How to be Mindful in the Garden - Meditation Tips for San Diego Gardeners

Meditation Tips for Gardeners

by Kathleen Lisson

Kathleen Lisson planting trees in Encinitas, CA

As a volunteer at the Trees for Health arboretum in San Diego’s famous Balboa Park. I know firsthand the benefits of working in the garden. In our daily lives, it is all too easy to move at the speed of our thoughts - always in a hurry and skipping from one errand to the next on our to-do list. Our bodies move at a slower rhythm than our minds, a rhythm that is more in tune with nature and the garden.

A garden invites the gardener to pay attention to the present moment. Unless there are children present, the furniture and decor in our homes is in the same place, day after day, so we may be tempted to move through our home without looking at anything closely as we go through our day. Not so in a garden! Nature always provides something new to look at, a new leaf or flower on a beloved plant.

Working close to plants also gives gardeners a natural aromatherapy treatment. I feel peaceful when pruning lavender and energized after working near the mint, for example.

Gardeners can boost the mindfulness benefits of gardening by focusing on their five senses when working in the garden. How does the garden path feel underfoot? What smell is on the breeze? How vibrant are the flowers or the color of the newest leaves? Is there birdsong? How does the dirt feel in our hands? What does a sprig of mint taste like today?

Take a moment or two the next time you are gardening to stop and enjoy all that nature has to offer your senses, and you will return to your daily life with a sense of peace and increased happiness.

Find our more about the Trees for health garden here: http://www.balboapark.org/in-the-park/trees-health-garden

Kathleen Lisson is a certified Meditation Teacher and Labyrinth Facilitator and teaches Meditation and Mindfulness at IPSB college in San Diego. Sign up for a private meditation lesson in the comfort of your home here: https://www.massagebook.com/San_Diego~Massage~sandiego?src=external

My Treatment for Basal Cell Carcinoma in San Diego

Toward Beauty and Wellness - my self-treatment for skin cancer

by Kathleen Lisson, CMT, CLT

I made a video during a recent trip to Mammoth Lakes, CA in which I talk about bringing beauty and wellness into my life as I move forward from my recent skin cancer Mohs surgery in San Diego.

If I could design a treatment plan for my skin cancer:

One whole day a month in nature

Massages to relax me

Journaling and deep mindfulness about the power of my words

More snuggling with cats and dogs

Feeling the breeze on my face

Walking in the ocean

Being near trees

Laughing at my own jokes

Asking my husband for a foot massage

Looking at photo albums

Drawing or coloring or painting

Walking the labyrinth

Listening to birds

Smiling at children and people on the street

At least five hugs per day

Mindset Training for Endurance Athletes - Do You Promote or Prevent?

Mental Training for San Diego Runners and Cyclists

Mental Training Tips for Runners

by Kathleen Lisson

Shirley Archer has a great article in the July issue of the IDEA Fitness Journal. In 'What is Mindset Training? A Primer,' Archer covers many different types of mindsets, including promotion vs. prevention, fixed vs. growth and 10 key negative mindsets.

Promotion and Prevention are a powerful set of mindsets in my life. Am I promoting my wellness when I take time to exercise and receive massage and meditate, or am I preventing disease?

Promotion seems to work better in the first few month of a behavior change. Switching to a prevention mindset once the new wellness behavior has been established enables athletes to keep performing the new behavior when new gains and successes aren't as common. For instance, during the first few months of a running program, promoting improved health is easy - we are running farther and faster and our body is becoming stronger.

Once we reach our goal weekly mileage, a prevention mindset can help runners keep up with our training, even when our bodies aren't getting leaner or our times faster. In a promotion mindset, feedback will be success based - a new, faster 5K time or feeling that a ten mile run is 'easier' on our bodies than it used to be. Prevention mindset feedback is failure based - we can see when we didn't run according to our schedule that our running times are slower and it is harder to complete long runs.

Overtraining feedback can also be failure-based - feeling exhausted, a higher resting heart rate and changes in mood and sleep patterns are signals that overtraining may be happening.

Read more about Mindset Training here: http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/what-is-mindset-training-a-primer

Khenpo Tsering Samdrup presentation at Pacific Pearl La Jolla

 Khenpo Tsering Samdrup presentation 

at Pacific Pearl La Jolla

by Kathleen Lisson

It was a privilege to be able to spend time listening to Khenpo Tsering Samdrup, Tibetan Monk from India at Pacific Pearl La Jolla with Board-Certified Cardiologist Dr. Mimi Guarneri. Khenpo Tsering Samdrup shared his views on the meaning of happiness and spoke at length about the role of meditation in easing the mental suffering that sometimes is a part of illness. 
I was happy to hear Dr. Mimi Guarneri add a few words after Khenpo Tsering Samdrup's presentation. She mentioned the important of practifing compassion, joy and service in the lives of the patients she saw as a cardiologist. 
The room was packed with listeners and overflowed into the hallway. The unifying message seemed to be the importance of a regular meditation practice for wellness, whether the meditator is suffering from an illness or not. 

