We were online for our Tuesday, March 17th session - having transitioned away from in-person sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic. After sitting meditation, we read and discussed an article by Dr. Christiane Wolf on how mindfulness can help us adapt to the pandemic. She writes:

Mindfulness is the practice to intentionally bring awareness to the present moment so we can choose our response to what is happening, instead of acting on autopilot. For example, we are being counseled to not habitually touch our face, in order to avoid contamination. But that’s easier said than done, as it is such an automatic habit.

Some of the observations we shared:

• Thinking and acting mindfully can help others even more than it helps us
• Intention is an important component of applying mindfulness.
• Mindful speech helps, including when not to talking, can avoid adding to the current confusion and anxiety.
• Why not "physical distancing" instead of "social distancing" — we want to be close to friends and family, even if that's online.
• Meditation has been shown to benefit the immune system (Breath practices such as those taught by Wim Hof can also be beneficial.
• It's hard not to touch your face! We can mindfully (and kindly) notice when we're doing that and slowly build a different response.
• Use the breath as an anchor when you're trying to mindfully observe and change habitual behaviours.
• Washing hands (20 seconds, with soap, hot or not) can become a mini-mindfulness break by taking the opportunity to check in with ourselves and bring our attention to the sensations of the present moment.
• There can be tension between our cultural drive to show up, push through, and succeed, and the health benefits of staying home when we have symptoms.
• In the current floord of information, we benefit ourselves and others by being mindful of what we choose to read and watch. The SIFT technique is an easy and effective way to avoid being misled.