Friday Feature: Prescribing Wellness

 In my first year seminar and positive psychology classes, I often assign my students positive psychology practices -- things like savoring something, performing an action mindfully and listing gratitudes. All of these are things that research has shown to be beneficial, but, ironically, they are often the first to go when we are stressed. 

As you read this, you may be feeling the stress that comes with the holidays and/or the end of the year. You might think you don't have time for frivolous things as you frantically work your way through your to-do list.

But some of these things take just a moment. Taking a deep breath or sitting still, closing your eyes for one minute and focusing on your breathing can be restorative, and helpful for more than the moment it takes to do them.

I'm not alone in my belief in the power of these practices. A handful of doctors at Sutter Health in California have put their prescription pads to use for more than just pharmaceuticals and have begun prescribing wellness practices for their patients.

Maybe you're rolling your eyes. Or maybe you think this sounds great but right now you have 27 more gifts to wrap and 2700 more cookies to bake. 

Duly noted. But after the hubbub dies down, do yourself a favor and read this article from Greater Good Magazine about those physicians and their prescriptions. If you like what you read, maybe choose one or two of their recommendations and try them out during the week between Christmas and New Year's. If you find them useful, and you're the sort of person who makes New Year's resolutions, maybe commit to one or two for a longer period of time. 

Chances are you've spent the better part of the last month finding perfect gifts for other people and making preparations for celebrations. Isn't it time to celebrate you and give yourself a gift of peace? If the last two years don't warrant that, I don't know what does.

May your days be merry and bright, with a dose of peace and a heaping helping of good mental and physical health.

It Wasn't Just the Hangers that were Bent out of Shape

AnnaliseArt via Pixabay

One of the topics I've been reading about lately is mindfulness. In related news, I hate when people mess with my laundry room set-up.

Not related, you say? That's what I said, too.

Until one morning earlier this week. Bear with me, and I'll take you there.

When you write a book about organization, the topic tends to infiltrate your life. I pride myself on devising neat, efficient ways of doing things and, once I get a system up and running, I want Easy Upkeep (the E in STYLE) to kick in. When other people mess with my system and I have to redo things the way I like them, I get cranky because, first of all, it slows me down and second of all, re-doing something I'd already set up in a workable way feels like a waste of time.

Which brings me to laundry. I have a thing about hangers being stored in such a way that I can grab a hanger one-handed while holding an item of clothing to be hung in the other hand. When someone (and I'm not naming any names here) comes along and squashes all the hangers together, that simple task becomes impossible. I have to put down the damp item of clothing, untangle the hangers and resume my task, which has now taken three times as long. Not only that, but it begins a whole "why do people have to mess with my systems?" monologue in my head, which was already engaged in a more productive monologue about the multitude of things I'd do when I finished hanging up the laundry.

I hear all of you laid-back, laundry-room-on-the-first-floor folks tsking me and shaking your heads. And I can't say you're wrong. In the scheme of things, it's not that big a deal. I mean, it's a hanger, right?

But the hanger is a symptom, not the problem. When I go down to the basement to do one of the (seemingly endless) steps in a laundry-related task, I'm often interrupting something else to do said task. I want to get in, get it done, and get back to business as soon as possible. I do not want to wrestle with hangers, move wayward laundry baskets or find that some other helpful person has left a load of clothes in the dryer. All of these tasks add unnecessary obstacles, ranging from the minuscule to the downright annoying -- obstacles that I must clear before I can get back to whatever it was I was doing before laundry so rudely interrupted my life.

Earlier this week, as I was muttering to myself about someone messing with my hangers, I heard myself. Anxious (as usual) to complete the laundry task before me as quickly as possible, I was allowing myself to get all bent out of shape over a molecule in a drop of water in a wave in the ocean.

Pixabay

I'd read on more than one occasion about doing tasks, even -- and perhaps especially -- the most mundane ones, in a mindful fashion. Turning off the endlessly looping "gotta do this next" tape, focusing on the simplicity of the task itself, and, perhaps, taming my mind in the process.

So I tried it. And it actually worked.

Oh, I still had to rearrange all the hangers and complete what I'd set out to do before adding the massive task of hanger rearrangement to my burgeoning to-do list but instead of doing it with gritted teeth and muttered accusations, I just, you know, did it. I focused on the moving and the folding and the hanging and, in short order, a rhythm developed.

And it was soothing. It bore no tension or accusations, and freed my mind to unclench. This was surprising in no small part because I hadn't realized that my mind had been clenched, let alone that it could even do something like that in the first place.

If this were a fairy tale, it would end with me happily hanging laundry à la Cinderella, with chirping birds and sunny skies, a song in my heart and life in a castle on the horizon.

