Fundamental Mindfulness Principles and Practices

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Video Runtime: 85 Minutes; Learning Assessment Time: 40 Minutes

Mindfulness training offers an evidence-based, innovative, therapeutic strategy for promoting patient well-being, stress self-regulation, and symptom relief and management. Pertinent to a wide range of patient populations and beneficial to patients of any ability, basic principles and practices of mindfulness training offer broad clinical applications to patient-centered care. As your personal experience of mindfulness impacts your ability to effectively teach these practices, this course provides you with an introduction to mindfulness and guidance in formal mindfulness practices including mindful breathing, body scan, and movement. Informal mindfulness practices that can be integrated into a daily routine are also introduced. Proposed mechanisms for supporting the effectiveness of mindfulness training are highlighted along with research examining the role of mindfulness training in managing stress.

This course is for those who are new to mindfulness. Combining lecture and experiential exercises, this introductory course is applicable to healthcare professionals, including physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, athletic trainers, and registered nurses in both inpatient and outpatient settings, serving patients who would benefit from sensible, effective stress and symptom self-management strategies.

Meet your instructor

Carolyn McManus

Carolyn McManus is a highly skilled clinician, researcher, and professional trainer and is a national leader in the integration of mindfulness into healthcare. She is the past president of the APTA Academy of Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Pain Special Interest Group. She holds master’s degrees in physical therapy and in…

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Chapters & learning objectives

1. What Is Mindfulness?

This chapter introduces mindful awareness, mindful attitudes, training styles, and formal and informal mindfulness training practices. Types of stress and a mindful response to stress are discussed. Two approaches to mindfulness training are highlighted.

2. Sitting Meditation

This chapter introduces principles of mindful breathing. A guided brief sitting meditation practice emphasizing present moment awareness and mindful attitudes is presented.

3. Mindfulness: Proposed Mechanisms

This chapter reviews proposed mechanisms for supporting the therapeutic effectiveness of mindfulness training. The roles of attention regulation, body awareness, emotional regulation, and changes in perspective on self are discussed. Their contribution to stress regulation is introduced.

4. Mindful Body Scan

This chapter introduces principles of the mindful body scan and the application of mindful attitudes to progressive muscle relaxation. A brief guided experience of mindful progressive muscle relaxation and mindful body scan is presented.

5. Mindfulness and Stress Regulation Research

This chapter introduces research that identifies beneficial effects of mindfulness training for stress regulation. Studies examining changes in subjective reports of stress, in brain networks associated with stress regulation, and in physiological markers of stress are reviewed. A study on the salutary effects of diaphragmatic breathing is included.

6. Mindful Movement

This chapter introduces principles of mindful movement. Bringing body awareness and mindful attitudes to the experience of movement is discussed. A brief guided experience of mindful movement is presented.

7. Mindful Walking

Cultivating mindful awareness through the natural movement of walking is introduced. Both the slow, traditional practice and a slightly faster practical clinical application are presented and demonstrated.

8. Informal Mindful Practices

This chapter introduces you to informal mindful activities that can easily be integrated into routine daily activities. Mindful morning and evening activities are identified, and ideas for integrating mindfulness into daytime activities are presented. The practice of mindful noticing of three things is described.

9. Applying Mindfulness to Stressful Situations

This chapter provides you with guidelines to integrate mindfulness into stressful situations. The calm observation of physical, cognitive, and emotional reactions with attitudes of acceptance, friendliness, and curiosity is introduced. The importance of your personal practice is discussed, and book recommendations to support a further study of mindfulness are provided.

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