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1. I felt as though my experience with the Urge Surfing exercise was both unique and helpful. This is certainly a new version of exercise/meditation for me, so I can imagine that more practice would make it feel more successful or perhaps trying to use it in the moment of a craving would be helpful too. I recognized that my body remained a bit more tense and “tight” in general with this exercise than in the previous ones we have used. However, I found it profoundly amazing being able to visualize myself almost conquering and intentionally navigating a “craving” or difficult emotional/bodily sensation. It was an exercise that certainly helped me build confidence in and reassurance in both the temporary state of all cravings/urges and how they present in my body and my capacity to learn how to let them take their course mindfully without so much judgment. I would evaluate this exercise as a wonderful way to remove and distant such sensations from feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt. I can understand how continued practice with this exercise could help myself and others detach the “hard” emotions and judgments that are clung onto such urges and help feel them and work through them simply as they are within the body. As mentioned many times now, I work with a lot of younger clients right now. My immediate thought in regards to use of this practice with my clients went to impulse control. I imagine myself adapting this exercise to support some of my children with ADHD and impulse control difficulties to focus and learn more about the arousal of energy in their body and the need to immediately act upon it. I also imagine being able to successfully utilize this exercise to support with anxiety reduction; helping children safely surf the bodily sensations/urges related to anxiety.
2. I chose the Being Mindful of Emotions without Judgement exercise. I would have gladly engaged in any one of the exercises, however I chose this one given some reflection on how much my cognitive patterns of thought contribute to the intensity of emotions experienced. I chose this exercise because I have an awareness that often times it’s the stories or thoughts within my mind that I attach to an emotion (judgement) that end up making me feel worse or perhaps put me into a place where they are almost hidden or “unfelt.” Engagement in this exercise was very helpful in multiple ways. I quickly found that my physical experience with the emotion I chose to focus on (anxiety/fear) intensified for a moment; not my thoughts around anxiety and fear but what it physically felt like in my body. However, as the exercise continued, I noticed that simply observing and tuning into these sensations alone helped me begin to detach some of my thoughts associated with my fear and anxiety. As this happened, and I could begin to fully accept such feelings as righteous and “okay” as they were, my body became more relaxed as did my mind and my thoughts. I could envision incorporating this exercise into my work, specifically with clients who struggle with anxiety and depression and the intense emotions felt by such individuals. As I recognized with myself; that it’s frequently that cognitive narrative in the mind (the judgment) that makes emotions intense and overwhelming, I could understand that engagement in this exercise could help others learn that too. I am hopeful that I could integrate this exercise or something alike into my work, supporting clients in valuing their emotions as they are and attaining a greater capacity to feel them freely, without any critical thoughts about what they mean.
3. I was specifically drawn to this course as a result of my personal experiences with mindfulness practice in my own life. Engagement in daily meditation and mindfulness practice has proven to be the most wonderful thing for my emotional, behavioral, relational and spiritual health. I chose to take this course as a way to gain greater insight, knowledge and strategies about how I could begin to truly incorporate something that I would so significant in my life into my work with others. This course certainly supported my belief and understanding of how mindfulness can present as a highly effective and powerful tool for alleviating suffering, both in myself and others. Each and every exercise/meditation was helpful and eye-opening. In the past year or so that I have been actively engaging in mindful work, I have gotten comfortable with certain “go-to” exercises. Taking this course re-opened my eyes to the true power of simply being mindful in day to day, conscious life. It also brought me some new tools that truly felt powerful to me and have become part of my personal practice. Taking this course also began to provide me with increased confidence in being able to incorporate more mindfulness work into sessions with my clients. I envision being able to take the information, insight and tools learned in this course with me into my practice in an effort to make it an integral part of all sessions. I can imagine incorporating basic awareness exercises into sessions with all clients and also utilizing the meditations/exercises provided throughout the course for specific clients who may benefit from them.
1. During the soft belly meditation, I noticed that despite the focus on creating a soft, relaxed belly, that my whole body achieved a more relaxed nature. I was actually quite surprised by this result and how quickly it happened. As mentioned in a previous homework response, I enjoy having a bodily point of focus when I engaged in meditation exercises, so I found this effective for myself. It was helpful and calming to have my belly as a point of reference when my thoughts came into my mind also. With the point of reference, when my thoughts came in, I was better able to accept them for what they were and let them go and return to the focus on my soft belly. I think that this was effective in helping me accept whatever I was feeling in the moment and something that I will use personally moving forward.
2. I noticed a similar sensation in regards to my body as I did with the soft belly exercise. I rather quickly felt an increased sense of relaxation and reduction of tension throughout my body. I very much enjoyed this exercise and the point of reference being a truly powerful phrase versus a part of the body/sensation. I felt like this exercise helped me in more than one way, it provided me with that sense of general bodily relaxation and a great sense of inner peace. The phrase began as a phrase/point of focus at the start of the meditation but as I got going, this phrase brought true meaning to my mind and soul. I use self-affirmations and statements of self-positivity daily, however I truly enjoyed incorporating such a phrase into a meditation exercise. I would rate this mindfulness exercise powerfully effective in helping me enhance my acceptance of myself in the moment!
