Mindfulness Tools

Mindfulness is a foundational aspect of many therapy frameworks. It is important in working through internal or emotional disconnection, building awareness around disruptive or destructive patterns, and recovering from trauma.

However, conceptions of what mindfulness is in counseling often gets lost in term overuse, pop psychology, generalities, and self-help productivity hacks. Mindfulness is the alignment of the mind, body, and heart in conjunction with the present moment. In other words, it isn’t about sitting on top of a mountain in your best yoga pose with hands upturned in a specific configuration, it isn’t about stress management to handle more, and it definitely doesn’t get represented well online or via social media.

In the context of counseling, mindfulness is being able to become aware and re-establishing the communication between your mind and body in the present moment.

It is a skill that I have found, in working with clients, that requires small, yet consistent effort to establish. Yes. I said little, yet consistent. If a person were to spend anywhere from 3 to 15 minutes a day building this skill, the results are generally noticeable in a short period of time.

Below you will find two tools that are helpful in strengthening this skill. The Mental Body Scan which is a 15-minute guided mindfulness exercise and the Wise Mind Anchor which is a 3–5-minute guided mindfulness exercise to assist in this process. Although this is not a substitute for therapy it is a place that I have many clients start to develop or strengthen that internal awareness that is deeply important for growth.

When doing these mindfulness exercises, you will hear me refer to House Party Protocol. A term I coined to reframe the fight we often experience in our minds to shut out thoughts. In these, we don’t do that. We notice the thought, allow it to be there, and then return to our focus. No fight, no unrealistic expectations, simply ease in the process of internal connection.

Be Good to Yourself,

Brian

Mental Body Scan:

Wise Mind Anchor: