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Mindfulness 101:
The Basics
Life is not easy. It can often be hectic and stressful. At times, thoughts and feelings can seem like a storm raging in the
ocean. Yet no matter how rough the ocean is on the surface, deep below, things are calm and clear. Mindfulness helps
us to find this calm, even when we feel overwhelmed. Practicing mindfulness means being more aware of emotions,
thoughts and body sensations. This awareness helps to keep our focus on the present moment, rather than worrying
about the past or the future.

What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness means paying attention to what’s happening right now. When you practice mindfulness, you turn your at-
tention to your thoughts, emotions and body sensations in the present moment. While doing this, you do your best to ac-
cept what you’re experiencing, without labelling it as ‘good’, ‘bad’ or anything else. This can help you feel calmer and
cope better with stress and frustration.

Focusing on the present helps us to:

• Feel less depressed – as we often do when we worry about the past
• Feel less anxious – as we often do when we worry about the future

Right here, right now

There is no other place I want to be -- Jesus Jones

How can mindfulness help me?

Research studies show that mindfulness can:
• Promote mental well-being
• Help us calm our minds and relax
• Help us handle our emotions
• Have a positive impact on mood
• Help to treat depression and anxiety disorders
• Improve symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD).
• Improve relationships: between friends, parents, partners and
children.

How mindful are you?

Do you tend to… Or do you tend to…
o observe life as it happens? o analyze and judge every thought and emotion?
o accept how you are feeling without judgment? o feel bad about how you feel?
o focus on the present? o focus on the past or worry about the future?
o allow yourself to enjoy things as they happen?

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How can I be more mindful?
In today’s world, it’s not always easy to keep our minds in the present moment. Our attention often gets pulled away by
many things, including our devices or other technology. So we end up not giving our full attention to what we’re doing
or the people we’re with. Or we dwell in the past, or worry about the future. Our minds are constantly jumping from
one thing to the next. Mindfulness teachers say this is our ‘monkey mind’. It’s like our mind is filled with monkeys,
all jumping, chattering and screeching to get our attention. Practicing mindfulness can help us to tame our ‘monkey
mind’. This might seem hard to do at first-but it really can be simple and easy.

You can practice mindfulness in everyday activities or try more formal

mindfulness exercises (sometimes called ‘mindfulness meditation’).
Here are some steps to guide you on your path.

“Let’s keep phones

away from the dinner table
so we can talk about what
went well today.”
Participate fully
Try to: Bring your full attention to what you’re doing. “My muscles are
Try not to: Do many things at at the same time. tense and I'm feeling
annoyed.”

Reflect
Try to: Observe your thoughts, emotions and body sensations with an open curiosity.
Try not to: Judge the experience (as good, or bad or anything else), or act on your
feelings right away. "I'm feeling
overwhelmed, but I'll
Recognize probably feel better
Try to: Remind yourself that your thoughts, emotions and body sensations just thoughts, after a good sleep."
emotions or sensations. These don’t always reflect the whole truth, and can change from
moment to moment. Focus on what you are observing or feeling.
Try not to: Turn your emotions and thoughts into facts. There is a big difference between
thinking “I’m feeling unloved right now” and “Nobody loves me.”
"I'm sad. my
Accept chest feels tight and I
Try to: Accept what you’re experiencing, without judgment. feel like crying."
Try not to: Judge your experience or think about your thoughts, "My thoughts are
feelings and body sensations as ‘good’, ‘bad’, ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. wandering - let's bring
attention back to the
Re-focus person I'm talking
Try to: Notice when your thoughts wander, then gently bring your awareness back to with."
the present moment. Take a mindful pause.
Try not to: Judge yourself harshly when this happens. I'd be kind
to a friend who felt this
way. I'd tell her to take care of
Be kind to yourself herself. I should be as kind to
myself as I would to
Try to: Respond to your thoughts, emotions and body sensations
my friend.”
with a gentle and compassionate attitude towards yourself.
Try not to: Criticize yourself for not being better.

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Informal and everyday mindfulness
There are many ways to be more mindful in our busy lives. No matter what you’re
doing, you can bring your full attention to it. Get engaged in something that you
enjoy and can sink yourself into: basketball, yoga, playing music, dancing, hiking.
Let yourself just be into it.

Waking up
As you wake up in the morning, lie in bed and pay attention to what you are:
• Seeing – the sun, clouds, trees and grass outside the window
• Hearing – birds chirping
• Smelling – fresh air from outside the window
• Feeling – warm bedsheets.

Eating
• Turn off all devices.
• Look at your food. Notice the colour, texture and smell. Take a bite and chew slowly. Is is hot? Cold? Lumpy?
Sweet? Salty? Does the taste change as as you chew? How does it feel when you swallow? When do you start
to feel full?

In the shower
As you shower, notice the steam rising, the sound of water, the scent of soap, the sensation of warm water on your body.

