I have the honor of working with hundreds of students each term in Mindful Yoga classes, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and my tailored Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training (MBRT) programs for various organizations. Some of most the wonderful events in all of these classes and trainings is what students share about what they have learned about themselves and those in their life.
In the MBSR classes I have made it a habit to invite folks to write something down if they would be willing to share their experience with others. The most wonderful part of their comments seems to be to be their uniform experience of really owning, getting back home to themselves. In a sense they describe a process of remembering a powerful innate capacity to be attentive and present, to find their own unique way to be able to care for themselves and those around them more fully. To remember the experience of joy even in the midst of difficulty.
Here are a couple of quotes folks shared from this summer’s MBSR class:
“My own true voice and kind heartedness is now out and speaking like we did as children. I can see sweetness, music, and play in everyday things that had become colorless in a stressful, traumatic world. “ – Virginia, 911 Dispatcher.
“I was surprised at how something so simple, yet difficult, would make such an improvement to my daily life and habits . . . Though I did not attend MBSR for happiness, I feel happier.” – Dan, Engineer.