| Mindfulness trainer Maya Frost offers help--and hope--to the 95% of the population that just isn't into meditation. She concentrates on providing eyes-wide-open ways to develop awareness and enhance creativity. Her company, Real-World Mindfulness Training, focuses on developing tools for those who want to practice paying attention while doing the things they do anyway. A teacher and mother of four with her own 30-year meditation practice, she zeroes in on two key elements: motivation and relevant learning style.
Hate to Meditate? Simple, Eyes-Wide-Open Meditation Alternative
In a culture that embraces Adderall, paying attention has become the most sought-after skill for those looking for a competitive edge. From blurry-eyed college applicants to top executives, the ability to focus on what matters most is the key to coping - and competing - despite the stresses of daily life. How do frazzled folks find calm and clarity in the middle of chaos? According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, an estimated 10 million people in the United States have turned to regular meditation.
"That's great," says mindfulness trainer Maya Frost, "but the real challenge is reaching out to the 95% of the population that isn't into meditation."
She concentrates on offering eyes-wide-open ways to develop awareness and enhance creativity. Her company, Real-World Mindfulness Training, provides tools for those who want to pay attention without practicing meditation.
"I watched my clients' eyes glaze over at the mere mention of meditation,” says Frost, "so I created exercises that are enjoyable and easy for anyone to do during a typical crazy day in the real world." As a teacher and facilitator with her own 30-year meditation practice, she decided to zero in on two key elements: motivation and relevant learning style.
Frost, a mother of four college-age daughters, has helped thousands of people learn how to pay attention by viewing it as a game. "It's not hard to be mindful -- it's just hard to remember to be mindful!" she says. Her clients increase awareness by finding interesting cues that remind them to practice paying attention wherever they are. She encourages people to develop their own creative collection of mindfulness triggers -- and the quirkier, the better. "Even the McDonald's Golden Arches can serve as a reminder to pay attention."
Frost emphasizes the fun factor and focuses on reducing the barriers to learning. A recent New York Times article about a mindfulness training program offered in two public schools mentioned using Tibetan singing bowls in the classroom, leading some to question the inclusion of religious props in a state school setting. Though the article went on to discuss the work being done at Stanford to develop mindfulness training programs for schools, many readers were too riled about the reference to religion to consider the benefits to students.
"It's time to be more mindful about the way we present mindfulness," says Frost with a wink. "There is a huge and extremely diverse audience out there hungry for this type of training. We need to offer effective, education-oriented tools that are user-friendly, inclusive and adaptable for learners of all abilities and backgrounds." She provides resources and support for teachers, coaches, business leaders and others who want to use her simple, secular techniques with their own clients.
Frost's method was inspired by the theory of Multiple Intelligences first proposed by Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner more than twenty years ago. "There are all kinds of ways to learn. Sitting in silence with eyes closed is an ideal way for many people to learn to be more mindful, but it's certainly not the only way," says Frost. She helps clients incorporate sound, movement, words, numbers, nature, people or anything else that gets them excited about learning to pay attention.
Frost's approach has been featured in dozens of publications of all kinds, ranging from parenting magazines to Penthouse.
"There's no target market for mindfulness," says Frost. "No matter how old you are or what you're into, paying attention is powerful. Anyone can learn to play with mindfulness in order to increase this skill naturally."
She offers tips, articles, a weekly ezine, an ebook, a blog, a virtual library and other free resources on her website at http://www.Real-WorldMindfulness.com.
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