Outside
Pay attention to:
• The colours around you - yellow leaves, white snow, grey slush, blue sky, dark clouds.
• Scents - grass, air, roses, the french fry truck :-).
• Sounds - birdsong, the rustling of leaves and the wind, traffic, crunchy gravel underfoot.
• Sensations - the warmth of the sun, the wind on your face, your body in motion.

Cooking
Focus on:
• The feeling of food in your hands as you mix, peel, chop, wash.
• The colour, texture and smell of the food you’re preparing.
• How foods change as you fry, grate, whip and boil.

Walking
As you walk, focus on your body as it moves. For example, you might pay attention to:
• The pressure you feel as your feet touch the ground
• The movement of your muscles
• Your breath
• How the air feels on your skin
• Sounds around you.

Try walking barefoot when possible. Notice the how it feels to walk on different surfaces (carpet, concrete, grass, mud
or sand).

“Pay attention to what you are doing. When your attention wanders,
bring it back to what you are doing. Repeat one billion times.”
- Anonymous

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More everyday mindful ideas
Tame the email monster. Try to avoid reading email first thing in the morning. Your mind is the most focused and
creative in the morning. This is the best time to focus on your priorities and the most challenging work. When you
answer emails first thing, you get distracted by other people’s priorities. Aim to give yourself 30 to 60 minutes before
trying to catch up on emails. Try to check and respond to email just a few times each day, at set times.

Manage distractions. Close your door, turn off the radio, and disable notifications. Fewer distractions will allow you
to really focus on what you’re doing. If you work in a cubicle environment, listening to white noise or classical music
through headphones may help.

Don’t multitask. Studies show that everyone does better on tasks when they can focus on one task and complete it.
Even people who think they are good at multitasking are actually more efficient when they focus on one thing at a time.

Formal mindfulness practice

Formal mindfulness is deliberately taking time to focus attention on something specific, like the breath, sound, or body
sensations. You can practice for 30 seconds to 45 minutes or more. When your mind wanders (and it will) gently bring
your attention back to the breath. When starting out, you may find it helpful to follow guided mindfulness exercises,
available online. We’ve included links to some of these in the resource section.

Here are some ways to practice mindfulness in a more formal way:

Awareness of the breath

1. Sit down in a comfortable position.

2. Bring your awareness to your breath. Notice how your chest and belly move with each breath, how your nostrils
feel as the air moves in and out. When your mind wanders, gently bring your attention back to the breath.

3. Do this for a few minutes.

Mindfulness Pause - a 30-second break for calming down

1. Take a slow deep breath, expanding your belly and chest. Focus on how the breath feels in your nostrils, chest and
belly.

2. Hold the breath for a moment.

3. Exhale slowly. Focus on how your body feels as you let go of the breath.

4. Reconnect with whatever you are doing.

“This one a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away... to the future, to
the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing. Hmph.
Adventure. Heh! Excitement. Heh! A Jedi craves not these things.”
-- Jedi Master Yoda, wishing that Luke Skywalker was more mindful

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 Helpful resources
Websites
American Mindfulness Research Association – online database for mindfulness research publications
www.goamra.org

BC Association for Living Mindfully – a non-profit society dedicated to education, research and advocacy around the
benefits of mindfulness
www.bcalm.ca

Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society (MBSR training) www.umassmed.edu/cfm

Centre for Clinical Interventions – resources for consumers and mental health practitioners
www.cci.health.wa.gov.au

Mindfulness for Teens – online guided meditations and resources www.mindfulnessforteens.com

UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center – online resources and free guided meditations
www.marc.ucla.edu

http://franticworld.com/free-meditations-from-mindfulness/

Books
Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment―and Your Life. Author: Jon Kabat-Zinn

Parenting from the Inside Out: How a Deeper Self-Understanding Can Help You Raise Children Who Thrive. Authors: Dan-
iel Siegel and Mary Hartzell

Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World. Authors: Mark Williams and Danny Penman

The Mindful Brain. Author: Daniel Siegel

Sitting Still Like a Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids (and Their Parents). Authors: Eline Snel, Jon Kabat-Zinn and Myla
Kabat-Zinn

The Mindful Child: How to Help Your Kid Manage Stress and Become Happier, Kinder, and More Compassionate. Author:
Susan Greenland

Apps
Headspace App

Calm.com website and app, which has meditations to relax, focus and sleep better

Stop, Breathe & Think: Meditation and Mindfulness App

The Mindfulness Training App

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Authors
Written by Dr. Meshal Sultan (Psychiatrist) and the members of the Mental Health Promotion Committee at the Chil-
dren’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), including Michael Cheng (Psychiatrist); Ann Kerridge (Social Worker); Elaine
Trigg (Child/Youth Care Worker); Steve Dumouchel (Child/Youth Care Worker); Michel Poirier (Social Worker); Phil Ritchie
(Psychologist); Jennifer Boggett (Occupational Therapist) and Corrine Langill (RN, Health Promotion Specialist). Plain
language editing and design by Corrine Langill.

Special thanks to Eva Schacherl (writer), Marjorie Robb (Psychiatrist, CHEO), Harpreet Grewal (Family Health Specialist,
Ottawa Public Health) and Valerie Repta (Social Worker, Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre).

