Mindfulness and Meditation (Meeting Recap)

We discussed the purpose of mindfulness and meditation. Mindfulness by definition is being present in the moment. To be present in the moment means to clear your mind, allow your thoughts, feelings and emotions to pass through without judgement or lingering.

We practiced two exercises: Chair Yoga and Amari led us in a brief example of meditation. For chair yoga, We followed these 10 poses while listening to Album Leaf for ambient background music. I stress the importance of listening to this type of music because the progression is slow and its not distracting. It's very "flowy" and allows your mind to drift with it. Generally, I stick to the songs without vocalization such as "Window" and "Twentytwo Fourteen".

Amari covered the history of meditation before leading us in a simple, yet effective meditation. The exercise we participated in had us focus on our breathing and heartbeat while sitting up straight with our eyes closed for about a minute. With practice, Amari explained that you can explore your inner self that you regularly do not connect to.

With that, concluded our programming for the day.

We then discussed that next week we will take a break from our more structured format and watch a movie: The Voices.

This movie is a horror comedy about a guy (Ryan Reynolds) who lives with schizophrenia. Although it is an extreme case of the disorder (and completely fictional), it does a good job portraying what it is like inside the mind of a man with schizophrenia, who also happens to be a serial killer. It also heralds the importance of med-compliance when prescribed by a doctor.

Because we will be watching a movie, our meeting will start at 12pm rather than 12:30 next week. 

I look forward to seeing you next time and sharing one of my favorite movies with you all!