Mindfulness 8 Week Program Designed to help clients manage difficult emotions and feelings like stress, anxiety, anger and hostility using a variety of mindfulness techniques including meditation.Week 1 Intro to Mindfulness Purpose: ‘Mission: Introduce clients to mindfulness and gather data on current level of mindfulness (Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire) for each client. Goals: To contribute to discussions, participate in activities, and practice a simple mindfulness exercise. Preparation: Equipment: Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire, pens/pencils, create glitter water bottle (fill a clear water bottle with water and several tablespoons of glitter), mindfulness bell or chime. Clothing: Comfortable Other/ Special Considerations: Facilitator should have a solid understanding of mindfulness, including engaging in regular mindfulness practice. Some clients may experience distressing emotions and feelings while doing the mindfulness meditation; be prepared to address this as appropriate. Description: Opening (2 minutes): Welcome the group, discuss any concerns they might have, establish ground rules. Because this is the first group of this program take a minute for everyone to learn names and feel more comfortable. Proceed with the group as follows Questionnaire (10 minutes): Explain to the group that this questionnaire asks questions about their current individual mindfulness practice awareness. The questionnaire will help establish a baseline of mindfulness awareness among the group. Quote (5 minutes): “What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson. Encourage discussion on the quote. Mindfulness Activity/Demonstration (5 minutes): Hold up the glitter bottle. Begin shaking it and use it as an analogy to our mind. Mindfulness is the process of pausing for a moment and allowing the mind to focus and become clear. Stop shaking the bottle and let the glitter settle, Pass it around and give them the opportunity to visualize mindfulness with the bottle. Alternative option is to gather group in a circle and give someone a ball, have them call ‘out a name and through the ball to that person, then that person calls a name and so on. Continue through the circle and then begin to add more balls to increase challenge. Mindfulness Lesson(S minutes): Mindfulness can be defined simply being present in the here and now or being aware of what's happening as it's happening. Put another way it is paying attention to something, in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally. While mindfulness as a practice is historically rooted in ancient Buddhist meditative disciplines, itis also a universal practice that anyone can benefit from. Mindfulness has been extensively researched and some of the benefits indicated by the research are improved concentration, improved emotion regulation, decrease in anxiety, decrease in stress, improved mood, increase in sense of well-being, increased quality of sleep, increased sense of calmness, relaxation, and self-acceptance...and many more. Mindfulness can be practiced as aformal meditation, in which you would set aside a quiet time and meditate. Mindfulness can also be practiced at any moment during your day to day activities. Over the next 8 weeks we will explore both, By the end of this program each of you will be able to do both. The basic process of mindfulness is to: 1) decide what to pay attention to, 2) notice when you aren't paying attention to it, 3) accept without judgement that you have been distracted, 4) dismiss whatever distracted you, and 5) return your attention to what you are supposed to be paying attention to, Mindfulness Practice (5 minutes): Let's try our first formal mindfulness practice together. | will be using this chime throughout our sessions. When the chime rings, that will begin our session, focusing on the sound as it tapers off is a good way to bring your focus to the Present moment as we begin the meditation. | will also ring it again at the end of our session, which indicates to you to slowly bring your awareness back to the group. Referring back to the steps above you need figure out what to pay attention to during the meditation. One of the most common things to focus on or pay attention to Is our breathing. For the next 60 seconds | want each of you to sit in a comfortable position. (Follow script below) Close your eyes. Be still and listen, {Ring chime) Notice how you feel inside, Pay attention to your breathing. Breathe slowly in through your nose and out through your mouth. Imagine the air slowly filling your lungs and belly and then flowing out again. IF you notice that you are thinking about other things, that’s ok. Just accept it, and then bring your attention back to your breath. Notice your belly moving as you take slow belly breaths. Ask yourself what am I feeling? Keep paying attention to your breath (Continue for one minute in silence) (Ring chime) Slowly open your eyes and return to the room. Processing (10 min What was it like doing the meditation? What were the challenges? How do you fee! now? When can you incorporate mindfulness in your day to day life? What benefits of mindfulness would you like to see personally? References Stahl, 8., & Goldstein, E, (2010). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook, Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications. Burdick, D. (n.d.