1. Mindfulness for Medical
Students
Week 1
Attention and Breathing

2. Rick Hanson
• Attention & Neuroplasticity
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTPks7XQbSw

3. Watching the Breath
http://vimeo.com/19601100

4. Mindfulness and Awareness
• Attention
• Perspective
• Perception
• Here-and-Now

5. Stress and Anxiety

6. Mindfulness Comes through the
Practice of Meditation
• Mindfulness
o As you practice mindfulness, you intentionally
focus your awareness on your thoughts and
actions in the present moment, in an accepting
and nonjudgmental manner.
o This focus is applied to bodily
actions, sounds, touch sensations and to the
mind’s own individual and repetitive thoughts and
feelings.

7. Symptom-Relief Effectiveness
• Focusing can help you to become clearer
about how you are feeling and what you want
from your life. It can also help you with
making decisions, releasing addictions,
unblocking your creativity, and dealing
effectively with issues such as frustration,
procrastination, self-criticism, low self-esteem,
too much emotionality, and emotional
numbness. In this way focusing can be a
valuable asset in stress reduction.

8. Eat a Raisin

9. Kabat-Zinn
• What is mindfulness?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoLQ3qkh0w0&f
eature=youtu.be

10. The Motivation to Gain Mindfulness
through Meditation
This is called “setting an intention”:
• being wise enough to manage my time better,
• improving my perception of myself,
• becoming a better communicator with others and
with myself,
• gaining personal wisdom,
[what does this mean?]
• increasing my compassion for myself and for
others

11. Daniel Goleman
• Attentional Retraining
http://vimeo.com/26020781

12. Cultivating Attention
Purpose, Method, Effects, & Results
Category Definition Meditation Example
Purpose The aim of the Cultivating Staying fit
practice attention
Method What you do Return to what is Jog, sprint, run
already there and
rest
Effects Experiences that Dull, distracted, Energized,
arise as you relaxed, clear, invigorated, stiff,
practice stable, anxious sore, tired
Results Abilities that Increased clarity Increased
develop over time and stability in strength, stamina,
attention, less and muscle tone
reactivity
From McLeod, Ken (2001) Wake up to Your Life. NY: Harper Collins

13. Perspective

14. Labeling
As you are sitting in meditation
• Assist yourself in developing awareness by
– Labeling thoughts
• Thinking, planning, worrying, wanting to quit
– Labeling storytelling and day dreaming as such
– Labeling physical feelings
• Tight neck, stiff back, rapid heartbeat, leg asleep,
uncomfortable
– Labeling emotions
• Anxious, sad, worrying, happy, loving, angry

15. Refuting Irrational Ideas
from, Davis, Eshelman & McKay. The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Handbook. 6th ed.

16. An Example of an Executive Function
“TAKE 5”
• “Take 5” means exactly what you sense and
it’s use is immediate.
• When you recognize an anxiety  “take 5”
– Where can you “take 5”?
– How can “taking 5” manifest itself