MINDFULNESSWhat it is, what it isn’t, why it is becoming so

popular and what it can do for you

Gus Castellanos, M.D.retired Neurologist and Sleep Specialist 

MBSR and Mindfulness Based Interventions teacher

Judge Carroll KellyAdministrative Judge, Domestic Violence Division

Mindfulness - IT WORKS!

Fortune 500 Companies, schools (Kindergarten-grad school), alcohol/drug addiction treatment programs, professional sports teams, prisons, business and government leaders, Military, & over 750 medical centers confirm “It Works”

Mindfulness – HOW IT WORKS

“How It Works” - Mindfulness strengthens core capacities of focusing, mind wandering and working memory – by choosing an object to attend to, noticing when the mind wanders, and remembering to come back to the object! Individuals regularly practicing mindfulness experience:• Increased clarity and creative thinking• Reduced stress• Improved complex problem-solving and decision-making• Enriched emotional intelligence and improved mood regulation • Enhanced self-awareness of the mind-body connection• Improved immune, hormonal and nervous system management of a wide range of physical concerns

Mindfulness – YOU HAVE TO WORK IT!

NEUROPLASTICITY• As the mind changes, the brain changes the mind…for better

or worse!

• Research and brain MRI scans show there is a direct correlation between amount of practice and improvement in these skills & trait development.

• Sometimes called “brain fitness’

Rick Hanson, PhD: “train the mind to change the brain to change the mind for the benefit of oneself and others”

Mindfulness Defined

• Jon Kabat Zinn: “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally”

• M.B.A.T.: “a mental mode characterized by attention to present moment experience without conceptual elaboration or emotional reactivity”

• Greater Good (UC Berkley): “maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment.”

• Ellen Langer: “an active search for novel distinctions in the present moment”

ACCEPTANCE – paying attention to thoughts and feelings without judging them

NON-STRIVING - there is no right or wrong way to think or feel or any particular state to achieve

whatever I avoid experiencing will govern my experiences!

MindfulnessINTENTION – the WhyATTENTION – the What

ATTITUDE – the How

Benefits of Mindfulness

Mindfulness practices “creates space” for healthier & wise responses, rather than mindless, habitual reactions ~ and by its effects on the brain, nervous, immune, and hormonal systems, it can: Improve clarity Improve focus, attention & memory Reduce stress, anxiety & rumination Enhance emotional regulation Enhance creativity and productivity Enhance resiliency, balance, energy and zest for living. Strengthen relationships by promoting compassion, empathy and

attunement Improve immunity and disease fighting capacities May prolong life expectancy

Mindfulness Publications

Mindfulness for Depression

Brain Changes with Mindfulness(Neuroplasticity)

Mindfulness affects the brain

 • University of Washington (J.A.M.A. March 22/29, 2016) showed

MBSR was more effective than ‘usual care’ in chronic low back pain (61% vs 44% improvement in disability and 44% vs 27% improvement in pain). The article did not explain why this is so, given that only 51% of the MBSR group attended at least 6 of the 8 sessions and only 27% attended the All Day retreat.

• Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center (Journal of Neuroscience Nov. 11, 2015) using  fMRI brain scanning in normal volunteers showed that mindfulness reduces pain differently than placebo and relaxation techniques.

• The results supported that mindfulness based pain relief engages parts of the brain involved in multiple mechanisms associated with cognitive control, emotion regulation, and reducing the activation of low-level sensory processes, and not the areas where placebo effect & relaxation response

The Stress Response Fight Flight Freeze

Perceived threat amygdala + hippocampus(memory) Hypothalamus Pituitary gland Adrenal glands - secrete adrenaline (epinephrine), noradrenaline (norepinephrine), cortisol in an effort to create a boost of energy:• Acceleration of heart and lung action• Paling or flushing, or alternating between both• Inhibition of stomach and upper-intestinal action to the point where digestion

slows down or stops• General effect on the sphincters of the body• Constriction of blood vessels in many parts of the body and dilation of blood

vessels for muscles• Liberation of metabolic energy sources (particularly fat and glycogen) for

muscular action• Inhibition of the lacrimal gland (responsible for tear production) and salivation• Dilation of pupil (mydriasis)• Relaxation of bladder, Inhibition of erection• Auditory exclusion (loss of hearing) & Tunnel vision (loss of peripheral vision)• Shaking, tremors

Effects of prolonged stressPhysiological effects• Headaches, Muscle tension and pain, chest pain, Fatigue, back pain• Upset stomach, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers• Asthma, Arrhythmias, high blood pressure, increase risks of heart attack &

strokes• Changes in sex drive, Urinary problems, • Impair developmental growth in children• Delayed wound healing, accumulation of visceral fat, chronic suppression

of the immune system, infections, ?cancer

Psychological effects• Anxiety & Restlessness• Problems with sleeping• Lack of motivation or focus• Irritability or anger• Depression• Trouble in storing new memories

Behavioral effects • Overeating or under

eating• Drug and alcohol

abuse• Social withdrawal;

emotional or physical abuse of others

• Denying, suppressing, repressing by “overdoing healthy” activities

• other maladaptive behaviors

Stress and Performance

Pain and Suffering

“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the pain itself, but your estimate of it.”

