 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!
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 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!
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.  Naturopath Tiffany Wee tells us about the role of mindfulness in her life. How did you get into learning and practicing mindfulness? I regularly practice meditation but first came across the term mindfulness when I read Thich Nhat Hanh’s books. In 2015, I was able to put mindfulness into practice when I visited Thay’s Plum Village in the south of France. This experience spurred my interest in this all-embracing method of stilling the mind. Tell us about your experience in the MBSR program. I had initially signed up for MBSR as it was a pre-requisite for my teacher training in Mindful Eating, and was not expecting much since I am no stranger to meditation. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find how “liberating” this particular practice was – to put it simply, you can’t go wrong. One aspect of MBSR that appealed to me was that it was non-judgmental and validated everything I experienced and felt, even “negative” thoughts and emotions. How has mindfulness contributed to your personal well-being? I tend to be very critical of myself. Using mindfulness as a skill, whenever self-defeating thoughts arose, instead of refuting them, I learnt to develop a curiosity around them. By accepting and thoroughly exploring my own imperfections, I developed compassion for myself, and by extension, those around me. How has mindfulness supported you in your professional work? As a naturopath and teacher of mindful eating, commitment to a personal practice is critical in so many ways. Being present improves my communication skills and allows me to meet my clients and students fully to absorb their true intent. Mindfulness has also helped to increase my sense of self-awareness, compassion, and introspection – qualities that are important to cultivate for both work and life as they are foundational to building positive relationships. How have you incorporated mindfulness into your daily life? Mindfulness in its true essence is not meant to be a 30-minute exercise that we do and then put aside for the rest of the day. Through practice, I now intersperse the day with mindful moments – from simple tasks like taking a shower or brushing my teeth to periods of commute and even at work. Instead of reacting to situations, I now have the capacity to pause and through a quick 3-minute breathing practice, respond appropriately in times of stress. Mindfulness lets us live our lives more fully, in the present moment. Any words of advice for people who are thinking about learning mindfulness? Go for it! It is going to be one of the best acts of self-mastery and self-love that you can invest in. Whether it is to boost your productivity and focus, or improve your ability to manage stress and build interpersonal relationships, you will be surprised how far-reaching the benefits of mindfulness can be. --- About Tiffany Wee Naturopath, Nutritionist, Herbalist, Mindful Eating, Reiki Born in Singapore and trained in Australia, Tiffany has consulted in world-renowned health establishments like Chiva Som, ESPA and Balanced Living. She is recognised by her clients for her warmth, efficiency and expertise in helping them achieve their individual health potential. Tiffany is also the first in Asia to offer UCSD’s Mindful Eating course. 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 doesn't always have to take place sitting cross-legged and still on a cushion. What's unique and great about mindfulness as a form of meditation is that it can be practiced almost anytime and anywhere. The golden rule to daily mindfulness practice is to know what you are doing as you are doing it. Wherever you are and whatever you are engaged in, open up your senses (sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch) to the present environment, and pay attention to the physical sensations, such as movements, textures, and pressure, etc. How can you incorporate mindfulness practice into daily life? Take our Daily Mindfulness Challenge, and see how a little mindfulness a day goes a long way!  I get this a lot as a mindfulness practitioner and advocate - many tell me they would love to practice mindfulness, but simply can't squeeze out much time to do it. This usually happens when our idea about mindfulness is pretty much limited to sitting still for a (very) long time. I completely empathize with their concern, because to be honest, when you're already pressed for time to complete work deadlines, finish up your chores, and spend time with your family, who can afford to idle around on a cushion, not moving, and doing nothing?
But here's the thing: mindfulness does not have to be practiced in stillness, and it is certainly not doing nothing. When we are practicing mindfulness, we are actually training the mind to pay attention to the present moment, and that can take a lot of work on our part. While some mindfulness practices take place sitting or lying in stillness, others can be practiced in movement. Not all mindfulness practices are long - some can be short, or really, really short. And what's also beautiful about mindfulness is that it can be practiced almost anywhere, anytime. How about practicing mindfulness while brushing your teeth? You might wonder how you could do that. All you need is something to place your attention on. Feel the motions of your hand and the brush moving up and down, back and forth; feel the sensations of brushing on the teeth, the gums, the tongue; feel the minty coolness and notice the taste of the toothpaste; notice the temperature of the water in your mouth. Notice the present state of your body instead of running through your to-do list in your mind. Or how about when you're commuting on an MRT train? Instead of looking down at your phone (it is scary how uniform commuters look when everybody's heads are bowed down at their gadgets), notice your posture and the way you are sitting or standing; feel the floor at the bottoms of your feet; feel the texture of the pole you're holding on to; feel our breath in and under your nose. You can also practice mindfulness when you're vacuuming your home, washing the dishes, driving, crossing the road, taking a shower, eating a meal, unlocking the door... The list is endless! Simply pay attention to what's present in your immediate environment - physical sensations in your body, movements, sounds, etc. This kind of daily life mindfulness practice, which we call informal practice (in contrast with formal practices of sitting on the cushion or chair or lying on the floor for a longer period of time), can last a few minutes or even just a few seconds or moments, but the benefits are tremendous. That said, it is worth noting that both formal and informal practices are important in mindfulness training, and the best way to practice mindfulness is to find a balance between them both, which complement each other. While formal practice deepens our concentration and wisdom through observing the nature of our mind and body, informal practice allows us to incorporate awareness in our daily lives. When both practices are integrated as a way of life, we are training the brain's cognitive flexibility to effectively regulate our emotions, change our relationship with stress, and improve our health and well-being. --- The author Erin is a Mindfulness Coach and Founder of Mindful Moments Singapore. Learn more about the research-based mindfulness training program she teaches.  During a recent mindfulness retreat I attended on a lovely Isle on the West Coast of Scotland, we were invited to practice mindfulness outdoors, facing the open sea.
