All the research in the field of positive psychology—the branch of psychology that studies wellbeing—reveals that there are certain learnable skills, which when learned, practiced and integrated into your life, lead to increases in wellbeing—the scientific term for happiness.

In Your Own Hands: Mindfulness-Based Practices to Optimize Wellbeing is a course that is offered at the College of Marin in Kentfield, California. In this class, students are provided with references so that they can review the research published in peer-reviewed journals.

The Nature of the Class

Class time is spent learning practices that develop the skills that are most strongly associated with wellbeing.

Taoism

Taoism is about learning how to live in harmony with your inner nature and in harmony with your external environment. Striving and grasping for a specific result is often counterproductive and is always in contradiction to tai chi, Taoism, and mindfulness. You can reach your goals best by not striving for them. If you learn how to recognize all the mindless chatter spewed out by the brain, and you learn how to mindfully return your attention to your task at hand, you will be successful in your endeavors. This is true for work, play, and relationships.

Tai Chi—Meditation in Movement

New research reveals that even as much as two hours of exercise a day is not enough if we are sedentary the rest of the day. Many of us spend our entire day in front of a computer, just exercising our fingers. We now know that a sedentary lifestyle is associated with greater morbidity and mortality, regardless of how much exercise we get before or after work each day. The slow, Yang style tai chi short form serves as a moving form of meditation and can be practiced throughout the day in a park or in a quiet corner of any room. It provides various skills that build self-efficacy. In practicing the tai chi form—a series of choreographed movements—students learn to improve:

Balance

Proprioception

Interoception

Coordination

Awareness of surroundings

Self-awareness

A profound level of relaxation

Freedom of movement

We Live in Bodies

Other skills taught and practiced in the class include various forms of psychophysiological self-regulation, which is the ability to use the mind to improve physiological functioning. Some non-invasive biofeedback is used to document the changes.

Supportive Community

More than anything else, the experience of belonging, experienced within a supportive community, contributes to wellbeing and health. For that reason, the In Your Own Hands class is taught in a way that encourages acceptance and support.

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