Mindful Minute

Mindfulness can be an abstract word and concept.  How can we be “mindful” throughout our day? What does that mean? How do I actually “do” that?

According to a study from the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, mindfulness is defined as “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.”  You can read this fantastic article here https://www.socialthinking.com/Articles?name=Mindfulness%20and%20Social%20Thinking

Our Mindfulness class is taught by Maria Hartemann.  Just like our social skills classes, Maria is taking what can be an abstract concept and is teaching it in a concrete way.  These tools and techniques can be taught to all children and adults.   This morning while driving to school, (Christina’s family) practiced the “Mindful Minute” from yesterday’s class. The kids talked about what they learned mindfulness to be and then we all  practiced a “Mindful Minute”.  Just like social learning, you can grow your awareness and ability to be mindful throughout your day.  This has countless positive benefits from stress/anxiety reduction, increased attention span, and improved impulse control.  Just like learning social skills, or any new skill, mindful techniques need to be practiced daily.

We would love to have you join us for Maria’s next class on February 19th.  Please click on the tab “Upcoming Events” on our website for further details.  Or, if you have questions, reach out to us at confidentsolutions7@gmail.com.

We’ve included a few pictures from this past Sunday’s Mindfulness class.

With Appreciation,

Christina and Wendy

Mindfulness Class This Sunday

We have a guest blogger today, Maria Hartemann.  She will be teaching our Mindfulness classes once a month.  We are very excited for this opportunity!  We will be hosting  this Mindfulness class this Sunday, January 22nd from 12:20-1:00 and again on February 19th. Each class costs $20.00 which includes a parent and child. Additional children are $7.00. If you would like to sign up, please send us an e-mail at confidentsolutions7@gmail.com and let us know you’re coming! We will send you a PayPal link to reserve your spot. All classes are held at 9700 Research Dr., Suite 132, Charlotte, NC 28262.   Words from Maria….

People talk a lot about “being mindful” and about how “mindfulness” can benefit you both physically and mentally. They say that it can help to relieve stress, to calm your thoughts, to ease sleep problems, and to gain focus. So what is mindfulness (you may ask)? To me, mindfulness is synonymous with awareness.  It means that you are able to be present and aware of this exact moment.  It does not require you to shut down to the world around you. Rather, it asks you to recognize that the world, distractions, noises, and thoughts will still occur and attempt to pull you from this moment. Practicing mindfulness means that amongst all the distractions that life throws your way, you are able to look at them without judgement and always come back to the now. It means that you are able to come back to your breath, to a state of calm, and to the pause before action or response. From there, you can move through your day with more peace and with mindful awareness.  In other words, “mindfulness” is meant to be a way of moving through your life with more awareness and the ability to focus on the present moment.  Simple enough, right?

Join me for our class this Sunday where we will be doing some exercises to help you begin to create a mindfulness practice in your day-to-day life.

Joyfully,

Maria Hartemann