Disclaimer
Information in this pamphlet is offered ‘as is' and is meant only to provide general information that supplements, but does
not replace the information from your health provider. Always contact a qualified health professional for further informa-
tion in your specific situation or circumstance.

Creative Commons License

You are free to copy and distribute this material in its entirety as long as 1) this material is not used in any way that sug-
gests we endorse you or your use of the material, 2) this material is not used for commercial purposes (non-commercial),
3) this material is not altered in any way (no derivative works). View full license at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/

References
Davidson RJ, Kabat-Zinn J, Schumacher J, Rosenkranz M, Muller D, Santorelli SF, Urbanowski F, Harrington A, Bonus K,
Sheridan JF. Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic medicine.
2003 Jul 1;65(4):564-70.

Hölzel BK, Carmody J, Vangel M, Congleton C, Yerramsetti SM, Gard T, Lazar SW. Mindfulness practice leads to increases
in regional brain gray matter density. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging. 2011 Jan 30;191(1):36-43.

Miller JJ, Fletcher K, Kabat-Zinn J. Three-year follow-up and clinical implications of a mindfulness meditation-based
stress reduction intervention in the treatment of anxiety disorders. General Hospital Psychiatry. 1995 May 31;17(3):192-
200.

Rubia K. The neurobiology of meditation and its clinical effectiveness in psychiatric disorders. Biological Psychology.
2009 Sep 30;82(1):1-1.

Saunders DC. Being mindful of mindfulness: Past, present, and future of mindfulness in child and adolescent psychiatry.
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 2015 Jun 1;54(6):437-9.

Shapiro SL, Oman D, Thoresen CE, Plante TG, Flinders T. Cultivating mindfulness: effects on well-being. Journal of
Clinical Psychology. 2008 Jul 1;64(7):840-62.

Shonin E, Van Gordon W, Griffiths M. Mindfulness-based interventions: Towards mindful clinical integration. Frontiers in
Psychology. 2013 Apr 18;4:194.

Siegel DJ. The Mindful Therapist: A clinician’s guide to mindsight and neural integration. WW Norton & Company; 2010
May 3.

Siegel RD, Germer CK, Olendzki A. Mindfulness: What is it? Where did it come from?. Clinical Handbook of Mindfulness
2009 (pp. 17-35). Springer New York.

www.cheo.on.ca
 Finding help in Ottawa
In a crisis? Child, Youth and Family Crisis Line for Eastern Ontario, 613-260-2360 or toll-free, 1-877-377-7775

Looking for mental health help? www.eMentalHealth.ca is a bilingual directory of mental health services and
resources for Ottawa, Eastern Ontario and Canada.

□ Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868 or www.kidshelpphone.ca

□ Youth Services Bureau, for ages 12-20, 613-562-3004 www.ysb.on.ca

□ Family Service Centre of Ottawa, 613-725-3601, www.familyservicesottawa.org

□ Catholic Family Services, 613-233-8418, www.cfssfc-ottawa.org

□ Jewish Family Services, 613-722-2225, www.jfsottawa.com

□ The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre (by physician’s
referral), 613-737-7600 ext. 2496. For more information on our programs, www.cheo.on.ca

□ Ottawa Public Health Information Line, 613-580-6744

□ To find a Psychologist in Ottawa: Call the Ottawa Academy of Psychology referral service, 613-235-2529.
Listing many, but not all, Ottawa psychologists.

Finding help in Eastern Ontario

In a crisis? Child, Youth and Family Crisis Line for Eastern Ontario, 613-260-2360 or toll-free, 1-877-377-7775
Looking for mental health help? www.eMentalHealth.ca is a bilingual directory of mental health services and
resources for Ottawa, Eastern Ontario and Canada.

□ Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868 or www.kidshelpphone.ca

□ Renfrew County: Phoenix Centre for Children, Youth and Families, with offices in Renfrew and Pembroke.
613-735-2374 or toll-free 1-800-465-1870, www.renc.igs.net/~phoenix

□ Leeds and Grenville County: Children’s Mental Health of Leeds and Grenville, with offices in Brockville, Elgin,
Gananoque and Prescott. 613-498-4844, www.cmhlg.ca

□ Lanark County: Open Doors for Lanark Children and Youth, with offices in Carleton Place,
Smiths Falls and Perth. 613-283-8260, www.opendoors.on.ca

□ Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry and Akwesasne (Cornwall Island): Single Point Access-for all child, youth, family and
mental health services. Services in French and English. Main office, Cornwall, Ontario 613-938-9909
Toll free 1-888-286-KIDS (5437). Satellite office in Winchester.

□ Cornwall and area: Child and Youth Counselling Services (CYCS)- (Cornwall Community Hospital) provides
assessment, therapy, and counseling. Services provided in English. Office in Cornwall 613-932-1558, limited
outreach services in Winchester office.

□ To find a psychologist anywhere in Ontario: College of Psychologists of Ontario,

1-800-489-8388, www.cpo.on.ca

www.cheo.on.ca