Self-Care in Service-Learning Contributed by Margit Hentschel, Ph.D. Engaging in Service-Learning provides many opportunities for participants to experience a high level of personal and professional satisfaction and accomplishment. For many of us, it is the heart of who we are and offers great meaning to our lives to engage in this work. While service-learning experiences can be primarily positive, they can also be mixed with feelings of stress and burn-out and even result in compassion fatigue, a reduced capacity to act in response to the feeling of empathy for the partner they are engaged with (Adams, Boscarino, & Figley, 2006). Thus, as a service-learning practitioner equipped with a heightened capacity for reflection, it is important to pay attention to our own day-to-day needs while engaged in this work. Our feelings and experiences may even change several times throughout the day, which is perfectly normal, and the reflection piece is to notice how we are feeling and responding to our needs in those moments. While it s tempting in our current cultural state of busy to always do more and give more, we can only give effectively if we are a healthy giver. In his curriculum for giving and givers, Nielsen (2013) offers a guiding checklist, Self-Care Aims, to offer ourselves reminders for care we may need to effectively care for others. One area Nielsen (2013) lists below, Meditation & Mindfulness, offers a daily practical application for self-care. Mindfulness is simply the ability to pay attention to what s happening now without judgment (Napoli, 2004, p. 31). Meditation is one of the practice tools of mindfulness. In their book, Meditation and the Classroom, Simmer-Brown and Grace (2011), explain that meditation is practiced so that we learn to refine the mind so it can actually be of service to learning and life-meaning (p. xvi). There is evidence that mindfulness practices can be effective self-care strategies and increase compassion satisfaction (Thieleman & Cacciatore, 2014). After completing a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, participants reported a decrease in stress and anxiety and an increase in positive affect and self-compassion (Shapiro, Brown, & Biegel, 2007). Participants in another study using MBSR reported feeling better equipped, both emotionally and mentally, to deal with daily stress in their lives (Christopher et al., 2006, p.506). Mindfulness practices are easy to bring into your life on-the-spot and may offer you a chance to relax in the moment and serve as a tool to recalibrate a stressful situation. With practice, these tools can help reduce reactive, habitual mind and behaviors, and help cultivate a more balanced response especially when faced with stressful situations. Below are three short mindfulness exercises you may choose to weave into your day or practice in a facilitated group setting; 1) mindful breath meditation, 2) mindful eating, and 3) mindful walking. You may adapt these to suit your circumstances by shortening or lengthening your practice sessions.
5-Minute Mindful Breath Meditation Invite yourself to sit in a comfortable seated position and settle into a few minutes of stillness, to nurture both your body and your mind. You may choose to close your eyes or have them slightly open and gazing at one spot on the floor or table to eliminate distractions. {pause for ~30 seconds} Now, begin noticing your breath as it moves in and out of your body. Not judging or trying to change it, just noticing your breath. {pause for ~ 60 seconds} Focusing on the breath helps to focus your mind on just your breath as it moves in and out of your body. Invite a letting go of any other thoughts your mind might be busy with, knowing that you can return to those later. Simply notice the sensation of your breath and focus your whole attention on your breath. {pause for ~ 60 seconds} If your mind begins to wander, gently drawing your attention back to your breath. Invite your awareness in to notice your breath as it moves in and out of your body. {pause for ~ 60 seconds} This may be the first pause you ve had in a busy day. Invite in a feeling of self-care and nurturing thinking, I am taking care of myself to offer my best self to others. There is no need to judge, analyze, or figure things out. Just allow yourself to be in the here and now, amidst everything that is present in this moment. Spend the next minute simply being present with yourself. {pause for ~ 60 seconds} In your final breaths of your mindfulness practice, honor yourself by sending yourself gratitude for taking the time for your self-care. {pause for ~ 30 seconds} Gently open your eyes and draw your awareness fully back into the space that you are in.
