​Happy Mindful Mondays!  
 
Self-Compassion guru Kristin Neff was in Minneapolis on April 6th for a workshop on Self-Compassion and Emotional Resilience.  I wasn’t able to attend so I asked Madia Barber, Social Emotional Learning Facilitator at MPS to share her experience with us for this week’s Mindfulness Message.  
 
“The Kristen Neff seminar was phenomenal. I am so grateful I was able to attend! Neff beautifully explained the three components of self-compassion: self-kindness vs. self-judgement; common humanity vs. isolation; and mindfulness vs. over-identification. 

Self-Kindness vs. Self-Judgement:
- Treating self with care and understanding rather than harsh judgement
- Actively soothing and comforting oneself

Common Humanity vs. Isolation:
- Seeing own experience as part of larger human experience not isolating or abnormal
- Recognizing that life is imperfect

Mindfulness vs. Over-identification:
- Allows us to “be” with painful feelings as they are
- Avoids extremes of suppressing or running away with painful feelings

I thoroughly enjoyed the seminar, but I found myself struggling to understand the difference between self-compassion and mindfulness. They are strongly linked, but Neff explains the difference:

Mindfulness vs. Self-Compassion
- Mindfulness accepts painful experience without resistance, “being” with things as they are
- Compassion wishes the experiencer to be free from suffering, “active” comfort and soothing

In the end, I walked away knowing that I definitely want to read her book and that mindfulness and self-compassion are strongly connected.”
 
(Surbhi) Madia Barber
Minneapolis Public Schools
Social Emotional Learning Facilitator 
 
Madia just sent me the attached flyer about this class on Wednesday!  How timely!
Educator Self Care and Sustainability: From Surviving To Thriving
Wednesday, April 20th from 4:30pm-7:30pm at the Davis Center Assembly Room
eCompass Course # 91421
 
Learn more about Kristin Neff:
The Three Elements of Self Compassion
 
Kristin Neff's Guided Meditations
 
Test how self-compassionate you are
 
 
Much gratitude to Madia for her collaboration and contribution to today’s Mindful Message!
 
In training, 
Ann 

​Happy Mindful Tuesday,

This week’s reminder is about the importance of making mindfulness a daily practice. 

A simple mindful practice is mindful breathing.  It is simple in that you don’t need any special equipment, all you need is your awareness and your breath.  One way to begin is to literally schedule mindful breathing into your day.  Start by making appointments with yourself.  Write it in your date book, your daily planner or your online calendar.  You can even set your phone to give you a 5 minutes heads-up that your appointment is about to begin.   
​
Another strategy for creating a daily mindfulness practice is to connect it to something else that you are already doing, such as getting in or out of your car.  When you get in or right before you get out, just pause for a few minutes following your breath.  You can also make it a habit to practice mindful breathing while waiting for appointments. Another great time is right before you go to sleep or before you get out of bed in the morning, just sit on the side of your bed and bring your attention to the breath. 

Simply set the intention and then hold yourself to your commitment.  There is no appointment more important than this one to recharge, reconnect and recenter.  You can start small with just a minute several times a day.  In no time  you will see the benefit of your efforts and you may find yourself looking forward to these mindful moments.
Here’s the article that inspired me this week.

A 5-Minute Breathing Meditation To Cultivate Mindfulness  by The Greater Good Science Center

in training,
Ann