2023, Health, Medicine

Mindfulness

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​A mental state achieved by concentrating on the present moment, while calmly accepting the feelings and thoughts that come to you,

Mindfulness is a therapeutic strategy all the rage in mental health treatment. I personally find it annoying and tiresome to pay attention to what is going on in my thoughts and my body for extended periods of time, It has been very helpful lately, however, as I have struggled with some pain.

I have had crappy posture all my life. I slouch, even when I am sitting. I probably have a weak upper body and don’t do enough exercise. A few years ago I was having a great deal of back pain and found that I have lumbar scoliosis. I had Physical Therapy, and that helped a lot. I didn’t change my posture, though. Last year I struggled with sciatica down both legs, and PT also helped with that. For the past couple of months, though the sciatica came back with a vengeance, and there have been times I thought I needed a cane as my left leg would give out on me with intense pain while I walked, and I was afraid I was going to fall. I have a lumbar support chair at work that that didn’t help at all.

I decided I needed to do something about this, and I realized that when I sit, walk, or stand (especially in the kitchen when I cook) I slump my lower back outward in such a way that I was pinching a nerve in my left leg. I have started to direct my attention to my lower back and its position, keeping it straight, and for two weeks now my leg pain has disappeared. My lower back has protested somewhat as I am making it go into a position it hasn’t had to be in for some time, but I think I am on the right track. I am mindful of my back position when I drive, when I sit at my desk, when I stand, and when I walk. I hope that it will become automatic for me one of these days, but I may have to resign myself to have to practice mindfulness for a long time.

What do you need to be mindful of? What are you prone to ignore that you should pay attention to?

26 thoughts on “Mindfulness”

  1. Wow, I thank you for this, Renee. It may help me to try some aches I’ve been getting. If I were to stop and pay attention when I get these little pains, I could even take a minute or two and do some appropriate stretches, perhaps.

    I’ve been operating without lists lately, and I just realized I need to make them again, which makes me be mindful for a short stint. This could help quiet the “I should be remembering something” feeling that permeates the day.

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  3. Some of the meditations that I use are based on mindfulness. They help me step away from the things that my mind won’t let go of. Worries, anxieties, angers. But the meditations I prefer give me other things on which to focus. Imaginary thing or real things to imagine like waves and clouds. I have build my own 16 minute meditation which uses breathing techniques interspersed with places from my life such as a Lake Superior cove, Superior hiking trail, paths In the woods and places from my childhood. I have about 20 in a list so I can switch them.
    I have tried to read the famous few books on mindfulness. I refuse to read books that tell me the same things chapter after chapter. It is in fact breathing focus and learning breathing techniques that have done me the most good. Or breath—ing techniques, since so many of the leaders are British or Australian. I entered this as a skeptic but it has helped. But sometimes, like yesterday, I cannot let go off of my emotions. That is a part of mindfulness. To just accept that, too.
    I think one of the problems in this country is lack of mindfulness in your sense of the term. Driving is a big example. Barbara, I have so many things to keep track of that I have a big bulletin board with blocked of areas on it for different categories. And I have the more immediate things on a list on my iPad and phone, same list shows on both.
    Clyde

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  6. Rise and Pay Attention!, Baboons,

    This has been a stressful week in my puppy world. Our puppy has been very stressed by the shock she received on Monday with a faulty collar, then Tuesday she was attacked at “Holiday Manners” class by a larger dog who also tried to bite me. I have a large bruise on my knee along with two teeth marks. I did not even realize this happened at the time because the noise and chaos was so great. So as a result of all this I am trying to pay attention to Phoebe and get her past her fear response. I let the dog training organization know this happened so we can get a plan going to cope. That has been the primary focus of all my attention this week.

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    2. My heart goes out to you and Phoebe, Jacque! Her trauma is also yours because you care about her and don’t want her traumatized. I hope both of you can share some peace and quiet so that she can regain her confidence.

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  7. Bending over is something that I often do without thinking. I should think about it more and move in a thoughtful way. I was taught how to do a sort of pelvic tilt when bending over, instead of rounding the back as I tend to do. The trainer who told me about this said it looks something like a pianist sitting down at a piano and flicking his coattails up, sort of like Bugs does in this clip…

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  9. i thought my girl was a bad b but turns out she just had lumbar lordosis. Safe to say i broke up with her directly after i found out from her husband

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  12. Like you , Renee, I’m mindful of my posture. I see my golf buddies, and friends my age, (and my dad!), slowly shrinking and bending forward heading toward horizontal. I do a lot of stretching and lately have been concentrating on standing more erect by tucking in my butt and throwing my shoulders back (but not too much). Even then, sitting at this computer during the time it takes me to read and comment, I’ve slouched and corrected 3-4 times.

    I would like to pay more attention to my daily activities and be more aware of my surroundings as I navigate a typical day. I’m more frequently frustrated by not being able to remember what I did today or yesterday or the day before. My wife started writing in a journal every night before bed–very simple: things like what she wore, what we had for dinner, highlighted events of the day (ex: she read, worked on a quilt, walked an hour on treadmill) and maybe what the weather was like or how she slept the night before. No deep, dark secrets.

    I sort of do that with my Google Calendar because I leave most things on there that I post, so I can look back a week or a month later and see what I did, big event wise at least, on a certain day. But I can’t remember what I had for dinner, or what coffee shops I went to last week on what days, unless I write it down somewhere.

    Oh well, most of what I do is totally forgettable anyway. 🙂

    Chris in Owatonna (who had a good sales day at the Carleton College Craft Fair and Custodial Bake Sale today–and enjoyed $1 coffee and pastries for my gustatorial reward)

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  13. I’ve tried some meditation and some breathing exercises. I enjoy it and I think it really does help with anxiety and stress.

    I have lumbar scoliosis and thoracic lordosis too. They found it when I was about 12 years old. There was a clinic that came around to schools that was called the “Crippled Children’s Clinic.” I remember feeling a little sorry for myself that I had to go to this clinic for crippled children. My mom was never one to sympathize. She said, “You’re NOT CRIPPLED.”

    I’ve had back pain for many years now. It started in my 20s. We didn’t have mechanical lifts to use at work, so we lifted the patients into their chairs or their beds. We were supposed to lift with two staff, but there were many times when another staff person just wasn’t available. Not all state jobs are easy and not all state employees are lazy. Honestly, it was hard work and my back paid the price. I remember ending many shifts fighting back tears because my lower back hurt so bad. I have not had sciatica but I have had pain that nearly caused me to fall – like my back just couldn’t hold me up. So I understand how frustrating that pain can be.

    PT really helps me better than anything. I do stretches daily – kind of a modified “cat-cow” stretch. I’m also addicted to my heating pad which I use in the chair as I relax in the evening and when I get up in the morning. Heat helps a lot. They recommend keeping your core strong, then you can hold that upright posture longer without it slipping away, and with less pain. I agree and I wish I could push everything aside and focus on it. It does feel better when I do!

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  14. I’ve posted a few times from the college today and they never show up.
    So I’ll repeat it again; I need to stand up straighter and I’m trying to be mindful of that.

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  15. I first started meditating in 1970. Initially it took some concerted effort to make it a daily habit, it seemed like such an odd practice with no discernible benefit. Over the years I have also dabbled in various other practices such as yoga, qigong, and tai chi, but I no longer do any of them consistently although I probably should. When I was in China, I marveled at all of the old men and women I saw doing tai chi in the parks, not in any organized fashion, but individually and each doing their own routine. It was so serene and graceful to watch.

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