Find Pacific Pearl La Jolla's events calendar here: http://pacificpearllajolla.com/events/

How to Make Meditation a Habit

Three Tips for Making Meditation a Habit

by Kathleen Lisson

On the first night of my meditation classes, we discuss tips for how to fit a regular meditation practice into a busy schedule. Here's a sneak peek at how new meditators in San Diego make their practice into a daily habit.

Tip 1 - Choose Your Space

The first tip is to select one spot in the house or yard to meditate and keep necessary items nearby - pillows, blankets, gratitude journal etc. Meditating at the ocean? Place all your needed items in a bag and give your bag a 'home.'

Tip 2 - Choose Your Meditation

The second is to determine in advance how long and which meditation will be used. A meditation app like Insight Timer can provide support for silent and guided meditations.

Tip 3 - Choose Your Trigger

The third is to pick a ‘trigger’ for your meditation, an event that happens right before it’s time to meditate. That could be walking the dog, making a cup of tea, returning from driving the kids to school. The ‘trigger’ will remind the meditator it is time to meditate and the location, supplies, time and type of meditation are already decided. All that’s left to do is enter into the present moment!

Kathleen Lisson is a certified Meditation Teacher and Labyrinth Facilitator and teaches Meditation and Mindfulness at IPSB college in San Diego. Sign up for a private meditation lesson or labyrinth walk in the comfort of your home here: https://www.massagebook.com/San_Diego~Massage~sandiego?src=external

Yes! Families can massage those with a cancer diagnosis!

How to Massage a Family Member with a Cancer Diagnosis

by Kathleen Lisson, CMT, CLT

I recently assisted at a Touch, Caring and Cancer presentation at the Moores Cancer Center in San Diego, CA. We shared techniques and tips with family members interested in giving relaxation and pain relief massages to their loved ones living with a cancer diagnosis. 

As an oncology-trained massage therapist in San Diego, I know first-hand the positive effects that gentle massage can have on patients going through chemotherapy and radiation.

In this introductory presentation, we shared safe methods of massage that an untrained family member can provide, including hand massage for cancer, face and scalp massage for cancer, foot massage for cancer and back massage for cancer. 

Arms and legs were not included because of the risk of blood clots in the legs and lymphedema in the arms. An oncology-trained massage therapist would be able to provide a full body massage. I had lymphatic drainage massage after my cancer surgery, that is a more advanced technique as well. 

We also shared bolstering techniques, providing tips on arranging pillows on the bed, a sofa, a chair and even at the kitchen table to make the loved one comfortable during the massage. 

A research study found that patients had a reduction in symptoms after family - administered massages. Patients included those with breast cancer, lung cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, blood cancer, gynecological cancer, brain cancer, prostate cancer, thyroid cancer, kidney cancer, melanoma, peritoneal cancer, testicular cancer and tongue cancer. Read about the study here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23262808 

If you would like me to come to your home and teach your family members simple massage techniques that can help someone with a cancer diagnosis or similar illness, please contact me at solacesandiego@gmail.com  

A video showing techniques for 'Touch Therapy for Caregivers' from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is here: http://bcove.me/7pphiwv7

How to Use Meditation for Better Sleep

How to Use Meditation for Better Sleep

Try Meditation for Sleep on your next long trip! 

by Kathleen Lisson

One frustrating obstacle for newer meditators is how often the sessions involve at least a few moments of sleep. If the intention of a meditation session is not sleep, there are several techniques for staying awake. But what if sleep is exactly what your body needs?

A busy travel or vacation schedule means at least a few hours of downtime on a plane, train or car. Making the most of a plane ride can be the difference between arriving at your destination groggy or refreshed. What if you could enjoy a long nap along the way and arrive feeling balanced and peaceful? I recommend trying one of the following three types of guided meditation the next time you are facing a long car, train or airplane ride.

What you need:

• Sleep mask, neck pillow and blanket or large scarf
• Smartphone or ipod with headphones
• Meditation app like Insight Timer or downloaded guided meditations (UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness has several)

Types of Guided Meditation for Sleep:

• Mantra Meditation - this technique has the meditator repeating a phrase silently over and over. The repetition can be very soothing and relaxing.

• Body Scan - this meditation cues the meditator to focus on and relax parts of the body from the head to the feet.

• Yoga Nidra - This type of yoga doesn’t involve movement at all! Instead, the meditator will enter a deep ‘yogic’ sleep.

A week before your trip, select a few guided meditations that sound relaxing and give them a ‘test drive’ by listening to them before bedtime. Choose one or two that really put you to sleep fast and download them or bookmark them to your favorites. Then, when you are en route to your destination, settle into your seat, get comfortable using your mask, pillow and blanket, listen to your meditation and drift off into a nourishing sleep.

Kathleen Lisson is a certified Meditation Teacher and Labyrinth Facilitator and teaches Meditation and Mindfulness at IPSB college in San Diego. Sign up for a private meditation lesson in the comfort of your home here: https://www.massagebook.com/San_Diego~Massage~sandiego?src=external