}. Mindfulness skills for kids & teens: A workbook for clinicans & clients with 154 tools, techniques, activities & worksheets,Week 2 Getting on board with mindfulness Purpose: Mission: To deepen clients’ understanding of mindfulness and for client to identify how mindfulness can help them. Goals: To contribute to discussions, participate in activities, and verbally identify one area of their life that they would like to use mindfulness. Preparation Equipment: Mindfulness bell or chime. Ted Talk: 10 Mindful Minutes and viewing, device, paper, and pen/pencil Clothing: Comfortable Other: Have a solid understanding of the practice of mindfulness, Be prepared to share lesson below and help clients identify one area of their life that they would like to use mindfulness. Description: Opening (10 minutes): Welcome the group, discuss any concerns they might have. Refresh their memory and discuss prior week's lesson. What is mindfulness? They should have practiced mindfulness on their own. Have them share experience. What were some challenges, some successes? This lesson is all about getting them on board with mindfulness and how it can help them. Addressing and troubleshooting objections and challenges to mindfulness is critical. Proceed with the group as follows: Mindfulness Activity/Demonstration (10 minutes): TedTalk: 10 Mindful Minutes Mindfulness Lesson (5 minutes): There is a lot of research supporting the benefits of mindfulness. | mentioned some of those benefits last week. With what. you have learned thus far, let’s brainstorm some ways that mindfulness could benefit each of you here in prison. Have each client write some benefits that they would like to see in their own life and write a goal for practicing formal mindfulness meditation. Ex goal, “Set aside 10 minutes after lunch every day to practice mindfulness meditation.” Mindfulness Practice (5 minutes): Let’s try a mindfulness meditation for 5 minutes. As a reminder, when the chime rings, that will begin our session, focusing on the sound as it tapers off is a good way to bring your focus to the present moment as we begin the meditation. | will also ring it again at the end of our session, which indicates to you to slowly bring your ‘awareness back to the group. Just as we did in the first session, focus your attention on your breathing. If thoughts come in that distract you, just acknowledge them and return your focus. to your breathing. 1 will guide you for the first minute, after that you are on your own to guide your thoughts and your breathing. (Follow script below) Close your eyes. Be still and listen. (Ring chime) Notice how you feel inside. Pay attention to your breathing.Breathe slowly in through your nose and out through your mouth. Imagine the air stowly filling your lungs and belly and then flowing out again. |f you notice that you are thinking about other things, that's ok. Just accept it, and then bring your attention back to your breath, Notice your belly moving as you take slow belly breaths. Keep paying attention to your breath. (Continue for 4 minutes in silence) (Ring chime) Slowly open your eyes and return your focus to the group. Processiny 25 * Have you been practicing mindfulness on your own? What has been your experience like? What did you think of the video? Anything in particular that stood out? What are some of the challenges you face when trying to be mindful? How do you see mindfulness helping you in your life? References Burdick, D. (n.d.). Mindfulness skills for kids & teens: A workbook for clinicans & clients with 154 tools, techniques, activities & worksheets.Week 3 Mindfulness and the Five Senses Purpose: Mission: To deepen clients’ understanding of mindfulness and to introduce mindfulness as an informal practice that can be done any time or place. Goals: To contribute to discussion, participate in activity and to use the five senses as a tool for bringing awareness to the present moment. Preparation: Equipment: Pen, paper, Mindfulness of Surroundings handout. Clothing: Comfortable Other: Have a solid understanding of the practice of mindfulness. Be prepared to share lesson below and address questions, concerns or objections to mindfulness, Description: Opening (5 minutes): Welcome the group. Discuss any concerns anyone might have. Past - Now - Future Activity (10 minutes): Hand out piece of paper and pen to each client. Have them write whatever comes to mind over the next 5 minutes. Encourage them to write freely and not worry about sentence structure or spelling, At the conclusion of the activity have them identify thoughts or ideas according to whether they relate to the P = Past, N = Now, F= Future. Have them tally up how many thoughts were in each category. Discuss using questions below. Mindfulness Using the 5 Senses Lesson (5 minutes) : Up until this point we have discussed mindfulness in the context of a formal meditation practice. However, mindfulness isn’t not limited to formal practice. Mindfulness can be practiced anytime, anywhere by simply bringing your attention to the present moment using your senses. Read passage from Thich Nhat Hahn's, The Miracle of Mindfulness: “Washing the dishes to wash the dishes. Thirty years ago, when | was still a novice at Tu Hieu pagoda, washing the dishes was hardly a