Supporting the wellbeing of our residents is one the core foundations behind our Next Generation Neighbourhood, and with nearly 50% of New Zealanders likely to experience a mental health issue in their lifetime it’s incredibly important. Mindfulness has become a buzz word, often considered a ‘soft skill’. Yet it is an essential component of mental health and emotional agility – which influences organisational agility. For Mental Health Awareness Week we’ve partnered with Tui Fleming who has custom-written and recorded several guided mindfulness practices for the residents of Smales Farm.
To have a productive day, at peak performance, start by tuning into how you want to feel and setting an intention. That’s not as simple as stating “I will…”. This visualisation uses a particular method to activate your Reticular Activating System in your brain, which helps seed your intention in your subconscious so that it – and you – will show up how you want to.
Get present to get focused. Tune out from distractions around you and in your mind, and tune in to your body. This is an interlude that uses a powerful breathing technique to get you centered, calm and clear. Example uses: to re-set between meetings; before you engage in critical tasks; before a particularly challenging conversation to ensure you are present.
We all feel anxious from time to time, and that’s okay. The first step is recognising this; the second, is taking action to help yourself – like using this mindful meditation. In just 4 minutes, feel your breathing change and your nervous system disentangle from ‘fight-or-flight’ to the more healthy parasympathetic mode of ‘rest-and-digest’. The visualisation used is effective with children too, so you can take this practice home to use with your children in times where their anxiety is heightened.
Gratitude practice is scientifically proven to ease anxiety and depression and improve positive psychological resources like optimism, self-worth, resilience. Mental states can become lasting neural traits. The term for this is experience-dependent neuroplasticity. When you practice gratitude deeply, you become—more naturally—a more grateful person and those benefits are amplified. Give it a go!
Think of this as a mindful pep talk. Tui takes you through a practical ‘how to’ to tame your inner critic and help you to believe, truly, that you are enough. It incorporates a breathing practice specifically designed to help you relieve tension and at the same time build energy, known as the ‘victorious breath’. Invite your inner critic along, and take back your power.
Having worked in big corporates like ASB, Westpac and The Warehouse, and delivered wellbeing programmes for Vodafone, Kiwibank and CBRE, Tui understands corporate climate and workplace wellbeing. She is NZ’s only certified Gallup Strengths Leadership Coach who is also an advanced yoga and meditation teacher, a licensed Desire Map facilitator and among NZ’s first to become trained in Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead programme – a unique combination that makes her client successes deeply sustained. The most common feedback she receives is that she has an incredible soothing voice. More info at www.tuifleming.com