Only that day dawns to which we are

Only that day dawns to which we are awake. HENRY DAVID THOREAU, Walden

Mindfulness: Live Life Awake Kay Theyerl, MD, FACP, MS, ABIHM Medical Director, Lifestyle Medicine

Today Introduction to the concept of Mindfulness Science of the Mind-Body connection Practical examples How we can shift our emotional response to be healthier and happier • Short experiential using Heartmath • TED talk - Gratitude • How an “Attitude of Gratitude” can change your day and your life • •

Daily Life • • • I am so busy doing that I feel I have lost a bit of myself I have lost sight of my passion/spirit I cannot turn my mind off I do not take time for myself – I put everyone else first I feel stressed much of the time I worry about the future I feel ______ about the past I feel I am on automatic pilot I have a short fuse I tend to react to people and situations I am exhausted

• • How resilient are we? How productive are we? What kinds of decisions are we making? How are our relationships? – Family – Friends – coworkers • How healthy are we? – Self care • How much are we enjoying life?

ME

Just Be • “Doing” brain vs “Being” brain • Stress and exhaustion result from living in the “doing/thinking” brain • There is no pill or supplement • We must recharge by going to the “Being” brain Mindfulness can change the pathways in the brain and recharge us

Mindfulness Means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment and nonjudgmentally. It is the art of conscious living – JON KABAT-ZINN This nurtures greater awareness, clarity, and acceptance of present-moment reality and helps us get back in touch with our own wisdom and vitality.

Mindfulness Curious Bemusement

Mindfulness – Way of Being “Mindful Living” • • • Daily activities Work Eating Interactions with others Our own emotions

Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There! • We run around doing, fixing, orchestrating • We can learn to: – Shift into “being” mode – Become aware of breathing – Breathe and Let Be • Use something to which we have access – Our breath

Brain and Heart are wired together • The heart has its own complex nervous system - the “Heart Brain” • The heart sends far more information to the brain than the brain sends to the heart • The heart signals especially affect the brain centers involved in decision making, creativity, and emotional experience • The breath affects the heart

Resilience • Resilience: Ability to recover quickly from misfortune; able to return to original form after being bent, compressed, or stretched out of shape. A human ability to recover quickly from disruptive change, or misfortune without being overwhelmed or acting in dysfunctional or harmful ways.

Resilience • Heart rate variability = coherence resilience – Tree that bends in the wind – Tennis player/skier – “Go with the Flow”

Emotional coherence = more ordered and harmonious interactions among the body’s systems (synchronized) Leading to clear, focused thinking © 2007 Heart. Math LLC

Coherence • Quick Coherence® – feeling of ease and inner harmony - reflected in your heart rhythms. • The heart is a primary generator of rhythm in your body influencing brain processes that control your nervous system, cognitive function and emotion • More coherent heart rhythms facilitate brain function, allowing you more access to your higher intelligence to improve: – – Focus Creativity Intuition Higher-level decision-making • When you’re in heart-rhythm coherence, you perform at your best - You feel confident, positive, focused and calm, yet energized – keeps us resilient

Heartmath. org • You can use the Quick Coherence® Technique anytime, anywhere • Creates positive changes in your heart rhythms, sending powerful signals to the brain that can improve how you’re feeling • Use in the middle of a difficult conversation, when you feel overwhelmed or pressed for time, or anytime you simply want to practice increasing your coherence

Neutralize the stressful feelings. LEVEL 1 COHERENCE

Neutral Tool • Shift your breathing to the area around your heart • Breathing modulates the nervous system via the heart’s rhythms

Neutral is the ready position for flexibility Neutral is not just an attitude – it is a way to change our physiology!

Where would being neutral help you? This simple act of focusing on the heart combined with a deeper level of breathing draws energy away from the distressed thoughts and feelings, and stops any damaging effects they have on your system.

Your Emotional Landscape High Arousal Negative Emotion Positive Emotion Low Arousal Low Energy Relaxation Stress Free Zone Stress Zone High Energy Adrenaline

Level 2 Coherence Add the power of positive emotions

Heart Feelings • Think of 2 people you really love: • Think of two things that you love to do: • Think of two places that give you a sense of peace: Where do you feel it?

Quick Coherence® Technique Shift your breathing Activate a positive emotion – FEEL IT

Heart Lock-in technique Sustain a positive emotion and “lock in” how that feels Becomes new baseline By generating positive energy with emotions such as appreciation, compassion, care, and love and sending that energy to yourself and others—you can impact both your internal and external environment • Coherence vs Relaxation • • SUSTAIN COHERENCE

The Power of Coherence Anger 150 130 100 110 90 50 70 50 0 0 60 150 120 180 240 300 150 Relaxation 130 0. 05 0. 15 0. 25 0. 35 0. 45 100 110 90 50 70 0 50 0 60 150 120 180 240 700 Appreciation 130 0. 05 0. 15 0. 25 0. 35 0. 45 300 600 110 100 90 70 50 © 2007 Heart. Math LLC 0 60 120 180 Seconds 240 300 0 0. 05 0. 15 0. 25 0. 35 0. 45 Frequency (Hz)

Heart Lock-in® Steps ¢ ¢ ¢ © 2007 Heart. Math LLC Shift your attention to the area of your heart and breathe slowly and deeply. Shift Activate and sustain a genuine feeling of Activate appreciation or care for someone or something in your life. Sustain Send these feelings of care toward yourself and others.

Josh and Mabel © 2004 Institute of Heart. Math

A Boy and His Dog Heart Rate (BPM) (Heart Rhythms) Mabel (The Dog) Josh enters room and loves Mabel Heart Rate (BPM) Josh and Mabel in separate rooms Josh (The Boy) Time (minutes) Josh leaves room Mabel wants him to stay

Rescuing Hug This is a picture from an article called “The Rescuing Hug. ” The article details the first week of life of a set of twins. Apparently, they were in separate incubators and one was not expected to live. A hospital nurse fought against the hospital rules and placed the babies together in one incubator. When they were placed together, the healthier of the two threw an arm over her sister in an endearing embrace. The smaller baby’s heart rate stabilized and her temperature rose to normal.

STOP • • S – Stop T – Take a breath O – Observe P -- Proceed www. Sharingmindfulness. com

• TED Talk http: //www. ted. com/talks/louie schwartzberg nature beauty gratitude. html

May today there be peace within you. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite • May today there be peace within you. May you possibilities that are born of faith in yourself trust that you are exactly where you are meant to and others. May you use the gifts that you have be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities received, and pass on the love that has been that are born of faith in yourself and others. May given to you. May you be content with yourself you use the gifts that you have received, and pass just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle on the love that has been given to you. May you in and allow your Soul the freedom to sing, be content with yourself just the way you are. Let dance, praise and love. It is there for each and this knowledge settle in and allow your Soul the every one of us. freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us. • Shared by Mimi Guarneri, MD Interventional Cardiologist

Questions

Credits • • Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph. D – U Mass Peg Mc. Ewen, APNP – TCBH Lee Lipsenthal, MD Al Bellg, Ph. D