pleasant task, Ouring the Season of Retreat when all the monks returned to the monastery, two novices had to do all the cooking and wash the dishes for sometimes well over one hundred monks. There was no soap. We had only ashes, rice husks, and coconut husks, and that was all. Cleaning such a high stack of bowls was a chore, especially during the winter when the water was freezing cold. Then you had to heat up a big pot of water before you could do any scrubbing. Nowadays one stands in a kitchen equipped with liquid soap, special scrubpads, and even running hot water which ‘makes it all the more agreeable. It is easier to enjoy washing the dishes now. Anyone ‘can wash them in a hurry, then sit down and enjoy a cup of tea afterwards, | can see a machine for washing clothes, although | wash my own things out by hand, but a dishwashing machine Is going just a little too far! While washing the dishes one should only be washing the dishes, which means that while washing the dishes one should be completely aware of the fact that one is washing the dishes, At first glance, that might seem a little silly: why put so much stressona simple thing? But that's precisely the point, the fact that | am standing there and washing these bowls is a wondrous reality. I'm being completely myself, following my breath, conscious of my presence, and conscious of my thoughts and actions. There’s no way | can be tossed around mindlessly like a bottle slapped here and there on the waves. The cup in your hands In the United States, | have a close friend name Jim Forest. When | first met him eight years ago, he was working with the Catholic Peace Fellowship. Last winter, Jim came to visit. | usually wash the dishes after we've finished the evening meal, before sitting down and drinking tea with everyone else. One night, Jim asked if he might do the dishes. | said, “Go ahead, but if you wash the dishes you must know the way to wash them.” Jim replied, “Come on, you think | don’t know how to wash the dishes?” answered, “There are two ways to wash the dishes. The first is to wash the dishes in order to have clean dishes and the second is to wash the dishes in order to wash the es.” Jim was delighted and said, “I choose the second way--to wash the dishes to ‘wash the dishes.” From then on, Jim knew how to wash the dishes. | transferred the “responsibility” to him for an entire week. If while washing dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as if they were a nuisance, then we are not “washing the dishes to wash the dishes.” What's more, we are not alive during the time we are washing the dishes. In fact we are completely incapable of realizing the miracle of life while standing at the sink. If we can’t wash the dishes, the chances are we won't be able to drink our tea either. While drinking the cup of tea, we will only be thinking of other things, barely aware of the cup in our hands. Thus we are sucked away into the future--and we are incapable of actually living one minute of life.” Mindfulness of Surroundings Exercise (5 minutes): Using the handout as a script, lead the group in the mindfulness exercise. Upon completion encourage them te try this on their own and hand out a copy. Processing (10 minutes per activity): ¢ Past-Now-Future Activity: © How were your thoughts divided up? © Why do you think your thoughts were divide that way? © What impact do you think that has on you? © Washing the dishes: ‘© What does it meant to wash the dishes to wash the dishes? How is that different from washing the dishes to have clean dishes? Think about your job here, can you relate? At the end he says the when we aren’t focused on the think we are doing ‘"we are sucked away into the future--and we are incapable of actually living one minute of life.” That is a powerful statement. What does it mean? © So how do we go about washing the dishes to wash the dishes? 200References Burdick, D. (n.d.). Mindfulness skills for kids & teens: A workbook for clinicans & clients with 154 tools, techniques, activities & worksheets. Hanh, T. (1987). The miracle of mindfulness ([Rev. ed.). Boston: Beacon Press.Week 4 Mindful Mandalas Purpose: ‘Mission: To broaden the client’s understanding of mindfulness, introducing them to new techniques and methods to be mindful. Goals: Bringing awareness to the present moment by coloring a mandala while listening to meditative music. Preparation: Equipment: Markers, colored pencils, mandala coloring pages, meditation CD and CD player. Clothing: Comfortable Other/Special Considerations: Description: ‘Opening (5 minutes): Welcome the group and discuss any concerns that the clients may have. ‘Mondala Lesson (5 minutes): In sanskrit mandala means both circle and center, implying that it represents both the visible world around us {the circle) and the invisible one deep inside ‘our minds and bodies {the center). Historical and religious variations of the mandala can be found among american indian and tibetan sand-paintings, gothic rose windows and hindu yantras. Mandalas are becoming increasingly popular as a tool in therapeutic settings to facilitate meditation and healing. Today we will be listening to meditation music and color mandalas. During this exercise try not to just let your mind wander aimlessly - mindless, instead, be mindful and focus your attention on the present