Section 2: Your Mindfulness practice

Assignments:

  1. Watch the introductory video, Mindfulness for You.

  2. Read handout: Tips for Beginning Meditation.

  3. Complete worksheet on Goals for your meditation practice.

  4. For those who are new to meditation, decide on a desired length of time and time of day to commit to meditating, and begin practicing. I recommend 10 minutes per day when you first wake up if you don’t know where to start.

    For those who already meditate, spend some time examining how you can make your practice more regular, or enhance it in some way.

  5. Listen to the following guided meditations (You’ll want to spread these out over multiple days): meditation for healers, progressive relaxation for sleep, meditation for anxiety, feeling a negative emotion.

  6. Watch The Thought Model video.

  7. Begin once daily thought downloads using the worksheet provided. Create at least one thought model per day from your thought download.

  8. Watch the Mindful Presence video.

  9. Read the handouts: 5-4-3-2-1 Technique, The Body Scan, and Feeling a Negative Emotion.

  10. Practice Diaphragmatic Breathing,

  11. Practice 4-7-8 breathing.

  12. Practice Prolonged exhalation.

  13. Practice the gratitude exercise.

 
_DSC7223.jpg
 

Testimonials

“Dr. Ellen Cooke is a masterful physician and meditation leader.  I started working with Dr. Cooke 2 years ago at which time, she was creating Circle of Hope.  I was so impressed with the way she was able to encourage others to use meditation to improve their lives.  She now has created a custom meditation program for my company.  My clients are raving fans and Dr. Cooke is a regular at our live workouts where she ends the session with a customized meditation.  She has allowed me to use mindfulness in my work and in my everyday life.  Dr. Cooke is beyond gifted and I am so fortunate to learn from her.”

~Dr. Ali N. (Life Coaching for Women Physicians)

“I really like the “Meditation of the Week” each week…the centering thought, the deep breathing sessions, and the length of quiet time. Hopefully, with enough practice, I'll get better at being in the present moment. Learning to do so promises a way to handle what all of us experience (anxiety, impatience AND restlessness)! Thank you for these excellent, informative and useful meditation sessions.”

~ a loyal Circle of Hope follower!

“As a fellow healthcare provider in the oncology field, I have found Circle of Hope and Dr. Cooke's guided meditations to be invaluable in both my career and my personal life. A cancer diagnosis and the associated treatments are not just physically challenging, but emotionally challenging as well. I have been grateful to have this resource to share with my patients to help address the emotional challenges they may face. In my personal life, I have found meditation to be helpful in managing daily stress and feelings of being overwhelmed and stretched too thin.”

~Staci C.

 
Circle of Hope Horiz Logo_2color.png
 

SUBSCRIBE BELOW to receive our emails (approximately once per week) sharing mindfulness tips! You’ll also receive a free audio series of “3 Tips to Starting a Mindfulness Meditation Practice”.