5-Minute Mindful Eating You may choose to engage in mindful eating by inviting in silence during your exercise. First, draw in an awareness of what food(s) you choose to eat. This is not mixed with judgment, rather bringing in an awareness of what you are eating and how you are selecting food. Before you begin eating, notice how your food appears visually and how you are feeling about your food. As you begin to eat, notice any smells or textures of your food. Again, these are simply to notice, not judgments. Be aware of how your body and mind are responding to eating these foods, observing its tastes. Finally, send a moment of gratitude to yourself and to those who have brought you your food today. For example you may thank who grew the food, who gave it to you or sold it to you, and/or who prepared and might have served you the food. After the exercise, you may wish to reflect on or journal what stood out for you in your experience. Some guiding questions may include; 1) Why do I eat, 2) When do I eat, 3) What did I choose to eat from the options I have, 4) What am I noticing in my physical body, 5) What memories and emotions are evoked when I eat certain foods, 6) What foods am I eating to offer me the energy I need for my activities today, 7) What else am I noticing about my food. 5-Minute Mindful Walking You may choose to engage in mindful walking anytime and anywhere, inside or outside. You may walk to a destination inside or outside, or in a small or large circle inside or outside of a building. Invite yourself to walk in a comfortable, relaxed stride, relaxing the shoulders and the face, inviting in an overall state of physical relaxation as you walk forward. You may choose to walk a bit slower than you normally would. Now, begin to notice your surroundings. You may notice a sound or a smell and settle into that awareness of noticing your surroundings for your first minute of walking. {approximately 60 seconds} Now, begin to focus on your breath. Notice how your breath is moving in and out of your body as you continue walking. You may choose to focus your eyes in front of you to avoid extra visual distractions, while maintaining a peripheral awareness of your surroundings. Bring in an awareness of your own breath rhythm and how it matches your physical movements of walking. Focus on this awareness of the sensation of your breath and body movements for the next several minutes. {approximately 3 minutes} As you close mindful walking practice, invite in a full body breath and let your exhalation lengthen so that your out-breath is longer than your in-breath. This makes room for fresh breath and may benefit your energy level and offer relaxation for your body and mind. Repeat this breath three times. You may invite in a mindful walking experience anytime throughout your day or night. {approximately 60 seconds}
References Adams R. E., Boscarino J. A., & Figley C. R. (2006). Compassion fatigue and psychological distress among social workers: A validation study. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76,103-108. doi:10.1037/0002-9432.76.1.103 Christopher, J.C, Christopher, S.E., Dunnagan, T. & Schure, M. (2006, October). Teaching Self-Care Through Mindfulness Practices: The Application of Yoga, Meditation, and Qigong to Counselor Training. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 46, 494-509. doi:10.1177/0022167806290215. Napoli, M. (2004, January). Mindfulness Training for Teachers: A Pilot Program. Complementary Health Practice Review, 9, 31-42. doi:10.1177/107616750325343 Nielsen, T. W. (2013). Self Care Aims. Retrieved August 22, 2015, from http://www.thomaswnielsen.net/resources/self-care-aims/ Shapiro, S.L., Brown, K.W., & Biegel, G.M. (2007). Teaching self-care to caregivers: Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on the mental health of therapists in training. Training and Education in Professional Psychology,1(2),105-115. doi:10.1037/1931-3918.1.2.105 Simmer-Brown, J. & Grace, F. (Eds). (2011). Meditation and the Classroom: Contemplative Pedagogy for Religious Studies. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. Thieleman, K. & Cacciatore, J. (2014). Witness to Suffering: Mindfulness and Compassion Fatigue among Traumatic Bereavement Volunteers and Professionals. Social Work, 59 (1), 34-41. doi:10.1093/sw/swt044.
SELF CARE AIMS Giving to others starts with giving to oneself Research shows that in order to be able to give to others effectively to live the meaningful life we also need to give to ourselves (Post et al., 2007). In fact, if we don t give to ourselves properly, we not only find it harder to give to others, but we also don t receive the same health benefits from our giving. When we fly, we are told that in the event of emergency to put on the oxygen masks ourselves before we attend to others. In the same way it is hard to give to others if we don t give to ourselves sufficiently of the oxygen needed to be able to share of ourselves. Helpful ways of being aware of how to give to and look after oneself are captured in the acronym SELF CARE AIMS. All of these strategies have a strong evidence-base in the literature. In other words, they work! Most of us do not have all of the above areas in perfect balance all the time. But if we are at least aware of the key elements we need to look after, we can consciously work on having balance in these domains over time, rather than in any particular moment. For example, we may be behind with exercise one week but if we are aware of that, we can catch up the next. The SELF CARE AIMS help us to be aware of what we need to juggle in order to be healthy and happy even if it is a balance in motion most of the time. Nielsen, T. W. (2013). Self Care Aims. Retrieved August 22, 2015, from http://www.thomaswnielsen.net/resources/self-care-aims/. See the following pages for the elaboration of each letter in the acronym SELF CARE AIMS.