Mindfulness Meditation Comes to Bay St. Louis

On the Shoofly - January 2022​

Mindfulness, the practice of learning to control one’s attention, is coming to Bay St. Louis, thanks to Christ Episcopal Church and Sullivan Breathworks.

- by Wendy Sullivan

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After enjoying the hectic holidays with all the accompanying emotional turmoil that the season often brings, the New Year offers a time for reflection and recovery.
 
Although the holidays are over, the emotional and physical impact of them carry over into the new year. Mindfulness meditation is useful for managing stress, pain and assorted other conditions.
 

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Mindfulness is a practice that is gaining acceptance in Western medicine as an evidenced-based way to reduce stress and manage emotions and pain. Mindfulness practice simply teaches us to learn to control our attention.
 

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Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of “Full Catastrophe Living,” says, “Mindfulness is a way of paying attention that is: intentional, in the present moment, non-judgmental.”
 
Contrary to popular belief, meditation does not eliminate thoughts. Our brains are like New York’s Grand Central Station with lots of “thought trains” arriving and departing. Mindfulness enhances the ability to recognize the thought trains and decide which one to follow. One woman reported that she learned to get off the thought trains destined for catastrophizing or crashing.
 

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Pema Chodron, a Buddhist nun, wrote, “meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better; it’s about befriending who we are already.”
 
Mindfulness can be useful for lessening stress in our daily lives, while research has demonstrated the value of mindfulness meditation on managing pain, lessening the impact of chronic conditions like psoriasis, and promoting healing.

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This year, Christ Episcopal Church is partnering with Sullivan Breathworks to offer free weekly Mindfulness Meditation sessions each Tuesday at 5 pm. Open to the public, participants can drop in as their schedule permits or choose to attend weekly. In compliance with CDC recommendations, participants are respectfully requested to wear masks.
 

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Sessions take place at the church at 912 South Beach Blvd., Bay St. Louis. All are welcome! For more information about mindfulness meditation visit Sullivan Breathworks at www.sullivanbreathworks.com.
 

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