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Viewing entries tagged with 'mindfulness'

Entrada Professionals Weekend

Posted by Katelyn Bevard on November 20, 2014 | 0 comment(s)

Katelyn BeVardWhen you’re tasked with hosting an event and spend hours preparing for it and making sure it goes off without a hitch it’s easy to forget why you were doing it in the first place. I can often be guilty of focusing too much on the details and erring on the side of perfection. During our event I sat around a warm fire surrounded by professionals of the industry in the middle of the Nevada desert. In this moment our Health and Wellness Coordinator invited the group to practice mindfulness as we enjoyed a well-prepared meal of beans and rice. It was the first time in over a month where I actively took time to slow down and enjoy the present moment. I was reminded WHY I was there and how powerful the wilderness can be. I was overwhelmed with the amount of contentment and gratitude surrounding me.

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Mindfulness Practices for Addiction Recovery

Posted by Elise Mitchell on November 13, 2014 | 7 comment(s)

As a yoga teacher and meditation facilitator for Second Nature Entrada as well as the yoga director for a local, in-patient addiction treatment center for adults, I become giddy (if not a little smug) with every new article or study that references mindfulness as a means of complimentary treatment for behavioral or psychological disorders. Mindfulness is gaining a greater voice in the field of psychology and physiology and we practitioners of such a concept are celebrating!

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A Mindful Moment: Golden Milk

Posted by Elise Mitchell on October 04, 2014 | 0 comment(s)

An important part of the journey back to health and well-being is to remember how to self-soothe when life is turbulent. At Second Nature, we encourage our clients and students to establish discipline around self-care. Creating comfort in simple, healthy ways is an essential part of that discipline and can be SO much fun to explore! The following recipe is incredibly simple and full of time-tested medicinal properties!!

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The Little Things

Posted by Elise Mitchell on August 17, 2014 | 2 comment(s)

There are so many reasons to invite more mindfulness into one’s life. The reasons are as plentiful as the practices themselves. One of the subjects regarding mindfulness that I enjoy teaching most is, “Indulging the little things.” The implications of enjoying the subtle and simple are far reaching in ways that can surprise and inspire.

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Pranayama

Posted by Elise Mitchell on August 04, 2014 | 0 comment(s)

Pranayama is the Yogic art of breathing. Prana = vital energy, ayama = extension. The practice of pranayama helps bring awareness to the breath bringing the mind to the present moment. The exercise of refining the inhale and exhale can have an extraordinary effect on mood, promoting relaxation, focus, clarity. In the Yogic tradition, the breath is often referred to as a communication with the soul or the vehicle of the soul. Developing a greater understanding and awareness of our breath helps develop a greater awareness of the soul as well. Through the years I’ve been teaching Yoga, the most surprising thing I’ve learned is how profoundly the breath can relieve stress and anxiety with just the simplest practices. Here is one pranayama technique we practiced this week at the Oasis. Try it for yourself!

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Mindful Eating: Many Faces of Meditation

Posted by Elise Mitchell on July 14, 2014 | 0 comment(s)

Thich Nhat Hanh, the well-known Zen Buddhist monk, tells a story about the Buddha being asked what he and his students practice. His reply was, “We sit, we eat, and we sleep.” The inquistitor, perplexed, replied, “but we all do that.” The Buddha, in his perfect wisdom and grace asserted, “Yes but when we sit we know we are sitting. When we sleep, we know we are sleeping, and when we eat, we know we are eating.”

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The Addict Brain & Yoga

Posted by Elise Mitchell on July 07, 2014 | 0 comment(s)

The yoga mat teaches you something about yourself every time you get on it. We can use these lessons toward any personal journey we undertake. In the case of addiction and recovery, the mat is an excellent place to challenge the addict brain. It reveals our knee-jerk reactions to discomfort and our over-indulgent behaviors toward pleasure. Like a mirror, the mat shows us our strengths and weaknesses not just in our physicality but also in our character. The lesson does not stop with a casual glance at our short-comings. Oh no! At this point, we have only taken out our notebooks and pencils.

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Mantra: Quelling the Fire

Posted by Elise Mitchell on June 14, 2014 | 2 comment(s)

If the word mantra draws up an image of bald Hare Krishna chanting men in orange robes asking for money in airports… you’re not alone. That said, we’ve come a long way, baby!

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An Oasis Moment: Loving Kindness

Posted by Elise Mitchell on May 17, 2014 | 1 comment(s)

The practice of loving kindness is most often associated with the Theraveda Buddhist tradition. This meditation practice, referred to as Metta, can be found in the Pali Cannon that dates back 2,500 years and is the traditional scriptures for Theraveda Buddhism. Although this practice has roots in Buddhist discipline, its practice has spread to the mainstream. Compassion meditations are often used with the 12 Step program, have been highly studied in the Western sciences particularly neuroscience and psychology, and being taught in our schools!

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A Meditation on Meditation

Posted by Elise Mitchell on April 23, 2014 | 0 comment(s)

The benefits of meditation and mindfulness practices are vast and becoming increasingly publicized in our culture. Today, that mattered very little. What I witnessed today stood out against all the years I’ve been teaching meditation and mindfulness practices.

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