The finest Mindfulness Therapy in Melbourne, Australia, featuring exceptional Vedic chants and mudras tailored to address specific issues
Mindfulness - Based Cognitive Therapy uses mindfulness practices to offer insight on negative mind states associated with depression and anxiety.
Practicing mindfulness helps us regain control over our anxiety and improves our overall physical and mental wellbeing.
Mindfulness meditation changes our brain and biology in positive ways, improving our mental and physical health.
Some people find practicing mindfulness is much better than taking part in talking therapies at helping people recover from depression.
The goal of mindfulness is to wake up to the inner workings of our mental, emotional and physical processes.
Mindfulness Therapy is not suitable for people having mobility issues or breathing problems.
Mindfulness therapy is the conscious awareness of our present moment without interpretation or judgment. It promotes openness and non-judgment towards our experiences. Below are some key points about mindfulness therapy:
Definition: Mindfulness therapy, from both therapeutic and secular viewpoints, emphasizes full awareness of the present moment. It entails observing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors without bias or judgment. Although relaxation may result from some mindfulness practices, the main objective is to enhance awareness and address aspects of ourselves that impede progress.
Techniques and Approaches:
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Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR): Jon Kabat-Zinn developed MBSR, which merges mindfulness meditation, yoga, and other introspective activities, aiming to diminish stress and improve well-being.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): Pioneered by John Teasdale, Zindel Segal, and Mark Williams, MBCT combines mindfulness practices with cognitive therapy, aiding in the prevention of depression relapse by tackling negative thought patterns.
Effectiveness:
Research has primarily concentrated on MBSR and MBCT. These mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have shown efficacy in a variety of contexts.
MBSR and MBCT have been extensively researched and are highly regarded in studies.
Applications:
Anxiety Disorders: Mindfulness therapy aids in managing symptoms of generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Mood Disorders: It is potentially useful for treating depression and bipolar affective disorder.
Trauma and PTSD: Mindfulness techniques can facilitate trauma recovery.
Substance Use Disorders: Mindfulness serves as an adjunct in addiction treatment.
Work Stress: Mindfulness practices improve coping mechanisms.
Relationships: Mindfulness application can enhance familial, romantic, and professional relationships.
Pain Management: Mindfulness can be beneficial for chronic pain management.
Life Transitions: It offers support during life transitions.
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Mindfulness-based therapy (MBT) is a therapeutic approach that incorporates mindfulness practices to enhance mental health and well-being. Here’s a brief summary of the key points from the selected text:
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Mindfulness Definition: Mindfulness is described as non-judgmental awareness of the present moment, which is central to MBT.
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MBCT: Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a common form of MBT that merges cognitive therapy with meditative practices rooted in mindfulness.
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Therapeutic Benefits: MBT aids in developing a new relationship with thoughts and moods, facilitating personal growth, strength, and healing.
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Versatility: Mindfulness can be integrated into various therapeutic modalities, helping clients become more aware of their thought patterns and bodily sensations.
This approach is adaptable and can be tailored to fit different therapeutic practices, enhancing the effectiveness of the treatment.
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Mindfulness Exercises
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Mindful Breathing
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This exercise can be done standing up or sitting down, and pretty much anywhere at any time. If you can sit down in the meditation (lotus) position, that's great, if not, no worries.
Either way, all you have to do is be still and focus on your breath for just one minute.
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Start by breathing in and out slowly. One breath cycle should last for approximately 6 seconds.
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Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, letting your breath flow effortlessly in and out of your body.
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Let go of your thoughts. Let go of things you have to do later today or pending projects that need your attention. Simply let thoughts rise and fall of their own accord and be at one with your breath.
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Purposefully watch your breath, focusing your sense of awareness on its pathway as it enters your body and fills you with life.
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Then watch with your awareness as it works work its way up and out of your mouth and its energy dissipates into the world.
If you are someone who thought they’d never be able to meditate, guess what? You are half way there already!
If you enjoyed one minute of this mind-calming exercise, why not try two or three?
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Mindful Observation
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This exercise is simple but incredibly powerful because it helps you notice and appreciate seemingly simple elements of your environment in a more profound way.
The exercise is designed to connect us with the beauty of the natural environment, something that is easily missed when we are rushing around in the car or hopping on and off trains on the way to work.
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Choose a natural object from within your immediate environment and focus on watching it for a minute or two. This could be a flower or an insect, or even the clouds or the moon.
