MBS students were taken through a journey of mindful breathing, positive affirmations, and calmness as they attended the two-part virtual Mindful Coaching session led by Susan Favale, owner of Honor Yoga in North Brunswick, on March 25, 2020, and March 31, 2020, respectively. Amidst the current unprecedented times, these sessions helped students reinforce self-love, inner strength, and positive thinking.
A yoga teacher trained in many modalities of movement –such as Aerial, Acro, Barre, and Reiki, as well as Thai and therapeutic massage—Susan has studied various forms of meditation and mindfulness as well as leadership coaching. Her role of being a mindfulness speaker and educator in schools helped her resonate with aspects of a student’s life in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Susan prepared everyone for the session with a quick tip: “Unclench your jaw, relax your shoulders, and take a nice deep breath, calming your entire body.”
Image Courtesy: Gelinas James, Inc. Web. Accessed on April 9, 2020.
Before diving deep into a meditation session, we discussed some of the benefits of mindfulness, such as:
- Reduced stress
- Improved quality of sleep
- Improved focus
- Self-compassion
- Better mind-body connection, which enhances our actions and reactions
Susan then shared a story of a young girl who felt she was chased by some monsters and reached out for help from a monk. However, the monk responded saying that the girl had to sit in a chair at her house and think positively that she would not be deterred by the monsters. The girl did that and found herself to be relieved. The monsters were her experiences and thoughts that invoked negative emotions about herself. As she acknowledged and worked through them, she grew stronger.
Be it facing our deepest fears, building confidence, overcoming stress and anxiety, handling knee-jerk reactions, or accepting challenges as they arise, the story was relatable in some capacity to all participants of the workshop.
The story was intertwined with what Susan emphasized as the Eight Pillars of Mindfulness:
- Attention and the Now
- Automaticity
- Judgement
- Acceptance
- Goals
- Compassion
- The Ego
- Integration
Image Courtesy: ThirdEye Transcend. Web-Instagram. Accessed on April 9,2020.
As we transcended into meditation, we embraced positive affirmations or mantras such as ‘I am good enough,’ ‘I am grounded,’ ‘I trust myself,’ ‘I am my source of inner strength and light,’ ‘All is well,’ and many more. Allan Lokos has rightly said, “You cannot control the results, only your actions.” During challenging times, just remember to take a deep breath, stay calm, think positive, and you can get through it!