Lightning Learning: Mindfulness (The Comma)
“Mindfulness, in its simplest sense, is a mental discipline that involves training attention.”
What?
The Comma is a mindfulness exercise (<1 min) to help 'punctuate' your shift between seeing patients…
Steps:
Allow your posture to be balanced & relaxed, but upright.
Close or rest your eyes on a distant point. Take 1-2 deep breaths.
Let your breathing settle and allow your attention to settle along with it.
Slowly, become aware of your environment and the sounds within it.
Why?
The technique described here is a form of meditation and it won’t suit everyone, but it has been suggested that mindfulness can:
Moderate the effects of stress and burnout.
Reduce work conflicts with colleagues.
Allow us to engage System 2* thinking.
““Given the pressures we are all working under, what have we got to lose?””
*System 2 is a slower more methodical/ logical mode of thought
Further Reading
- MOVE: Meditation and Being Mindful (The Comma)
- EMCrit: Kettlebells for the Brain
- Wikipedia: Systems 1 & 2 (Thinking, Fast and Slow)
- NHS Choices: Mindfulness
