Your Stories: January 2011

When did you first start practicing mindfulness and why were you motivated to do so?

I think mindfulness is part of our nature. In my teens I had some exposure to meditation and eastern thought. Members of my family were interested in that as well, but I didn’t really start a practice. I developed some skills in mindfulness by doing art, and by studying tai chi, just after college, though I wasn’t calling it mindfulness. I learned to meditate in my late 20s in response to a personal loss.

Did you take a class? If so, what sort of a class did you take?

I learned to meditate at a retreat. Later, I took a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction class at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia. I was in a period of great stress in my life, and wanted to learn multiple techniques for meditation, since it was hard for me to just sit at the time. I learned mindful movement (yoga, stretching, walking), and other techniques there, that were very helpful. Later I took several graduate courses in MBSR. I have met a lot of other people who practice mindfulness through a nonsectarian sitting group. The more experienced people teach the less experienced people about practice and techniques, but in reality, we all teach each other.