Your Stories

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

I began practicing several years ago as a means to cope with the acute and chronic stressors of police work, and life's journey for that matter.  I had been reading a lot about yoga and its efficacy for preventing and healing lower back injuries (many police officers have lower back problems).  I then began researching mindfulness as a tool for stress management and situational awareness (officer safety) for police officers.  In short, the suffering of many police officers led me to research and then begin practicing mindfulness.

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

I first, with some level of hypocrisy, referred several officers to take a formal class and then eventually, just last year, took an MBSR course from Brant Rogers at Yoga Hillsboro.

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

Koichi: Looking back, I started mindfulness when I started martial arts in my early 20’s. I studied Shorinji Kempo in San Diego and learned how to listen to my breath and pay attention to how my body moves when under stressful situations (like punches and kicks coming your way). I was motivated to be more aware to be able to be a more effective at sparring. My reasons for practicing mindfulness has expanded a little since becoming a new parent with Lisa.