Cultivating mindfulness

Feeling stressed, busy, overwhelmed or experiencing all of these emotions at once? In the hustle and bustle of life, it can be difficult to prioritise and put your wellbeing first.

If you’re feeling these emotions, you may be interested in MSWA’s newly introduced Wellbeing service. The service is centred around resiliency and health promotion, utilising evidence-based tools and resources to help Clients overcome obstacles, foster resiliency and feel empowered.

Through this service, individuals can cultivate mental and physical resilience through deliberate practices like mindfulness, which can help reduce stress and anxiety levels, while enhancing overall wellbeing.

We are introducing a range of modules to teach easy-to-follow mindfulness practices that can be implemented into your daily routine and significantly improve your overall wellbeing. These techniques can be practiced independently or in combination with one another to build up your wellness toolbox, and help you manage everyday challenges.

Module 1: Grounding

This practice involves using breath and senses to conduct a gentle guided body scan, bringing focus back to the present moment and encourages us to “drop the struggle”. By repeatedly practicing this technique, it can help us feel renewed and recharged.

Module 2: Quieting the overactive mind

Similar to strengthening physical muscles, this practice strengthens ‘mental muscles’ by being mindful of our thoughts and learning to take control of them, directing them to be more helpful to us. Part of this practice is learning how to ‘unhook’ from ‘sticky thoughts’ to gain more clarity and focus in your mind.

Module 3: Befriending our emotions

Often, our default way of dealing with challenging feelings is to push them down and distract ourselves. This can cause more stress in our system which is not beneficial for our physical health.

Learning to be mindful of our emotions, begins with recognising our feelings and understanding the wise messages they can bring. This practice is great to help process and manage difficult emotions and can help increase our emotional resilience.

Module 4: Self Compassion

When our reality does not match our expectations or where we would like to be, it can be difficult to accept. Often, we are our biggest self-critics.

Part of the Self Compassion practice is the concept of ‘radical acceptance’. That is accepting what is not under your control and embracing what is happening now in a non-judgmental way.

If you are interested in participating in the above, or other wellbeing modules on offer to help fill your toolbox, please contact MSWA Wellbeing Manager michaela.mundy@mswa.org.au or enquire with your Client Liaison Coordinator.

Janice Petrovic
MSWA Counsellor