3. I could envision incorporating both of these exercises into my work with children and teens as wonderful tools promote relaxation and acceptance. As mentioned in some of my previous homework responses, a large portion of my caseload right now is children, and I believe I could integrate the soft belly meditation very well into our sessions to support them in relaxation, emotional/arousal regulation and grounding in the present moment. I am excited and hopeful about trying to integrate the Acceptance Exercise into work with some of my teen clients who experience a lot of anxiety, depression and self-doubt. I could imagine that the exercise could provide many benefits to these clients, with relaxation, grounding and also self-acceptance.
1. I very much enjoyed the body scan exercise. I have engaged in similar muscle relaxation/body scan exercises before, but what I really liked about this one, was the focus on the experience/sensation of that body region, WITHOUT fixing or changing it. I recognized a deeper sense of physical relaxation the further I got into the meditation, becoming more comfortable with simply sitting with my sensations versus trying to manipulate them in some way. I believe what I noticed most about this meditation exercise was just how much I miss – by this I mean that doing this exercise allowed me to tune into the feelings and sensations of every tiny part of my body; sensations that I never tune into or recognize, but are always there (i.e. I used the guided voice and I was able to actually tune into the sensation of each one of my fingertips). I would rate this meditation very effective for supporting me in making contact with my sensate experience in the present moment, and more so because of the instruction to not change of fix any sensation. I also would rate this meditation very effective in helping me develop both concentration and flexibility of attention, as it supported me in attuning only to my bodily sensations, but provided the freedom to both scan so many areas and allow myself to accept the sensations as they were without judgement or a need to alter them.
2. This exercise proved both interesting and fascinating to me, as it brought to my awareness just how much we can learn and notice about things if we are able to be non-judgmentally devoted and open to observing them. It was neat to allow my sensations to explore more deeply than they normally would, as I was able to recognize and appreciate the qualities of the object that if I hadn’t engaged in this exercise, I likely would have never noticed. I found this exercise slightly more challenging, in the sense that my mind wandered more frequently than the other meditation exercises. Because my mind wandered a bit more than the other forms of meditation, I found it a bit less effective in enhancing my ability to focus my attention and concentration on the present. Perhaps if I chose a bit more detailed, intricate object, this might change. I also recognize that my personal judgement about my wandering mind might play a role in how I rated the effectiveness of this exercise.
3. I work with a lot of younger children coping with trauma, anxiety and ADHD. I great portion of my focus with many children centers on supporting them in developing skill in identifying and regulating emotions. I believe I could so wonderfully incorporate the body scan meditation into my work them in multiple ways; 1) as a method of helping them learn about the sensations in their body and what they mean, and 2) as relaxation tool to bring them into the present moment as we have done ourselves here. I believe that both of these meditation exercises could be so easily adapted to use with all ages and I could imagine myself using them in sessions on a regular basis with my children as ways to regulate and reduce tension and anxiety. I also find that these are so versatile in the sense that they could be used successfully via telehealth with clients as well, given that you provide them with the effective tools to do so.
1. During the breath counting meditation, I recognized my singular focus on counting with each inhale and exhale. I found it helpful when considering the concentration aspect of things; my mind was focused primarily on the numbered breaths versus anything else. I found that my mind was fixated on the counting as well as the quality of my breath (trying to get into a relaxed, regulated rhythm). This type of meditation was helpful in the sense that again, it supported my mind and body on counting and encouraged a space where I could refrain from focusing on anything else. However, it gave me a somewhat restricted feeling in regards to the mental focus I was putting forth on counting. I do engage in mindfulness activities/breathing and for me personally, this form of meditation left me feeling a bit more “task” focused versus opening up to other sensations/visualizations.
2. During the basic mindfulness meditation, I felt right at home. I say this because as mentioned above, I do engage in mindful breathing techniques on a daily basis and this touched closer to my comfort space when compared to the breath counting meditation. I benefit from and enjoy placing focus on my bodily sensations and how breath feels throughout different part of my body. This type of awareness allows me to feel more in tuned with the exercise. I have a tendency to focus on my breaths flowing in and out of my chest. This type of meditation leaves me personally feeling “focused but free.” My mind certainly wandered at moments, as it always does, however have the reminder to return to my breaths in my chest helped me remain non-judgmental and able to return my attention more readily.
3. I believe I naturally spoke much to this in my first two responses. I discovered personally that despite my preference for the basic meditation exercise, that they both helped me achieve a more relaxed, aware and present state of mind and body. I recognized that both meditations helped guide my mind to place of freedom of clutter/clog. I did find noticeable differences, as noted in my previous responses. There was clear personal preference for me in utilizing the basic meditation, as I see that it allowed for a greater sense of cognitive freedom, as I was not actively focusing on counting. I also noticed a difference in how I was able to incorporate other mindful awareness (physical sensations/visualizations) into the basic meditation versus the breath counting. I could envision incorporating both of these exercises more regularly into my practice with children and teens as a way to start and end sessions.
Hello! My name is Kayla Hamel. I am an LCSW and have been doing public school counseling through Spurwink since 2018. I have been working with elementary school aged children (5-11) and their family’s during this time. I am in the middle of a transition period, beginning a combination of outpatient work and more public school counseling but with teens! I was drawn to mindfulness when I discovered its benefits personally. I have incorporated mindfulness in so many ways since into my practice with children and families. I am very hopeful and excited to develop more knowledge and skills as I continue in the social work field!
