Advantages of Mindfulness Practices
For this section, I will draw on my own training as a social worker where I have started to realise the importance of body-oriented interventions in view of my understanding of Steven Porges’ Polyvagal theory (Porges, 2017). Porges discusses how the vagal nerve, which connects the brain to structures in the body such as the neck thorax and the abdomen, is linked to whether an individual gets escalated following a stimulus. The theory posits that talk therapy alone would not be able to influence “neuroception”, which is how our body neurologically responds to stressful events, as the brain would send signals directly to the body. This theory connects with my struggles when working with clients who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, who despite our conversations about finding ways to respond to stressful events, find themselves disempowered when responding to stimuli that they experience.
For example, I worked with Lucy (not her real name) who frequently had flashbacks of her past traumatic relationship with her father, whenever she related to other men in her workplace. Although we had engaged in talk-oriented therapy, Lucy found that most of the strategies and conversations had not been useful. However, last year, she shared that she had participated in meditation classes recently and had been amazed at how she is better able to regulate herself with her male colleagues currently. She shared that mindfulness practices had been influential to help her accept her own body and her responses for what they truly are, and she had been able to be more attuned to her own bodily responses (for example, a sickening feeling in her stomach) whenever she felt uncomfortable around her male colleagues. She found herself being able to manage her automatic reactions, through the mindfulness practices. Through this, I am starting to incorporate mindfulness techniques to support relaxation of the body, in response to threats perceived by individuals who may have experienced trauma.
Having experienced trauma in my own personal history, I have found that mindfulness practices have helped in many ways (Turow, 2017). They include me being able to increase my emotional tolerance when responding to difficult and challenging situations. Previously I had found that in my own role as a manager in my organization, I found myself losing temper and getting easily upset by things I felt that staff were either not doing well enough or should be doing more of. This had been one of the main reasons that I had enrolled in the programme. I found that with the mindfulness practices, especially the sitting meditation and coping breathing space, I was better able to tolerate difficult emotions, and realise that these feelings do not last forever, and I could learn to find ways to manage them.
I appreciate the idea of acceptance, which was different from the concept of avoidance (Turow, 2017). Previously I felt that I was just hiding painful thoughts and feelings that I had, and just sweeping them under the carpet. This practice had contributed to me really feeling drained when I am at home, or sometimes having to struggle with overwhelming feelings. I appreciate the idea of acceptance (Kathirasan, 2017), where we can allow challenging emotions and feelings to be present and accept any struggles or shortcomings that I might be dealing with. My colleagues had shared about how they found that I have been kinder and more patient with them at the workplace.
Potential adverse effects or disadvantages of mindfulness
One possible adverse effect of mindfulness that may be more relevant to me, may be about how mindfulness might move us away from “critical thinking tasks” (Brendel, 2015). This may be an issue for me, especially in relation to how I hope to incorporate mindfulness ideas into the organisation through my role as a manager. Working in an organisation, there are key processes, as Brendel shared, which may require one to engage in rational thinking when responding to challenges at work or managing ethical dilemmas in practice. When responding to work challenges, there might be a need for some focused self-reflection, where mindfulness can be seen as a way to avoid oneself from tackling the problem directly. That being said, I feel that mindfulness practices can still complement the need to undertake real actions in the organisation.
Lustyk, Chawla, Nolan, & Marlatt (2009) discuss the potential adverse effects of mindfulness on mental, physical, and spiritual health. Individuals with severe anxiety disorder had reported negative outcomes from mindfulness practices. Individuals with PTSD may also experience side effects, although this may also mean that these individuals require a suite of supportive services beyond just receiving mindfulness interventions alone. This may include other body-based therapies, or even talk therapy to prepare clients towards receptivity to the positive effects of mindfulness.
Physically, mindfulness may increase the risk of seizures (Lustyk et al, 2009) for individuals already suffering from seizure disorders. Other than that, individuals with postural issues may contend with physical pain and discomfort through mindfulness practices which may require movement or extended sitting in a certain posture.
Mindfulness can also affect the spiritual health of the individual, in view of how participants might respond to how these practices may have roots from the Buddhist tradition, and are practiced regularly by Buddhists. I find that this can be an issue especially in view of our society. In my Malay Muslim communities, certain groups of people may frown totally on adopting any practices that may have roots in other religions, and one’s well being and relationship to God may be compromised should they be made to participate in mindfulness practices with them thinking that they are following the practice of another religion.
How a teacher may address each of these issues when teaching mindfulness
I found the inquiry questions very useful when addressing these issues in a way that can support the position of non-judging, as a teacher might seek to embody the attitudinal foundation of mindfulness practice (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). Asking the 3-layer questions of “what did you notice?”, “How this is different from how you would normally pay attention?” and “How will it contribute to your well-being” can be useful when responding to situations where participants might share about how mindfulness has improved their lives. With the knowledge of the different ways that mindfulness has been clinically proven to make people’s lives better, the teacher can share some of these insights after the discussions along the 3 layers of questions.
In view of the adverse effect of one not engaging in critical tasks, I feel that as a teacher, we should not proselytize the effects of mindfulness as the panacea to all illnesses and concerns. Where critical thinking tasks are required, management and leadership can focus on coaching via self-reflection modalities. At the same time, mindfulness can still complement the staff who needs to make decisions. Even in my own practice, I find that an eclectic approach (where we combined different strategies that work, in view of client preferences, and available resources), is better that a “one size fits all” kind of approach.
I find that fostering and atmosphere of safety (Porges, 2017) is important in any therapeutic situation. Safety can be fostered first, through the intake and screening process. We should find out about any concerns or issues that participants might be experiencing that may contraindicate the effects of mindfulness, for example, whether they are suffering from past trauma, or taking any medication for depression and other mental health concerns. For participants with a history of seizures, they should get a memo from the doctor to clear them to participate in any mindfulness based programmes, or other therapeutic interventions, for that matter. Likewise, for participants who have physical concerns that may impede their experience in mindfulness practices.
We can be transparent to clients about the processes of the programme, as well as the potential adverse effects of mindfulness, so that they can make an informed choice whether to participate. Participants can also share any suggestions for the teacher to make, in order to create a safer learning environment. Participants can also be given alternative ways to engage in mindfulness practices (with arrangements made within the class), for example, having chairs available for participants who have difficulty sitting on the floor.
Finally, as teachers, we should always emphasize the secularity of mindfulness practices, whilst being transparent about their roots in Buddhist traditions. We can share about how mindfulness practices undercut most major religions, for example Islamic Sufism. Whilst we are being transparent, we should also accept and give for allowance to participants (who are uncomfortable) to choose not to participate in these practices.
Reference
Brendel, D. (2015), there are risks to mindfulness at work. Harvard Business Review.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2013) Full Catastrophe Living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain and illness. Bantam: New York.
Kathirasan, K. (2017). Mindfulness in 8 days: How to find inner peace in a world of stress and anxiety. Marshall Cavendish: Singapore.
Lustyk, M. K., Chawla, N., Nolan, R., & Marlatt, G. A. (2009). Mindfulness meditation research: issues of participant screening, safety procedures, and researcher training. In Advances in Mind-Body Medicine, 24 (1), 20-30.
Porges, S. W. (2017) The pocket guide to the polyvagal theory: the transformative power of feeling safe. Norton: New York.
Turow, R.G. (2017). Mindfulness skills for trauma and ptsd: practices for recovery and resilience. Norton: New York.
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