Marcus Aurelius • Pain is the matter of fact description and

experience of an unpleasant event. • Suffering is independent from pain. We do not

suffer because of pain - we are uncomfortable because of pain.

• We suffer because we resist the pain. • Resistance is the subtle, or not so subtle way

we push away the pain in order to reduce the uncomfortable feeling. We want the moment to be different than it is, that is, an attempt to resist reality!

• With mindfulness, we can acknowledge the unpleasant experience as doing so frees us to be more effective at relating to the discomfort and moment in a wiser and compassionate manner.

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. And in that space is our power to choose our

response. In our response lies our growth and freedom.” Victor Frankl

• In general, when an unpleasant experience arises, we react or over-react to feel better (less uncomfortable).

• Reacting usually occurs when we are not paying attention, are lost in a story or drama, or agitated by emotions, feelings or sensations.

• Reactions can serve the short term, but ultimately can prove costly.

• Responding follows from clearly seeing what is at play in the present moment, accepting the uncomfortable, instead of resisting it. Doing so can serve our long term interest and results in decisions with better, healthier results.

Stress Reactivity

• The term “stress”, as it is currently used was coined by Hans Selye in 1936, who defined it as “the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change”

• R.S. Lazarus (1966): ‘Stress arises when individuals perceive that they cannot adequately cope with the demands being made on them or with threats to their well-being.’

• Lazarus and Folkman (1984): stress is ‘a pattern of negative physiological states and psychological responses occurring in situations where individuals perceive threats to their well-being, which they may be unable to meet.’

• Kelly McGonigal (2013): “stress as being what arises when something we care about is at stake” (what arises = our thoughts, our emotions, our desires, our motivation, and our body’s response to the stress, which makes stress a resource that is useful)

Adaptive• Fight• Flight• Freeze• tend &

beFriendMaladaptive• Get ‘F*ck up’• Fornication• Fix

Mindfulness and Stress

Stress increases mind wandering = more ‘off task’ thoughts - which degrades working memory & attention…making it difficult to perform current task…leading to negative mood, rumination and distress.

Under stress ethical codes of behavior degrade.Mindfulness training: enhances ability to see clearly, identify emotions, regulate them as needed, and

reduces emotional reactivity; strengthens the core capacity to focus, improves working memory and reduces

mind wandering – choosing an object to attend to, noticing the wandering mind, remembering to come back;

decreases the conceptual sense of self and use of language - shifting from conceptual self too experiential self (from ‘default mode network’ to non-self referential network)

reduced rumination and anxiety, promotes resilience Mindfulness reduces telomere shortening Improves immune system, calms Nervous System, changes the brain structure

– with practice!

Uncertainty is the Name of the Game

“How we open or close to the reality that we never arrive at safe enduring stasis is the matter, the raw material, of wisdom." Krista Tippett

• Uncertainty causes us to feel uncomfortable and the mental and physical toll comes mostly from resisting the uncertainty.

• Worry, fear, anxiety of what may happen, that is these are future oriented, not from the present moment experience.

• We tend to push away/resist/deny the unpleasant, grasp/cling to the pleasant, and distract from the boring

• Being comfortable with uncertainty takes courage.

• Open and curiosity are two mindfulness traits, and these are cultivated through the open awareness practice.

• The willingness to embrace paradox is a measure of courage and open-mindedness.

• Courage is realizing that it’s all uncertain - and this realization and deep understanding which can be fostered through mindfulness practice, readies one to move forward confidently into the moments of our lives – come what may!

Mindfulness Benefits

• It Boosts Your HEALTH• 1 – Increases immune function • 2 – Decreases Pain • 3 – Decreases Inflammation at the

Cellular Level • It Boosts Your HAPPINESS• 4 – Increases Positive Emotion • 5 – Decreases Depression • 6 – Decreases Anxiety • 7 – Decreases Stress • It Boosts Your SOCIAL LIFE• 8 – Increases social connection &

emotional intelligence • 9 – Makes you more compassionate • 10 – Makes you feel less lonely

• It Boosts Your Self-Control• 11 – Improves your ability to regulate your

emotions • 12 – Improves your ability to introspect

• It Changes Your BRAIN (for the better)

• 13 – Increases grey matter • 14 – Increases volume in areas related to emotion

regulation, positive emotions & self-control• 15 – Increases cortical thickness in areas related

to paying attention

• It Improves Your Productivity (yup, by doing nothing)

• 16 – Increases your focus & attention • 17 – Improves your ability to multitask • 18 – Improves your memory • 19 – Improves your ability to be creative & think

outside the box

• 20. It Makes You WISE(R)