A Simple Guide to Mindfulness by Cassandra Van Dyck
A bimonthly newsletter published by the Caregiver Support Program
January/February 2015
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” – William James Consider this: when the correct support and condi-tions exist, we have everything we need to sustain a state of balance. Of course, it does not always feel that way. When we experience chronic stress or trau-ma, our ability to maintain a sense of balance is com-promised. It can feel strange or uncomfortable to be still. We are often practicing the opposite of mindful-ness. We react to experiences automatically and get caught by habitual emotions and opinions. Practicing mindfulness is about checking in with our-selves and turning our attention to where we are in that moment. Doing this allows us to step away from our swirling thoughts and ground ourselves in the present. Mindfulness can seem like an illusive or overwhelming idea, but applying the practice to daily life can be quite simple. I invite you to try out the fol-lowing exercises. Breath (adapted from Vicki Ens) This mindfulness practice is useful wherever you are, whenever you feel like your thoughts are racing or that the pace you’re moving at is frenzied.
Find a comfortable seat wherever you are. Place one hand on your chest area and the other on your belly. Without worrying about changing anything, notice how you are breathing. Now you can intentionally
move in to belly breathing. Place one hand on your chest area and the other on your belly. Without wor-rying about changing anything, notice how you are breathing. Now you can intentionally move into belly breathing. Put your lower hand around your belly button area and as you inhale, gently push your belly out into your hand. Relax, allowing your belly to be soft. Relax and exhale, allowing your diaphragm to rise up naturally. Soften your back and spine at the same time, curling your lower back in slightly. Contin-ue for a few minutes, or until you feel grounded in your seat.
Observing Thoughts (adapted from Susan Bauer-Wu’s book, Leaves Falling Gently)
This practice can take a little longer than the first, but it can be incredibly helpful when you feel like negative thoughts are spiraling out of control.
After settling in to a comfortable position, notice the sensations of your breathing. Simply pay attention to the natural rhythm of breathing in and breathing out. Whenever you find that your mind has wandered off
January/February 2015 Page 2
The sensations of breathing to thinking, turn your atten-
tion toward the thought.
Notice the thought and note the story that is playing in
your mind.
Try to just watch it as a neutral yet interested observer,
as if you were watching a movie. Or, imagine a plane of
glass separating you from your thoughts.
Describe what you are thinking about. Whom and what
do you see? What’s happening?
Name the thought: a “memory,” “plan,” “fantasy,”
“random idea,” or some other kind of thought.
Notice that thought as it drifts out of your mind, like a
cloud that floats across the sky and disappears from your
field of awareness.
Return your awareness to the sensations of breathing.
When you catch yourself in thought again, turn your
attention to the thought and follow the sequence de-
scribed previously: notice the thought, observe it, de-
scribe it, and name it. Then return to the experience of
breathing.
Looking Inside (adapted from Susan Bauer-Wu’s book,
Leaves Falling Gently)
This is a grounding practice which may help you to get
comfortable in an unfamiliar location.
Position yourself in such a way that you can look around
the room, yet easily look out the window or door.
Allow yourself to get settled into a comfortable position.
You may begin by closing your eyes and tuning in to the
natural rhythm of your breathing.
Once you are settled, open your eyes. Without moving
your head, begin by noticing the light, colours and
shapes as your open your eyes.
Gently and slowly scan the room, and first notice
all the different colours and shades of colour.
Be aware of how your body and mind feel as you look
at the different colours.
Allow yourself to explore and really settle into the ex-
perience of noticing light, shadows, and shapes. What
do you notice?
Try not to get caught up in the stories of what the im-
ages mean of represent.
Now bring your awareness to space—the space be-
tween objects or rooms—and notice how your body
and mind feel as your explore this sense of space.
How does your body feel when you look at different
things?
What emotions are you feeling, if any?
If you find your mind running off, acknowledge it with
curiousity and then come back to the act of seeing col-
ours, light, shapes and so on.
Try to keep this very simple.
After you have looked around very carefully and com-
pletely, close your eyes and allow yourself to just sit
quietly for a few moments, and notice how you feel
right now.
The Family Caregivers’ Grapevine Page 3
January 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 Memories and
More 1:30-
3:30PM (10
week series)
8
Network
Group 7-9PM
9 10
11 12 13
Walk and Talk
1:30-3PM
14 Network
Group 10:30-
12:30PM
15 16 17
18 19 Communica-
tion and Coping
Strategies 6-
7:30PM
20
Cultivating
Balance 5-7PM
21 22 23 24
25 26 Comforting
Touch Session 1-
3PM
27 28 29 30 31
Walk and Talk Rejuvenate with a stroll on the Ambleside seawall,
get to know other caregivers and enjoy the fresh air.
