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A Day of Mini Mindfulness Practices

There are many great examples of mindfulness practices in self-help books, in-person classes, online courses, smartphone apps, and audio and video recordings! Although you are always encouraged to utilize longer practices, “even a relatively small amount of mindfulness practice can be beneficial” (Strohmaier, Jones, and Cane, 2021, p.198). These practices can be used whenever you’d […]

WRITTEN BY: Patrice Powers-Barker, OSU Extension, Lucas County, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator

REVIEWED BY: Misty Harmon, OSU Extension, Perry County, Assistant Professor, Family and Consumer Sciences

SOURCES:

  • 10-Minute Guided Meditation to Boost Focus and Motivation, Headspace, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TH2hY1s-Oc
  • Body Scan, Rob Davies and Heidi O'Donoghue, Utah University of Health, https://accelerate.uofuhealth.utah.edu/resilience/practice-body-scan
  • Chair Yoga Sun Salutations: Two Ways, Donna Freeman, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDfEk9oX73g
  • Chris Bergstorm, Three Senses Mindfulness Activity for Kids, Teens and Grown-ups, http://blissfulkids.com/three-senses-mindfulness-activity-kids-teens-grown-ups/
  • Easing Pain, Patrice Rancour, Wexner Medical Center. Adapted from Guided Meditations, Explorations, and Healings by Dr. Stephen Levine https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/-/media/files/wexnermedical/patient-care/healthcare-services/integrative-medicine/mp3-files/guided-imagery/easing-pain.mp3
  • Guided Meditations, Diana Winston, UCLA, https://www.uclahealth.org/uclamindful/guided-meditations
  • Kindness Meditation, John Schorling, University of Virginia, School of Medicine, Mindfulness Center. https://med.virginia.edu/mindfulness-center/continue-your-practice/audio-recordings/
  • Labeling Feelings Meditation when you are noticing repetitive thought patterns or strong feelings, Mindfulness Institute for Emerging Adults https://mindfulnessinstituteforemergingadults.com/student-resources/free-guided-meditations/
  • Mindful Breathing: Roberto P. Benzo, Mayo Clinic, https://www.mayo.edu/research/labs/mindful-breathing/audio-files
  • Mindful Eating, Dr. Cynthia Powell, University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM6bIexyKSM
  • Mindful Walking, Sophia Brockman, University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctvUwCCdTEk&list=PLX_OiPkQWfwOvUpFR3Q_MQWOjKipyeQ7g&index=5
  • Navigate the Sunday Scaries. Headspace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOJTl5FszXY
  • Pixel Thoughts, A 60-second meditation tool to help clear your mind, Marc Balaban, https://pixelthoughts.co/
  • Setting an Intention, Headspace, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTqforiHL7Q
  • Sleeping Deeply, Easily, Restfully, Patrice Rancour, Wexner Medical Center. https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/-/media/files/wexnermedical/patient-care/healthcare-services/integrative-medicine/mp3-files/guided-imagery/sleeping-deeply.mp3

REFERENCES:

  • Fuller, J. L., & Fitter, E. A. (2020). Mindful Parenting: A Behavioral Tool for Parent Well-Being. Behavior analysis in practice, 13(4), 767–771. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00447-6
  • Gu, J., Cavanaugh, K., and Strauss, C., (2018). Investing the specific effects of an online mindfulness-based self-help intervention on stress and underlying mechanisms. Mindfulness: 9:1245-1257. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0867-y
  • Mantzios, M., & Giannou, K. (2018). A Real-World Application of Short Mindfulness-Based Practices: A Review and Reflection of the Literature and a Practical Proposition for an Effortless Mindful Lifestyle. American journal of lifestyle medicine, 13(6), 520–525. https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827618772036
  • Miles, E., Matcham, F., Strauss, C. et al. Making Mindfulness Meditation a Healthy Habit. Mindfulness 14, 2988–3005 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02258-6.
  • Powers-Barker, (2025). Introduction to Mindfulness, HYG-5243 Factsheet, Ohioline, Ohio State University Extension, https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/hyg-5243
  • Ribeiro, L., Atchley, R. M., & Oken, B. S. (2018). Adherence to Practice of Mindfulness in Novice Meditators: Practices Chosen, Amount of Time Practiced, and Long-Term Effects Following a Mindfulness-Based Intervention. Mindfulness, 9(2), 401–411. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0781-3
  • Sparacio, A., IJzerman, H., Ropovik, I. et al. Self-administered mindfulness interventions reduce stress in a large, randomized controlled multi-site study. Nat Hum Behav 8, 1716–1725 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01907-7
  • Strohmaier, S., Jones, F.W. & Cane, J.E. Effects of Length of Mindfulness Practice on Mindfulness, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress: a Randomized Controlled Experiment. Mindfulness 12, 198–214 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01512-5

