Your Stories: January 2012

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

I first became interested in mindfulness in 2002 while trekking in the Himalayas and reading a book by Thich Nhat Hanh called Being Peace.  When I returned to the States after my 16 month trip in Asia, I quickly got sucked back into the craziness of graduate school and thoughts of mindfulness faded.  

This all changed when I became pregnant. I knew that I needed to become more centered and peaceful in order to be the parent I hoped to be (not to mention the wife I wanted to be). I was always rushing around, stressed out, thinking about the future, worried about the past and I wanted to change so that I could be fully present and calm with my daughter once she was born.

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

A midwife I was studying with for my Nurse Practitioner certificate recommended a Mindful Birth and Parenting course to her patients eager to have a natural childbirth.  I looked this class up online and was excited about the depth of the course, the commitment to daily meditation, and the ability to share the experience with my husband.