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Don’t do anything except notice the thing you are looking at. Simply relax into watching for as long as your concentration allows.
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Look at this object as if you are seeing it for the first time.
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Visually explore every aspect of its formation, and allow yourself to be consumed by its presence.
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Allow yourself to connect with its energy and its purpose within the natural world.
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Mindful Awareness
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This exercise is designed to cultivate a heightened awareness and appreciation of simple daily tasks and the results they achieve.
Think of something that happens every day more than once; something you take for granted, like opening a door, for example.
At the very moment you touch the doorknob to open the door, stop for a moment and be mindful of where you are, how you feel in that moment and where the door will lead you.
Similarly, the moment you open your computer to start work, take a moment to appreciate the hands that enable this process and the brain that facilitates your understanding of how to use the computer.
These ‘touch point' cues don’t have to be physical ones.
For example: Each time you think a negative thought, you might choose to take a moment to stop, label the thought as unhelpful and release the negativity.
Or, perhaps each time you smell food, you take a moment to stop and appreciate how lucky you are to have good food to eat and share with your family and friends.
Choose a touch point that resonates with you today and, instead of going through your daily motions on autopilot, take occasional moments to stop and cultivate purposeful awareness of what you are doing and the blessings these actions brings to your life.
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Mindful Listening
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This exercise is designed to open your ears to sound in a non-judgmental way, and indeed to train your mind to be less swayed by the influence of past experiences and preconception.
So much of what we “feel” is influenced by past experience. For example, we may dislike a song because it reminds of us of a breakup or another period of life when things felt negative.
So the idea of this exercise is to listen to some music from a neutral standpoint, with a present awareness that is unhindered by preconception.
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Select a piece of music you have never heard before. You may have something in your own collection that you have never listened to, or you might choose to turn the radio dial until something catches your ear.
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Close your eyes and put on your headphones.
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Try not to get drawn into judging the music by its genre, title or artist name before it has begun. Instead, ignore any labels and neutrally allow yourself to get lost in the journey of sound for the duration of the song.
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Allow yourself to explore every aspect of track. Even if the music isn’t to your liking at first, let go of your dislike and give your awareness full permission to climb inside the track and dance among the sound waves.
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Explore the song by listening to the dynamics of each instrument. Separate each sound in your mind and analyze each one by one.
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Hone in on the vocals: the sound of the voice, its range and tones. If there is more than one voice, separate them out as you did in step 4.
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The idea is to listen intently, to become fully entwined with the composition without preconception or judgment of the genre, artist, lyrics or instrumentation. Don't think, hear.
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Mindful Immersion
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The intention of this exercise is to cultivate contentment in the moment and escape the persistent striving we find ourselves caught up in on a daily basis.
Rather than anxiously wanting to finish an everyday routine task in order to get on with doing something else, take that regular routine and fully experience it like never before.
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For example: if you are cleaning your house, pay attention to every detail of the activity.
Rather than treat this as a regular chore, create an entirely new experience by noticing every aspect of your actions:
Feel and become the motion when sweeping the floor, sense the muscles you use when scrubbing the dishes, develop a more efficient way of wiping the windows clean.
The idea is to get creative and discover new experiences within a familiar routine task.
Instead of labouring through and constantly thinking about finishing the task, become aware of every step and fully immerse yourself in the progress. Take the activity beyond a routine by aligning yourself with it physically, mentally and spiritually.
Who knows, you might even enjoy the cleaning for once!
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Mindful Appreciation
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In this last exercise, all you have to do is notice 5 things in your day that usually go unappreciated.
These things can be objects or people; it’s up to you. Use a notepad to check off 5 by the end of the day.
The point of this exercise is to simply give thanks and appreciate the seemingly insignificant things in life, the things that support our existence but rarely get a second thought amidst our desire for bigger and better things.
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For example: electricity powers your kettle, the postman delivers your mail, your clothes provide you warmth, your nose lets you smell the flowers in the park, your ears let you hear the birds in the tree by the bus stop, but…
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Do you know how these things/processes came to exist, or how they really work?
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Have you ever properly acknowledged how these things benefit your life and the lives of others?
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Have you ever thought about what life might be like without these things?
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Have you ever stopped to notice their finer, more intricate details?
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Have you ever sat down and thought about the relationships between these things and how together they play an interconnected role in the functioning of the earth?
Once you have identified your 5 things, make it your duty to find out everything you can about their creation and purpose to truly appreciate the way in which they support your life.
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