Week 1
Working with anxiety and stress
- Anxiety and fear
- What does stress do in the body?
- How do we experience stress
- Creating resources to work with anxiety and fear
- Tips for resources to meet stress and build resilience
Tips
- Pause to be mindful. Be aware of what is happening around you and inside you. Stay present.
- Acknowledge feelings as they are there. Allow them to be there.
- Calm the body – take 3 breaths where the exhale is longer than the inhale (keep that comfortable).
- Notice that you’re basically alright right now.
- Eat well
- Stay active
- When you go out, stay grounded.
- Develop agency: learn more about what you feel threatened by, so that you have a balanced picture.
- Stay connected with social interactions that are meaningful: a small and stable circle of friends.
- Feel that others care about you.
- Have positive social interactions in a wide circle: like smiling at a stranger in the street.
Downloads
to download right click and choose ‘save link as’
- Talk recording, 20mins
- Practice recording, 13mins
Resources
- Tutorial on sitting posture options
- Feeling Safer, an short excerpt from Resilient by Rick Hanson
- Long read: Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers by Robert Sapolsky
”Why should you want to exclude any anxiety, any grief, any melancholy from your life, since you do not know what these conditions are accomplishing in you.
From Letters to a Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke
Week 2
Mindfulness, self-compassion, self-care
- What is self-compassion
- Mindfulness, kindness, common humanity
- Why practice self-compassion
- Tips for inner resources and self care
Tips
- Pause to ask yourself: What’s the kindest thing I could do for myself right now?
- Be aware of what wears you down, take it seriously and do what is in your own power to reduce it.
- Tune into your breathing and a sense of mindful presence when going about your work or talking to others.
- Use a soothing touch: offer yourself a hug, place a hand on your heart, etc.
- In the first and last 30 mins of your day disconnect from email, social media, and news.
- Bring to mind that feeling of being on your own side.
- Whenever you feel stuck or powerless, look for something – no matter how small – that you can usefully do to feel more active and potent.
- Appreciating something that is already pleasant.
- Choose to see what’s joyful and uplifting – right here, right now, regardless of conditions and circumstances.
Downloads
to download right click and choose ‘save link as’
- Talk recording, 15mins
- Practice recording, 19mins
Resources
- 3 Reasons to Be for Yourself, an excerpt from Resilient
- Long read: Self-compassion by Kristin Neff
”There is no controlling life.
Allow, Danna Faulds
Try corralling a lightning bolt, containing a tornado.
Dam a stream and it will create a new channel.
Resist, and the tide will sweep you off your feet.
Allow, and grace will carry you to higher ground.
The only safety lies in letting it all in –
the wild and the weak; fear, fantasies, failures and success.
When loss rips off the doors of the heart, or sadness veils your vision with despair, practice becomes simply bearing the truth.
In the choice to let go of your known way of being, the whole world is revealed to your new eyes.
Week 3
Safety, satisfaction, connection
- Our basic needs: safety, satisfaction and connection
- The science of connection: empathy and the mirror neuron system
- Gratitude
- Tips to increase a sense of connection
Tips
- Make time to connect with other people regularly
- Ask people for support to empower them to help you.
- Support others. Standing up for others is healing for ourselves.
- Tell someone you care about them or appreciate their work. Thank them.
- Think of 3 new things that you’re grateful for, every day.
Downloads
to download right click and choose ‘save link as’
- Talk recording, 20mins
- Practice recording, 17mins
Resources
- Dhamma Reflection – Compassion: spread the Karunavirus! by Ajahn Sucitto
- Long read: Happiness by Matthieu Richard
”If you find no one to support you on the spiritual path, walk alone. If you see a wise person who steers you away from the wrong path, follow them. The company of the wise is joyful, like reunion with one’s family. Therefore, live among the wise, who are understanding, patient, responsible and noble. Keep their company like the moon moving among the stars.
Dhammapada
Week 4
Developing resilience – savouring the good
- Working with environment, body and mind
- Savouring the positive
- The neuroscience of absorbing positive experiences
- Tips to grow a resilient core
Tips
- Stay active (whatever kind of exercise or activity).
- Keep the brain active – keep learning, practice mindfulness, stay connected, be generous.
- Get proper rest – sleep as much as you need to.
- Use the beginning and the end of each day to replenish yourself.
- Listen to your needs: What is the kindest thing I can do to myself?
- Doing positive things every day or having positive interactions creates trait resilience.
- Pursue your aims and your relationships with courage, generosity, compassion and forgiveness.
- Keep practicing!
Downloads
to download right click and choose ‘save link as’
- Talk recording, 25mins
- Practice recording, 15mins
Resources
- Bodyheartmind: My website with guided meditation and relaxation practices
- The Importance of Learning (excerpt from resilience)
- Jack Kornfield pandemic resources
- Long read: Resilient by Rick Hanson
”Ten thousand flowers in spring,
Ten thousand flowers, Wu-Men
the moon in autumn,
a cool breeze in summer,
snow in winter.
If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things,
this is the best season of your life.