Mindfully funded by the European Union

Week 4

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You're close to finishing your first MBSR month! Well done!

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This week you'll learn and practice new mindful exercises to train your body-mind and two informal techniques (What's not wrong? and STOP). For the formal practice, we invite you to alternate between mindfulness in motion (i.e., yoga/qigong 2) and mindfulness in stillness (i.e., sitting meditation), in order to keep on developing your ability to be more mindful in all circumstances.   

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Mindful Yoga 2 or Qigong 2

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These are the videos for the practices in movement. You can choose between yoga and qigong, or practice both.

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Translate your thoughts into symbols here.

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What's not Wrong?

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Many of us have been conditioned to regularly ask, "What’s wrong?" even if nothing needs to be fixed at a given moment. Doing so, we unwisely invite more and more suffering to come up and manifest. It's clear that we would be much happier if we tried to stay in touch with the healthy, joyful seeds inside of us and around us. 

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In this informal practice, we learn to ask: What’s not wrong? There are many elements in the world and within our bodies, feelings, and mind that are not wrong. This realization can be refreshing and healing. Examples include: not being blind, not feeling worried, not having pain in a specific part of the body, not being hungry, etc.

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The difference between "What's not wrong?" and "Gratitude Journal" is that the former directs you to notice the absence of something negative (e.g., not being thirsty now) while the latter directs you to notice the presence of something positive (e.g., someone smiling at you).

 

Practice this informal technique for a few days, and find out if it's beneficial. Write your impressions here.

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STOP

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This informal practice is also known as "one-minute breathing space". It provides a helpful way to step out of automatic pilot mode and into the present moment. It's very simple but it can bring you unexpected benefits. 

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1) S – Stop. Ask yourself: What is my experience right now?

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Thoughts… 
Feelings… 
Body sensations… 

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2) T – Take a mindful breath. Come back into the present and tune into a state of awareness and stillness.

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3) O – Open your awareness. Expand the field of your awareness, so that it includes a sense of the body as a whole, your posture and facial expression, as well as sights and sounds around you. 

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4) P – Proceed without expectation. Be curious and open, responding naturally to the situation.

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Remember to STOP during the week and write your findings here.

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Have you successfully practiced your mindfulness techniques this week? Move to week 5.

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If you want the Certificate of Completion, please send the Practice Log, with the 

subject line "MBSR week 4". 

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