply them in my daily practice. The biggest challenge was to commit to a scheduled slot of time every day for mindfulness practice - without giving myself any convenient excuses! MiMo: How has mindfulness contributed to your personal well-being? OCY: I feel my personal well-being has improved tremendously since I began practicing mindfulness from moment to moment in my everyday life. I feel more grounded in the here and now, rather than worry too much about the future and regret the things I've done or have not achieved in the past. Whenever I get anxious, I will just try to stop thinking negatively and start breathing. Breathing in and I know I am breathing in. Breathing out and I know I am breathing out. When I am paying attention to my breath, I am able to keep my mind calm to work with the challenges I encounter in life. MiMo: How has mindfulness supported you in your professional work? OCY: As an educator and coach, mindfulness has helped me manage my level of stress in education management as well as more effectively coach my core team in 1-to-1 digital teaching and learning - a relatively new area of curriculum integration which many teachers are still getting used to. I practice deep, mindful listening when I have dialogues with my colleagues and the young learners in school; I find that I am more compassionate when dealing with the problems or difficult situations that my team members have to face; and most importantly, I am always aware of my emotions and energy in different work scenarios - this has been especially helpful for me in managing my stress levels. MiMo: How have you incorporated mindfulness into your daily life? OCY: I meditate and do the body scan practice twice a day, and I schedule a mindful swim of about 20 minutes every day. Whenever I am walking, I will remind myself to walk mindfully - Singaporeans tend to walk quite fast due to our more stressful pace of life, and I have found that it takes practice to remain mindful when we are walking at a faster speed! MiMo: Any words of advice for people who are thinking about learning mindfulness? OCY: Mindfulness is a liberation of the soul and a lifelong skill that every human being should acquire. It will help you discover your true authentic self, I promise. And I personally feel that mindfulness training is much needed in the education field, especially for our teachers, because of the heavy responsibilities we have in nurturing the future generations of Singapore. I believe that only mindful teachers can nurture and develop mindful learners. I strongly encourage teachers, principals and even students to learn and practice mindfulness. --- About Ooi Ching Ya A former trainer at the Ministry of Education Singapore and key founding member of the School of Science and Technology Singapore (SST), Ching Ya is currently Special Advisor to the Principal at RDFZ XISHAN SCHOOL in Beijing China. As a strategic consultant who bridges the educational development between Singapore and China, Ching Ya is focusing her contributions on international relations, branding, as well as lifelong learning in global digital education. She is passionate about showcasing how technology can support the rich interactions and connections across life. In 2015, Ching Ya was selected to sit on Apple Inc's ADE Regional Advisory Board for Asia-Pacific, and is responsible for the professional development of Apple Distinguished Educators in individualized digital teaching and learning. Are you a mindfulness practitioner or do you know one who would like to share their mindfulness experience on the MiMo blog? Do drop us a message!
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About The AuthorMiMo founder Erin Lee is a Mindfulness Coach and MBSR Teacher at Mindful Moments, and advocate of mindfulness as the way of life. She conducts the classic 8-Week MBSR Program, as well as the 8-Week MBSR Workplace Program. Erin also lectures at a local polytechnic. 
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ContributeAre you a mindfulness practitioner and have meaningful experiences or thoughts about mindfulness that you'd like to share? You can contribute an article on the MiMo blog! Please contact Erin to find out more.
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