Self-Compassion Coaching for Women in Medicine

What is Mindful Self-Compassion? Essentially Self-Compassion is treating ourselves with the same kindness, care, and consideration that we would a friend. Kristin Neff defines that there are three parts of Mindful self-Compassion. 1) Mindfulness of our Pain or Suffering . We are Mindful of emotions and do not overidentify with the dramatic storyline of what is happening. 2) Common Humanity vs the sense of Isolation we feel when we are cognitively fused or overidentify to out thoughts and emotions. 3) Self-Kindness vs Self Judgement. This may involve Yin self-compassion, which is being with our pain in a compassionate way by comforting reassuring or validating ourselves. Or it may be the fierce Yang self-compassion by how we act in the world by protecting, providing and motivating ourselves. We need both Yin and Yang to have balance in our lives.

How we can practice mindfulness, through using the acronym of SOAR. Mindfulness is intentionally bringing our attention into the present moment, with an attitude of curiosity, acceptance and non-judgment. SOAR is Mindfulness in Action. S: Using our Senses to come into the Present Moment O: Observing our thoughts, sensations, and emotions like a curious scientist. A:Allowing them. R: Releasing thoughts, including resistance , striving and our inner critic. As we gradually release these thoughts, including resistance we can gradually accept our pain for what it is. Suffering = Pain X Resistance. We let the gardens of our minds be, and let go of the weeds of the garden of our minds ( resistance, striving, inner critic). This cultives the garden to let flowers of our gardens grow, through savoring and positive neurolasticity.

How we can recognize our inner critic- that voice that speaks to us with harsh self-criticism and judgment, rather than kindnesses and acceptance. How we treat our friends with far more kindness and acceptance. than we treat ourselves. We talk about how we can motivate ourselves with kindness rather than self-criticism and perfectionism. The metaphor of how the donkey can be motivated more with the carrot in front of them, rather than the whip behind them. Check ou the Self-Compassion MindFiotness Yin yoga channel for more courses.

Practicing Loving Kindness is about how we show ourselves as much kindness as we show a beloved friend. In this class we look at finding our loving-kindness phrases (words we long to hear) and how to practice Yin Loving connected self-compassion and Yang Fierce Self -Compassion.

How we can find a hidden value in our suffering, by leaning important life lessons, through hardship and failure. How challenges can force us to go inside us and discover resources and insights that we didn't know we had. "Suffering leads to beauty the way thirst leads to water'

We look at Doing What matters with our Life. How we live a life following our heartfelt desire and finding purpose and meaning. We talk about how we set a Sankalpa or Intention at the start of each class, which is encapsulated in the Sailboat metaphor. That our True North or lighthouse are our Core Values, which guide us on our journey in life. these can include Family, Connection, Meaningful Work, Compassion, Nourishment in Nature, and Self-care. The direction we take our sailboat in (ie tacking into the wind, reaching, or running with the wind), is the goal we have in life. It is the doing part of how we live our life. There is always a choice point, when we are setting goals we ask ourselves, whether they are taking us in a direction towards our goals, or away from our goals. The Inner Resources we have such as self-compassion and gratitude are the parts of the sailboat such as the navigation system and the sails that help to navigate the storms of life. Click on the video to do more in the Self-Compassion Mind Fitness Yin Yoga series.

What Do I Need? This is the quintessential question of MindFitness Yin Yoga, and Mindful Self-Compassion, which is the basis of Self-Compassion Mind Fitness Yin Yoga. How we can grow flowers in the garden of the mind, and rewire our brain for more wellbeing and resilience, by letting in the inner resource we need. We use SOAR to be mindful of our suffering and pain. S: Using our Senses to come into the present moment O: Observing our thoughts, sensations, and emotions like a curious scientist. A: Allowing our emotions to be. R: Releasing thoughts, including resistance . We let the gardens of our minds be, and let go of the weeds of the garden of our minds ( resistance, striving, inner critic) We then ask ourselves what inner resource we need. This may be Yin or Yang Self- Compassion, Calm, Gratitude, generosity, Confidence, Courage, Grit, and more. We then go SOARING to Savor this inner resource and rewire our brain through positive neuroplasticity. I: What Do I Need or What Inner Resource Do I Need. N: Nourish G; Give both three breaths to Savor it and rewire our brains. Neurons that wire together, fire together. See the MindFitnessDr. for more of the Self-Compassion MinD Fitness Yin Yoga Series.