Cultivating Loving-Kindness

Loving-kindness practice, also known as Metta meditation, can increase benevolence in our lives. Metta has also been translated as universal goodwill or loving-friendliness or unconditional positive regard and has been used for thousands of years. Research on this type of mindfulness practice has shown increased happiness, feeling more connected to others, and some have found […]

WRITTEN BY: Patrice Powers-Barker, OSU Extension, Lucas County, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator

REVIEWED BY: Shannon Carter, OSU Extension, Fairfield County, Family and Consumer Sciences, Assistant Professor

REFERENCES:

  • Crawford, J. (n.d.) Mindful parenting for parents and caregivers, Washington State University Extension, https://pubs.extension.wsu.edu/mindful-parenting-for-parents-and-caregivers
  • Fredrickson, B. L., Cohn, M. A., Coffey, K. A., Pek, J., & Finkel, S. M. (2008). Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 1045-1062.
  • Hofmann, S. G., Grossman, P., & Hinton, D. E. (2011). Loving-kindness and compassion meditation: potential for psychological interventions. Clinical psychology review, 31(7), 1126–1132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2011.07.003 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3176989/
  • Loving Kindness Meditation, Greater Good in Action, https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/loving_kindness_meditation
  • Loving-Kindness Meditation, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, https://extension.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/loving-kindness_meditation.pdf
  • Metta Meditation: A Complete Guide to Loving-Kindness, Lion’s Roar https://www.lionsroar.com/metta-meditation-guide/
  • Neff, K. (2021), Cultivating loving kindness https://self-compassion.org/blog/cultivating-loving-kindness/
  • Williard, C. (2019), A Kindness Practice for Families, mindful, https://www.mindful.org/kindness-practice-families-christopher-willard/
  • Wong G, Sun R, Adler J, Yeung KW, Yu S and Gao J (2022) Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) modulates brain-heart connection: An EEG case study. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 16:891377. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.891377 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2022.891377/full

Making Every Day Sweet

While there might be an expectation of cards, gifts, or candy to be shared by romantic couples on Sweetest Day (third Saturday in October), this tiny bit of history reminds us to make it a celebration of kindness, time, and love. In the early 1920s, Herbert Birch Kingston worked at a candy company in Cleveland, […]

WRITTEN BY: Patrice Powers-Barker, OSU Extension, Lucas County, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator

REVIEWED BY: Caitlin Mathews-Smith, OSU Extension, Guernsey County, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator

PHOTO CREDITS:

  • Pixabay

SOURCES:

  • Davoodvandi, M. Navabi Nejad, S. Farzad, V. (2018). Examining the Effectiveness of Gottman Couple Therapy on Improving Marital Adjustment and Couples' Intimacy. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry. 2018 Apr;13(2):135-141. PMID: 29997659; PMCID: PMC6037577.
  • Dollard, C., (2024). Invest in Your Relationship: The Emotional Bank Account, The Gottman Institute. https://www.gottman.com/blog/invest-relationship-emotional-bank-account/
  • How Sweet It Is: The History of Sweetest Day, Ohio Memory, A Collaborative Program of the Ohio History Connection and the State Library of Ohio https://ohiomemory.ohiohistory.org/archives/5519
  • PAX Tools - Emotional Deposits, PAXIS Institute, https://youtu.be/I80VhmAT2fU
  • PAX Tools - Kudos Notes, PAXIS Institute, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE2iCC_xyVQ
  • PAX Tools, PAXIS Institute, https://www.paxis.org/community-based-programming/
  • Poulsen, S. (n.d.), Purdue Extension, A Fine Balance: The Magic Ratio to a Healthy Relationship. https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/cfs/cfs-744-w.pdf
  • Stanley, S., Kline Rhoades, G., Markman, H. (2006). Sliding Versus Deciding: Inertia and the Premarital Cohabitation Effect. Family Relations. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2006.00418.x
  • Sweetest Day, Hallmark, https://corporate.hallmark.com/holidays-occasions/sweetest-day/

2024 Food Preservation webinar series presented in Summer 2024

Food Preservation webinar recordings Ohio State University Extension Family and Consumer Sciences’ home food preservation webinars focus on topics like canning, freezing, and other methods of food preservation. Here are some links to webinar recordings from 2024. I saw it on the Internet from 7/23/24 Safety Sense from 7/9/24 Trending Recipes in Home Food Preservation […]

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