The walks take place rain or shine. Tuesday January
13th and February 3rd from 1 :30 to 3:00 pm. Meet
us by the public washrooms at John Lawson Park in
West Vancouver.
Cultivating Balance
Are you a Farsi speaking caregiver, supporting a
family member or friend?
Farsi-speaking caregivers, join us on January 20 and
February 17 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm in room 203 at
NSCR, 935 Marine Drive in Capilano Mall, North
Vancouver. The session will be in Farsi and English
so all are welcome to join us.
Explore the challenges and joys of being a caregiv-
er, learn ways to use your strengths and skills, cul-
tivate health and well-being in yourself, share ide-
as, information and wisdom.
Presented by Katayoun Shirzad, family counsellor
and life coach, and Karyn Davies,Coordinator of
the Caregiver Support Program.
For registration and information on all sessions, contact Karyn by email at
[email protected] or by phone at 604-982-3320.
January/February 2015 Page 4
Network Groups
Our next meetings are: Thursday, January 8th and February 5th from 7-9PM, and Wednesday, Janu-ary 14th and Febraury 11th from 10.30AM-12.30PM.
Is Farsi your first language? We have a Farsi and English speaking volunteer at the Wednesday Net-work meetings, to help you feel comfortable being part of the group.
A sneak peek at upcoming topics: January 8th: Ther-apeutic Touch volunteers will provide relaxing treatments during the meeting, if you’d like to re-ceive some TLC. Therapeutic Touch is described as being relaxing, healing and grounding. It is a gentle and non-invasive way to promote well-being. Light touch is optional.
Communication and Coping Strategies for
Dementia Care
Learn helpful tools for communicating effectively with a loved one, understand why challenging be-
haviours occur and how you can create a safe envi-ronment. Gain coping skills that will relieve stress
in your caregiving role.
Monday January 19th from 6-7.30PM in Room 203, at Capilano Mall, 935 Marine Drive, North Vancou-ver. Free registration with Karyn at 982.3320, or email: [email protected]
Presented by Yvonne Poulin, an Elder Planning Counselor with Dementia Care Consulting.
Memories and More Series
Wednesday afternoons 1:30-3:30PM, beginning January 7th. A 10-week registered program for those living with early stage dementia and their caregiver. Please call Karyn to register.
Comforting Touch Practice Session:
Tools for invigoration and relaxation.
Join us on January 26th from 1-3PM to practice what we’ve learned in a previous session. Karyn will lead us in practicing the hand and facial mas-sage using the massage techniques Shirley Gibbons taught us in the summer.
Communication Strategies 101: Transforming Guilt and Frustration
A two-part series on coping more effectively with the challenges of family communication. Learn practical strategies for: Communicating healthy boundaries, improving your approach to communi-cation and transforming feelings of guilt and frus-tration into a renewed sense of self-empowerment. Celebrate the strengths you bring to caregiving, and learn some tools for working with the challenges.
Feb 23 and March 2 from 3-5PM in Room 203 in Capilano Mall, 935 Marine Drive, North Vancouver. Whenever possible, we recommend attending both sessions, as they will build upon eachother.
Presented by Deborah Braun who is a community-minded registered clinical counsellor. She derives immense satisfaction from synthesizing complex information into approachable and encouraging strategies that enhance healing, learning and growth.
In Our Own Backyards: Karen Van Dyck’s Cures for What Ails Us
By Cassandra Van Dyck
Karen Van Dyck is a professional herbalist, natural health consultant, educator and perfumer from Vancouver Island. In this interview, she shares the story of her path to natural health care and some tips for using scents for energy and relaxation.
Let’s start at the beginning. Can you tell us about your journey in to natural skin care?
When I was a child growing up on Saltspring Island, we used to rub sea-weed on our skin, dig clay from the banks for face masks, put lemon juice on our hair to sun streak it, and put aromatic flowers in jars of rainwater to make perfume. This elemental connection to nature was more important to me than I knew at the time.
The light bulbs started going off when I was studying herbal medicine and learned a very important thing - the body has an inherent ability to heal itself if you give it the natural building blocks it needs. My philosophy is simple: cleanse, hydrate, nourish and protect - with whole food molecules from nature.
During my eight years in pharmacy, I developed a philosophy that nature in all its complexity and balance held potent solutions for beauty and health. I had the privilege of attending many seminars and work-shops, and also had access to the compounding lab. People started asking me for natural alternatives. My first creations were not elegant! I took a natural cosmetic formulating course with the Cosmetic Formula-tors of the USA and used what I learned to formulate using superfoods (foods that are highly nutritious and powerful) instead of isolated patented synthetic molecules and thus Natures First Beauty Bar was born.
