Mindfulness is the ability to be aware of one’s feelings, thoughts, and actions in the present moment.

If you are ever swept up by emotions during communicating with others or struggle to know your role in relationships, then being more mindful can help.

Mindfulness is a strategy for being more present in your conversations resulting in a more positive and healthy outcome. Marci, a Yoga District teacher, intuitive coach, and healer, shares her insights about how to cultivate mindful, loving relationships. Feel free to attend her May 12th workshop to learn more.

 

Being Mindful in Relationships

Mindfulness is being conscious in the present moment of one’s feelings, thoughts, and actions. When practiced consistently, it can aid in shifting challenging relationship dynamics. Whether it’s a personal or professional interaction, increasing your self-awareness can empower you to create beneficial  changes in your relationships with others.

I’ve spent most of my adult life studying and attempting to understand the particulars of internal and external relationships  After emerging from a difficult relationship that included abusive extremes and daily struggles, I was motivated to become better at having healthy, mindful, and thriving relationships.  I was also determined to support others in their efforts to reduce difficulties in their lives. Mindfulness is the foundational practice that continues to impact relationships in my life and those of my clients.

Benefits of Mindful Relationships

Here are three ways mindfulness creates lasting and meaningful connections:

1) Mindfulness teaches you to respond rather than react.  

For many of us, reaction is the default unconscious mode we operate from on a daily basis.  Sometimes our nervous system revs up and we blurt out something we do not mean. We are unable to express our true feelings or do everything in our power to avoid conflict. These reactive responses can escalate and perpetuate conflict. Afterwards, we are left feeling disconnected. Mindfulness can teach us how to respond to a variety of situations rather than react. It encourages us to be in touch with what is actually happening with our true feelings and with our needs in the moment.  This deeper level of awareness beyond the initial wave of emotion empowers us to make better choices and minimize harmful or hurtful reactions. With a clearer perspective, healthy conversation and conflict resolution are possible.  

2) Mindfulness empowers you to relate with others from the present rather than the painful past. Most of us l have unpleasant moments in our past and unresolved wounds.  These moments of difficulty drive our responses to the world, coloring our perceptions and inform our automatic reactions. Without tools to stay in touch with the present moment, we fall prey to our unhealed hurt.  Suddenly, we might find our hearts beating fast and irritations rising. We may lash out at others,

making them the stand-in for sources of pain. Mindfulness interrupts and prevents this harmful interaction cycle. Over time, we can catch ourselves before falling into past patterns of thought and behavior. We can bring ourselves back to the present by developing a deeper understanding of our emotions and their corresponding behavioral responses.

3) Mindfulness invites us to see our emotions as messengers rather than as feelings to fear.  Emotional waves like anger, frustration, disappointment, and sadness have a purpose.  In the moment, they can feel overwhelming. This fear is our attempt to cope with sensation that may overtake and control us. Mindfulness can teach us to develop a different relationship with emotions. With practice, big waves of feelings can become allies by teaching us what we value and which wounds need healing. The ability to be aware of emotions arising in the moment helps us build trust with ourselves and with our loved ones.

Conscious Connecting: Mindful Conversations & Relating with Others Workshop

• 5/12  2:30-4:30
• 14th street studio
• Sign up here

Join my workshop to learn more about  how to create a conscious connection by  infusing mindfulness into your relationships.

In this workshop, we will explore why it is easy to get swept up by emotions, how to find your center when you’ve lost it, practices that can reduce reactivity over time, how to tap into your needs and the needs of others in relationships, and the powers of active listening and self-awareness.

Get ready to enjoy guided meditation, practical exercises, group discussion, and to invest in your relationship well-being. This workshop is designed for all levels of experience and to discuss diverse ways we connect with others including partnership, family, friends, and peers. Bring a notebook, a pen, and an open heart.