OhioHealth Medical Minute: Mindfulness

There are things in our lives that really impact the quality of our days at home, at work, with our friends and family too. Stress is at the top of that list. One of the biggest things we can look closely at to improve our stress is mindfulness. As part of the OhioHealth monthly HOOFit walks at The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, participants recently learned tips. 10TV spent time there too, talking with walkers, and with OhioHealth doctors. To get involved a future walk, click here. Here is more about mindfulness in this OhioHealth Medical Minute with Jessica Englehart.

MT: “Hello once again everyone, and thanks for joining us for another OhioHealth Medical Minute. My name is Marcus Thorpe, and I’m joined by Jessica Englehart, who is a senior clinical consultant with the OhioHealth Mindfulness Program. Jessica, good to see you. Thanks for joining us.”

JE: “Thanks for having me.”

MT: “So we’re going to talk about mindfulness. It was the HOOFit topic this month, and so a lot of people are wondering exactly what mindfulness is. What would you say to someone who really doesn’t know exactly what it is?”

JE: “That’s a great question. So as we understand it in this day and age, mindfulness is defined as paying attention on purpose and without judgment, so with kindness and compassion.”

MT: All right, so now we know a little bit about what mindfulness is. How do we incorporate some of that into our own daily lives?”

JE: “Integrating mindfulness into your daily life doesn’t mean having to do anything extra. That’s the good news. Mindfulness is a practice of really scaling down and shearing away that which isn’t so much a priority. Oftentimes, we spend a lot of time doing things that aren’t necessarily top on our priority lists, so we can carve the time and really find the time within the spaces we already have. The other option I would offer is to create physical space in your environment, so either in the home space or the workspace, to serve as a visual reminder and a cue, in a sense a mindfulness bell, to alert you that this is a priority that you’re trying to bring forth and to manifest.”

MT: “So now we have that into our own lives, but a lot of us have families, kids and even grandkids. How do you take what you’ve learned for yourself and use that for your family to really live their best life?”

JE: “When we’re in the company of others, we can bring forth mindfulness to bear on really being intentional and really being fully present in our relationships, whether that’s with colleagues or with acquaintances or loved ones. Perhaps silencing your phone when you’re at the next soccer game, or taking an opportunity to turn off the radio or reading on the next road trip and really just engaging so active listening.”

MT: “Jessica, thanks very much. Good information.”

JE: “Thanks so much for having me once again.”

MT: “And if you’d like to learn more, we’re going to put some links and descriptions right here in the body of this story, and thanks for joining us for another OhioHealth Medical Minute.”