If you had the chance to sit like this and start observing, what would you notice? Would the magnificent scenery take your breath away? Would you be thinking about how fortunate you were to be resting under the big blue sky? Would you be feeling a deep sense of gratitude for the wonders of nature? The picture above makes it look as though we were just chilling to the beautiful sights, but all of us were in actual fact working really hard. As we sat on the grassy patch, we took the opportunity to observe not just what was around us, but also what was going on in the mind. We felt the cold wind brush against our face, and noticed a thought arising: This experience would be perfect if the wind wasn't so strong. The warm sun fades away for a few moments, and we noticed another thought arising: Warmth! Please stay, don't go away now... Preference was here. We heard the buzzing sounds of bees hovering above our heads, and noticed yet another thought arising: Could these nature's biggest helpers possibly sting us? Fear was here. We saw a young goat trotting past with an obvious limp, and the thought arose: Poor little kid is hurt - I wish I could do something to help it. Sympathy, and the desire to do something to help, were here. The loud chattering voices of other guests on the island reached our ears, seemingly disrupting our peace; we thought: Can't they see we are meditating here? Some people really lack awareness. Judgment was here. We began to feel an ache in our body from sitting still for an extended period time; we thought: Oh no, here comes the pain again. Why now of all times? Why can't ever I sit comfortably? Self-appraisal was here. In a span of thirty minutes, we observed countless fleeting thoughts arising in the mind, out of nowhere, and out of our control. We observed how thoughts were magnified when we engaged with them, but disappeared when we chose to let them be. We observed how we don't simply see or sense things the way they are, but have the tendency to want to interpret them, change them, or fix them. We have preferences - clinging on to things that we like, and pushing away things we don't like. Such mindfulness practices help us understand the nature of the mind, and the habitual patterns that come along with it. We begin to see how these habitual patterns dominate our daily lives. With such awareness comes insight, and the ability to navigate life with more skillful and helpful responses. --- If you're interested in mindfulness training, do check out our 8-Week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program here.  A friend of mine, upon seeing Mindful Moment's Facebook update on our Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program, sent me an image along with a cheeky question: which version are you teaching? The image, which you may have seen before since it is commonly featured on mindfulness-related websites and social media, is a drawing of a man taking a walk with his dog along a row of leafy green trees and a big warm sun shining from above; there is a thought bubble above the man's head, showing that his mind is filled with thoughts about work, communications, tasks, traveling, etc.; and then there is another thought bubble above the dog's head, showing the exact scene they are in - the row of leafy green trees and the big warm sun shining from above. And then the big question on the image asks the viewer: Mindful, or Mind Full? It is not difficult to understand from the image that despite taking a walk in a lovely environment, the man is miles away caught up in his own train of thoughts about everything other than the beautiful scenery around him - his mind is full. The dog, on the other hand, is noticing his immediate environment as he walks - aware of the trees he is passing by, and the warmth of the sun - it is being mindful of its surroundings. My friend understood that, and his tongue-in-cheek question was, which version does a mindfulness teacher teach in an MBSR class? Mindful, or Mind Full? I answered: Actually, both! It is without a doubt that participants learn to be mindful in a mindfulness class - during practices we work really hard to pay attention to the present moment, instead of allowing the mind to be pulled away by the past or the future. But through practicing mindfulness, we might find that there is also a lot to learn from paying attention to a mind that is full! What happens when the mind is constantly overloaded with checklists, to-dos, and tasks to complete? Or when the mind is playing an upsetting event that had happened over and over again? Or when the mind loops questions about uncertainties, or when it frequently airs an unpleasantly critical, judgmental voice? Through practice, we might discover that the mind virtually never stops, and is almost always full, or at least filled with something. Even though we frequently hear the advice: "Clear your mind" or "Empty your mind", we can be sure that this "emptiness" we are hoping for as a relief from the never-ending busyness of life will not last beyond a moment before the mind begins to be filled up again. It is equally important for mindfulness practice, then, to train the mind to be mindful of the present moment, and also be mindful of the mind that is full. Curious, yet? It is worth highlighting here that it is not enough to ponder over the "Mindful or Mind Full" question as an intellectual exercise. Only personal experience from engaging in mindfulness practices can bring us true insights and discoveries into the nature of the mind. And I invite you to further explore this with mindfulness training. Click here to find out the latest dates of our next Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program.  Some people, when asked if they would consider practicing mindfulness, would almost immediately respond: "But I can't sit still for even one minute!"
A common misconception about mindfulness, is that the practice requires one to sit quietly, cross-legged on the floor, with your eyes closed, and... basically do nothing. You are not allowed to move or talk, and you are supposed to empty your mind. The truth is that a mindfulness practice is far from doing nothing. In fact, there really is a lot of work involved. It might look like a practitioner is just sitting there, not thinking, not feeling. But there is so much more to the experience. In a typical mindfulness practice, we are training our mind to focus and pay attention to the present moment; we are observing the nature of our mind systematically and non-judgmentally; we are inviting curiosity into the experience and learning to accept that whatever that comes up we are okay with it. We are developing the capacity to watch the endless stream thoughts and emotions in our mind without engaging with or reacting to them. We are cultivating patience, building compassion, and collecting moments of equanimity. Mindfulness is also not just practiced sitting. We regularly practice mindful walking, and do gentle stretching or balancing movements mindfully. Mindfulness should also be practiced in daily life - when we are eating, showering, driving, cooking, sweeping, working, or conversing with someone. What other possible misconceptions of mindfulness do you think we could address? Learn and practice mindfulness with us at our 8-Week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program. |
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. 
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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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