Mindfulness and Relationships

Did you know that mindfulness can recondition the brain for greater empathy and more intimacy?  It can help to reduce the reactivity you and your partner might experience at perceived slights, while boosting your resilience and stress recovery.   

According to Tara Brach, PhD, "If we are caught up in fight-flight, this takes predominance and the parts of our pre-frontal cortex necessary for empathy and attunement are de-activated."
 
Many of us are conditioned to feel rejected so it takes practice to "stay online."  The more attuned you are with your partner, the better.  If you work towards being more present together, you can help to interrupt the defensiveness cycle that can be so common in intimate relationships.

Ways to start being more mindful (or present) right now:

• Stop, close your eyes and breathe.  Notice your lungs fill and release.
• Notice something beautiful in your environment, that you may have never seen before.  Take time to admire it.
• Intentionally reflect on what’s going right in your life.
• Lay down on grass or a park bench.  Close your eyes and feel the sun, notice the sounds and smells.
• Play with your child with the same presence that he or she has.