Mindfulness based cognitive therapy is for people who are experiencing significant/chronic struggles with depression and/or anxiety.  It is a practice that can help overcome past, deeply engrained reactive patterns that give rise to feelings of hoplessness and despair.  The activities include meditation, yoga, body scan and breathing exercises.

I am so excited about this therapy, however, I cannot see my regular therapist during the 6 weeks I am attending 🙁

The group is 13 people plus 2 therapists.  Confidentiality was stressed and goals and ideas were discussed.  We did a breathing exercise, just taking some deep breaths and releasing.  You know, so many times we just forget to breathe, it is so easy to do.  Then we were given an object and asked to use all our senses to discover it.  (it was a craisin)  We also did a body scan exercise.  For anyone not familiar with it, you sit or lay comfortably and beginning with your toes, focus on each area of the body, realizing the breath as it makes its way to the area, and then letting it dissolve as we go onto the next.  It was difficult for me in class, the floor was hard, I was cold, and still very nervous about participating.  But once I admitted it out loud to everyone, I felt so much better.  It’s like I owned it, and it was okay after that. 

We have homework.  Try to do the body scan daily if possible, taking notes.  Choose 1 routine activity in daily life, such as brushing teeth, taking out the trash, or eatingand having total awareness as you do it.  Also we are asked to eat one meal "mindfully".

I did the body scan today and was able to note a few things.  My lower leg felt thick, solid.  I could feel breath going into and out of my thighs.  The stomach area was easy to focus on.  My hands were raised upwards in acceptance and became very numb so I had to turn them over when it got to the arms.  And my head just felt like there was so, so much going on in there, from being bombarded, thoughts, plans, frustration, and wondering how much longer this was going to take. 

I really see this class as an opportunity for me.  Now that I have rambled on, let me know if you are interested in further information as the weeks pass.  I need to record my body scan results and thought this might be a good way to do that.

Thanks for reading, have a blessed day.