I believe in the power of mindfulness to improve physical and mental health. And there's plenty of research documenting its benefits, including decreasing stress, anxiety, depression, blood pressure, and physical pain, while boosting the immune system. The practicing mindfulness is a no-brainer that I teach my clients. Mindfulness is the ability to intentionally and non-judgmentally be open to the present moment with an attitude of curiosity. And it comes from a specific part of our brain, the mid-prefernal cortex, right behind our forehead, which is the highest evolved part of the human brain. But many of us don't know how to harness its power, which is what mindfulness is all about. So let's talk about the two important parts of the brain. The aforementioned mid-prefernal cortex, which is our higher mindful brain, and the brain stem and limbic system, which include our lower, fight-or-flight brain. Both have important roles to play for our wellness. The mindful brain sees the bigger picture of how things are in the here and now, while the fight-or-flight brain is pure stimulus response and designed to protect us from threats. Thus the mindful brain can respond in a reflective and flexible way to present circumstances, while the fight-or-flight brain, when triggered, can only react in a knee-jerk fashion. The problem arises when the fight-or-flight brain has become so overreactive due to past pain and trauma that it's triggered too easily, even when there's no threat at all. Let me give an example. If I'm a lizard, which doesn't have a mindful brain, and the stimulus triggers a fight-or-flight reaction, I have no ability to shift to my mindful brain to determine if the stimulus is a real threat or a false alarm. Thus I can become trapped in a fight-or-flight even when no threat exists. We humans, however, have a mindful brain, and if we know how to access it, we can then determine if the stimulus triggering fight-or-flight is a real threat or a false alarm. Now let's talk about Darren, who was severely bullied in middle school and has avoided people ever since, even though he hasn't been bullied in decades. So why does he still avoid people? Well it's because he's been dominated by false alarms from his fight-or-flight brain just like a lizard. However, Darren is not a lizard, so there's hope for him if he can learn to switch from his fight-or-flight brain to his mindful brain when triggered so he can determine the truth of what's happening right before his very eyes. Are the people my mind is telling me to avoid a real threat or a false alarm? Let's take this example a little further. So now Darren has been in therapy and practicing mindfulness when his boss says he must attend the Christmas party to meet new partners. Of course, Darren's immediate reaction comes from his fight-or-flight brain as panic and compelling thoughts of danger, danger, avoid, avoid. But with his new understanding of how his brain works, and after practicing mindfulness on a daily basis, Darren decides to feel the fear and go to the party anyway. Of course this new insight from his mindful brain doesn't just make his fight-or-flight reaction disappear because the lower brain is a very slow learner. So he allows himself to mindfully accept his fight-or-flight symptoms as just what his lower brain does in social situations while reminding himself he will be safe because the people at the party are not middle school bullies and he isn't a powerless child anymore. Let me repeat. The fight-or-flight brain is a slow learner which insight alone won't change. However, by repeatedly exposing himself to social gatherings without the resulting trauma experiences a child, Darren's fight-or-flight brain will come to associate people with safety instead of danger. And in that way, he will be able to reprogram his lower brain and heal past trauma so he can live more fully in the present moment. Darren's example deals with social anxiety. However, practicing mindfulness can help tame any dysfunctional lower brain reaction, including depression, shame, hopelessness, perfectionism, anger, codependency, addiction, and other forms of anxiety. Practicing mindfulness is about coming to understand how your brain works. If you'd like help learning to live a more mindful life so you can be the best version of yourself, then visit my website, serenityonlinetherapy.com, to learn more about the online services I provide. If you liked this video, please click the thumbs up button, and then subscribe to my channel to hear more from me. And finally, keep paying attention to your life. Until next time.