Scents can be very powerful. What would you recommend to someone who needs more energy? For someone who would like to relax?
I completed a three year program in natural perfume with Aftelier in Berkeley California. Aromatherapy uses steam distilled essential oils, and perfumery uses resins, tinctures, absolutes, concretes (the waxy part of flower blossoms) and other mysterious and amazing ingredients. All of nature is therapeutic, but essen-tial oils have the highest profile for their therapeutic effect since they enter the bloodstream quickly. Every person is different and responds differently, but if someone is needing more energy because they are tired - I would recommend peppermint or eucalyptus. If they are writing an exam - add rosemary to that. If they are needing mood uplifting, citrus oils like grapefruit and lemon work. If a person needs energy because their hormones are out of whack - I would recommend rose geranium. If people are tired because they are highly stressed, I would recommend lavender, ylang ylang, sandalwood or grounding oils like patchou-li. These oils are also relaxing and calming. For enlightenment or focus - rose and sandalwood are wonder-ful.
The Family Caregivers’ Grapevine Page 5
January/February 2015 Page 6
Top Note Middle Note Base Note
citruses like pink grapefruit, berga-
mot, lime, lemon, orange
florals like rose, jasmine, lavender
or ylang ylang
resins like myrrh, frankincense,
benzoin, peru balsam
spices like black pepper, ginger,
coriander, cardamom
herbs like rosemary, sage, fennel vanilla
light woods like cedar or rose-
wood, fir or spruce
spices like cinnamon or nutmeg Indian grasses like patchouli or
vetiver (only a small amount!)
In Our Own Backyards cont.
The world of aromatherapy can seem overwhelming! What advice would you give to someone who wants to experiment with scents?
To make a simple aromatherapy blend - choose a balanced blend with an equal amount of each note and blend in a base oil such as jojoba oil:
*To have a more uplifting blend - use more top notes. To have a more grounding blend - use more base notes.
A cautionary note for people with low blood pressure - stay away from lavender since it definitely lowers blood pressure and can cause dizziness. If you have high blood pressure, lavender should be your best friend!
What has the world of natural health taught you about taking care of yourself?
A connection to nature brings profound health benefits. Whether it is watching a sunrise, walking through a forest or swimming in the ocean.... Health is physical, mental and spiritual. Beauty is Health. There is an old saying that a remedy for what ails you is within 10 feet of your back door. Herbal teas are the best and fastest ways to receive that remedy. Nature’s bounty is our food and our medicine.
For the extended version of Karen Van Dyck’s interview, visit our blog!
northvancaregivers.wordpress.com
Karen’s products can be found at www.vitalenaturalcare.com
Gratitude Corner
Practising gratitude daily can make profound changes in
our lives. Implementing simple practices in to your life can
alter your perspective, allowing fewer bad thoughts to
come in to your head and creating space for more of the
good ones.
For thirty nights, try writing down three things that you
are grateful for before you turn off the light to fall asleep.
If you are looking for a consistent reminder of some of the
good things in your life, try creating a grid on a piece of
paper and taping it to your wall. Whenever you think of it,
jot down something that makes you happy. It could be
something simple, such as a hot cup of tea in the
afternoon, or a person that is always there to listen when
you need them.
The Family Caregivers’ Grapevine Page 7
February 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3
Walk and Talk
1:30-3PM
4 5
Network
Group 7-9PM
6 7
8 9 10 11 Network
Group
10:30AM-
12:30PM
12 13 14
15 16 17
Cultivating
Balance 5-7PM
18 19 20 21
22 23 Communica-
tion Strategies
101 from 3-
5PM
24 25 26 27 28
January/February 2015 Page 8
I’ll Always Remember That Summer
By C. Bryson
I’ll always remember that summer
Under the lush green leaves
As we sat outside the vet’s office
Mother and I, entranced
Watching the kittens play
Through the window
As they frolicked
Moment by moment
Their silliness grew as they leaped
Onto the receptionist’s keyboard
Driving her crazy
Pouncing on imaginary mice
So suddenly we were transported
To another century
Or so it seemed
To rocking horses and tea sets,
And dollhouses with
Miniature furniture
To ice cream and sticky toffee
Puddings. To secrets and
Skinned knees. And mother
Kissing it better.
And all the thousand-and-one delights
Of childhood.
North Shore Community
Resources Caregiver Support
Program
201-935 Marine Drive
North Vancouver, BC
V7P 1S3
The Family Caregivers’
Grapevine is a bi-monthly
publication that promotes
the importance of self-care
and provides practical
information to help with the
caregiving role.
Do you have any questions
or feedback about the news-
letter? Please contact
Cassandra at
or
604-982-3319