Mindfulness

In today’s episode, we meet with Kate Swarm, a long-time practitioner and teacher of yoga as well as with Dr. Thye Schuyler, the director of the Sleep Clinic at Salem Health.

Together, we talk about the subject of mindfulness.

It’s a buzzword that’s floating around in a number of circles. You’ll hear about its importance in TedTalks, medical offices, yoga studios, and even in pop culture. Suffering from burnout? Engage in a mindfulness practice. Can’t sleep? Mindfulness is the answer. Are you unhappy? Mindfulness will help you. You name the ailment, mindfulness will be given as a potential remedy.

But what exactly is mindfulness? Does anyone really know? And what counts as a mindfulness practice? If one is sitting, quietly, in prayer…is that mindfulness? If I am watching TV, I’m not, technically, thinking about my problems…but is that mindfulness? Do I have to be sitting still to be mindful? Or can I be moving while I practice? And let’s get rid of all the gobbly-gook and hooey claims. What does the science say about the benefits of mindfulness? And how might a beginner get started?

These are some of the questions we tackle in our conversation. As always, if you find this to be a helpful resource, but are looking for more…you can always visit us at www.salemhealth.org/chec.