moment, Some tips to be mindful while doing this activity are: listening intently to the music and identifying particular sounds or instruments, watching the color from your marker appear on the paper, and paying attention to the motion af your hand you color. if at any moment you find that your mind is wandering, simply bring your attention back to the moment and refocus. (Restate this and the above tips multiple times throughout the activity to help keep clients focused)Week 6 Mindfulness of Body Purpose: Mission: To deepen the client's understanding of mindfulness, and introduce them toa formal mindfulness meditation technique called a body scan. Goals: To be able to relax the body for the duration of the 15 minute meditation, as demonstrated by minimal movement and fidgeting Preparat Equipment: 15 min Body Sean recording, yoga mats, Clothing: Any Other/Special Considerations: Description: Opening (5 minutes): Welcome the group and discuss any concerns that the clients may have. Body Scan Lesson (5 minutes): Start off with a discussion about this quote: “The body says what words cannot.” {Taken from Stahl, Goldstein pg 65) The body scan meditation is a deep investigation into the moment-to-moment experiences of the body. By bringing awareness and acknowledgment to whatever you feel or sense in the body, the body scan can be very helpful in working with stress, anxiety, and physical pain. During this meditation you methodically bring attention to the body, beginning with the left foot and ending at the top of the head. You may notice a wide range of physical feelings: itches, aches, tingles, lightness, heaviness, warmth, cold, and more, as well as neutrality. Some of these sensations may be accompanied by ‘thoughts or emotions. As you practice the body scan, this multitude of sensations and internal experiences can be boiled down to three basic feelings: pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral. Allow yourself to feel any emotion, feeling or sensation without judgement. Body Scan Meditation (15 minutes): Using yoga mats, have everyone lie down and get comfortable and begin the recording. Processing Questions: How did your body feel before the body scan? After the body scan? Did you notice parts of your body that were tense that you weren't aware of? Were you able to release some of that tension? How do you think your thoughts affect your body? References Stahl, B., & Goldstein, E. (2010). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.Week 7 Loving Kindness Meditation Purpos: Mission: To deepen the client’s understanding of mindfulness, and introduce them to a new technique to increase self-awareness, self-expression, and self-regulation, Goals: To engage In the formal mindfulness meditation called “loving kindness”, as demonstrated by relaxed body with minimal movement, Preparation: Equipment: Yoga mats, Loving kindness meditation recording, Loving Kindness Handout Clothing: Comfortable Other/Special Considerations. Description: Opening (5 minutes): Welcome the group, discuss any concerns they may have. Take a moment to review what has been learned so far. Loving Kindness Lesson (5 minutes): (taken from Burdick, pg 249). Today we are going to practice a new kind of mindfulness meditation technique called loving kindness. Loving kindness exercises help foster acceptance and compassion for self and others. The practice of loving kindness always begins with developing a loving acceptance of yourself. From there you extend out wishes or thoughts of loving kindness to others. There are § types of people to develop loving kindness toward: Yourself, a good friend or family member, a neutral person - someone you know but are not close to, a difficult person that you don’t like or get along with, and then gradually the entire universe. Loving Kindness Meaitation (15 minutes): This exercise can be done lying down on the yoga mats or in chairs sitting comfortably, Once everyone is relaxed begin the recording, Processing Questions: How did it feel to send loving kindness to your family? How did it feel to send loving kindness to a difficult person? Did you have trouble sending loving kindness to yourself? What did you notice about how you felt before, during and after the meditation? Why do think this meditation is beneficial? How would you use it in your life? oor eoe References Burdick, D. (n.c.). Mindfulness skills for kids & teens: A workbook for clinicans & clients with 154 tools, techniques, activities & worksheets. Stahl, B., & Goldstein, €. (2010). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.Week 8 Wrap-up Purpose: Mission; Review what has been learned so far, solidify mindfulness concepts. Goals: To verbally state what mindfulness is and how they can incorporate it into their life moving forward Preparation: Equipment: Yoga mats (optional), meditation music (optional). Clothing: Comfortable Other/Special Considerations: Description Opening (5 minutes): Welcome group, address and concerns that a group member may have. Wrap-Up Discussion (20 minutes): This is a time to explore with the clients what they have learned about mindfulness, about themselves, and how (or if) this is something they will continue to practice. Wrap-Up Meditation (10 minutes): Close group with a 10 minute meditation. 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