Life-of-Pix via Pixabay

This is not a fairy tale. There are no birds helping with the laundry and the people who help are sometimes less than helpful, although they are well-intentioned. Usually.

But if I have to do laundry in the first place, maybe it's not such a bad idea to do it with my mind
unclenched. After all, the best ideas come when our minds are open enough to welcome them. I am, for example, open to the idea of relocating our laundry room to the ground floor of our house.

But that's another story.

Friday Feature: Mindfulness

Yesterday, we had Thanksgiving dinner at my sister and brother-in-law's house. When my husband, daughter, dad and I arrived, my niece took our coats and I plunked my purse, with my cell phone inside, onto a chair, which was where it stayed for the duration of our visit.

This was a conscious decision. At 57, I am as guilty of cell phone distractibility and overload as my students, who are more than three decades younger than I am. Thanksgiving, I decided, was not a day for cell phones.

That's not to say that I went electronics-free yesterday -- that would be a bold-faced lie. But it is true to say that I was mindful of my electronics usage, and that I chose times that I wanted to be in the moment. During those times, I wanted my cell phone out of sight, which also kept it (mostly) out of mind.

Mindfulness -- our focus on being fully present in the moment -- is a practice that's been getting a lot of favorable press, perhaps because in today's busy, electronically fueled world, it's especially hard to come by. Research has shown that mindfulness has health and wellness benefits even beyond stress reduction. In addition, practicing mindfulness helps us to cultivate it even in settings that can be stressful, such as the workplace.

Though I didn't think of it until I sat down to write this post, Thanksgiving was an especially good time to opt for being in the moment. I was seeing my family (who deserved my full attention) and opting to take a day off from work and its related activities -- that much I knew. But, in addition, Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday season and, for me, the end of the semester, both of which can be stressful. Choosing to start this season with my full focus away from distractions -- things that are much lower on my priority list that the people who matter most -- might, perhaps set the tone for a holiday season where I choose to do more of the same.

Looking for ways to improve your mindfulness? Check out this article from the New York Times on increasing mindfulness at work and, perhaps follow up on some of its suggestions for improving your own ability to be mindful.

Who knows? Maybe that's the key to kicking off a season where we can truly focus on peace, love and joy.

Friday Feature: Mindfulness, Dan Bova and Blue Lobsters

Standing in line at CVS, I fell prey to a last minute purchase. I've been immersing myself in positive psychology out of both personal and professional interest and, when I saw the Mindfulness magazine, I had to get it.

I've been reading it slowly, so I could savor it (it's more interesting than the journal article I'm reading for class). The other day, I read Dan Bova's laugh-out-loud piece about trying to become a morning person and I really, really wanted to share it, but I couldn't find a digital version. So I searched Dan Bova online and I'm sharing his blue lobster piece instead.

Really.

Photo: Time Shop

The two articles are completely unrelated, connected only by their author. But, when I find an author whose voice I like, I want to read more.

Even if they write about crustaceans.

Meanwhile, my impulse buy is pictured on the right. Just in time for summer, it has good articles about slowing down and savoring everything from moments to food to life.

Friday Feature: I Need Mindfulness and I Need it NOW!

It's been a really, really messed up week, to quote a song from a few years ago. I don't know about you, but I'm stuck between not wanting to watch the news and being unable to look away.

We could all use a distraction -- a way of stepping away from it all, even if for just a minute.

Mindfulness is one way of doing that. This practice of being fully present in a moment takes many forms. Some people pray or meditate. Others color or knit. Some do yoga.

But, until your office introduces lunchtime stress-reduction programs, you might have to take things into your own hands on those days when you're sitting at your desk feeling your blood pressure rise.

Enter a minute of mindfulness. This article from Fast Company (appropriately enough) focuses on a simple exercise you can do, no matter where you are, to increase your mindfulness and decrease your stress.

Wandering. Awareness. Return.

It's worth a shot. All you have to lose, after all, is your stress.

Friday Freebie: Being in the Moment

Photo: Jamie Rodriguez via Morguefile

As my students and I move into the final chapters of our exploration of The Happiness Project, we've arrived at the section on mindfulness just in time for the deluge of end-of-semester obligations.

What perfect timing.

So, yesterday, I shared an article from the Mayo Clinic on easy mindfulness exercises that don't take much time. Not only does it afford us an opportunity to discuss the topic at hand, but it also gives us a chance to stop for a moment and appreciate where we are, rather than being in a rush to get to the next thing -- something much easier said than done.

Do you need to be more mindful? Spend more time in the moment? Think about meals instead of shoveling them in? Pat yourself on the back for what you've done instead of stressing out over what you haven't gotten to yet?

Whether you contemplate a raisin, take up yoga or simply sit down for a minute, I hope you find a moment of mindfulness each day.