WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. --
“The average person has
between 17,000 and 70,000 thoughts a day,” Michelle Sanders told the Westover Strong
crowd June 6.
“Most
of them bad,” added Sanders, who is Westover’s Director of Psychological Health.
We
tend to “hold happiness hostage,” she said, by thinking that we can’t be happy
until the Big Moment – a promotion, lottery win, retirement. In reality, she said, happiness “is at our
fingertips” in noticing a thousand daily small pleasures.
That
was the heart of June’s Westover Strong gathering: “Mindfulness” – the art of
“paying attention to the moment on purpose, without judgement.” Mindfulness
is a way to escape the tyranny of the past and the future, she said. In addition to improving quality of life,
mindfulness has been used successfully to treat high stress, depression, even
PTSD.
On
Saturday, Sanders led the audience of 25 airmen through key attitudes and
exercises anyone can do.
Key
attitudes
-
Notice a situation rather than reacting
instantly. That gives you time to think
and respond appropriately.
-
Have curiosity – a beginner’s mindset –
to allow you to see routine events in a fresh light.
-
Slow down. Savor the moment. Use all your senses. “Wisdom usually comes in silence,” Sanders
said.
-
Tune into the moment, instead of
planning the next moment.
-
Reset the brain by stepping out of a
situation briefly – take a walk or a short break.
-
Just being. Allow yourself to enjoy the moment without
pressure or judgement.
The
first exercise she led the class through was conscious breathing. Studies have shown that people who exhale
longer than they inhale are more relaxed, she said. For two minutes, attendees practiced inhaling
through the nose, and exhaling slowly through the mouth. At the end, attendees admitted they felt more
relaxed. Next,
she passed out candy with the instructions to spend a full three minutes
savoring the experience – feel the texture of the wrapper, sniff the candy,
lick it, then take a bite and hold it on your tongue. The point: stop waiting to win the lottery to
be happy and enjoy life’s little moments.
“When
you eat mindfully, you tend to eat less,” she said.
Another
fun fact: When you kiss longer than six seconds, your oxytocin level goes up –
you are in the moment.The
final exercise involved noticing how much influence posture has on mood. Sanders had attendees think of a sad or
frustrating moment – snarling traffic, an unkind email, etc. For one minute, she said, think of that bad
event while crossing your arms and looking down. The next two minutes, look straight ahead,
palms on knees, with the beginning of a smile on your face. For the final two minutes, add raised
eyebrows to the near-smile and upturned palms.
Again,
the group felt better thinking of the event, simply by changing posture.