(gentle music)
Welcome to "Hadley Presents."
I'm your host, Ricky Enger,
inviting you to sit back, relax,
and enjoy a conversation with the experts.
In this episode,
we discuss the benefits of mindfulness
for those with vision loss.
And our guest, our mindfulness expert, Tiffany Guske,
interviewed by Hadley learning expert Debbie Worman.
Welcome to the show, both of you.
Thanks, Ricky. Good morning.
Yay, I'm so happy to have you guys,
and I am super excited
about this particular topic.
I'm really looking forward
to focusing and learning about mindfulness.
But before we focus on figuring out
what mindfulness is, I wanna learn
a little about you guys.
Let's start with you, Debbie.
Tell us a little about yourself.
Well, believe it or not, I've been at Hadley
for over 30 years now.
I've taught many courses during that time
and been able to interact with a lot of learners.
I've taught effective listening,
personality psychology, and many
of the English skills courses.
Currently, I'm involved with writing
the new Hadley 2.0 workshops,
I'm leading discussion groups,
and I enjoy being part
of these Hadley podcast. Good deal.
So, Tiffany, tell us a bit about you.
My name is Tiffany Guske,
and I have immense passion for mindfulness.
That really has come out of my own experiences.
So sometimes people will ask,
"How did you get interested in this?"
And for me, it really was my own personal journey
that got me interested.
And just managing my own, you know, personal challenges
and anxiety, stressful schedule,
different things going on in life
really lead to reasons why you wanna manage
that anxiety a little differently.
So, for me, finding ways to insert that
into my work, wherever I might be able to,
is really what I look forward to each day.
Excellent.
So I'm going to sit back and relax
and enjoy this conversation with the experts.
And I may or may not interject throughout this,
but I'd like to put this in Debbie's capable hands
'cause I know she's got a lot of great questions.
So off to you, Debbie.
Thank you, Ricky.
Like Tiffany, I sure do have
a passion for mindfulness.
I was first introduced to it in 2008,
during an especially difficult time in my life.
And I have kinda
been a closeted mindfulness practitioner ever since.
(laughs) So I'm not new
to the practice of mindfulness.
So, Tiffany, as I'm thinking about this,
you know, I talk about mindfulness with my friends,
and they're like, "Oh, Debbie,
what actually is mindfulness?
I hear so much about it.
It's just like a fad.
It's everywhere.
It's on the internet, it's on Facebook.
You know, is this something new
that's here today and gone tomorrow?
And how can I practice mindfulness?
I don't have time for meditation."
And, personally, I can't do those yoga poses.
My body doesn't move like that anymore.
(Tiffany laughs) So can you tell us
what actually is mindfulness?
Yeah, that's great, Debbie.
That is funny because I think
that there are a lot
of preconceived ideas
of what mindfulness is or isn't,
and that, you know, you definitely practice
mindfulness in yoga.
But like I was saying before,
you can practice mindfulness anywhere.
And so the simplest version that I have
when I'm talking to somebody
about what is mindfulness, is it's a definition
by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
And he is kind of the father
of mindfulness and bringing it into everyday living
and into the United States.
And the way that he defines it
is mindfulness is paying attention
in a particular way.
So you're deciding how
you're going to pay attention.
You're doing it on purpose, which means
that you've decided to do it.
So you've decided that you want
to pay attention to this.
And you're doing it in the present moment.
That's really what it's all about.
Now, a little more advanced way
to look at that is he also says without judgment.
So you're not judging the moment,
how you're doing it, when you're doing it,
why you're doing it.
But for me, it really is the first three.
So it's paying attention in a particular way,
on purpose, and in the present moment.
And I think the idea of this fad,
it's really become more popular,
partially because I think our world
has gotten more and more stressful,
more and more intense.
And people have been looking for ways
to bring themselves back, to get grounded,
to manage their stress better,
to be more relaxed,
to be able to move through their day
with more ease.
And I believe that's why it's become more popular
or faddish, but it's been around
for a very long time.
So you can treat it as a fad, I think,
if you want to, but my approach
is more how do I make it part of my lifestyle?
And so, as I mentioned before,
it really was about how do I go through my life
with more peace, more ease,
more joyfully, how do I make that happen?
And the way that I found to do it
was to be present, because my mind
is always taking off and building stories
and causing me worry, which, the fact
of the matter is, that also creates all kinds
of chemical reactions in my body
that aren't helpful, kind of like
a fight-or-flight syndrome that's happening.
And so now I've not used up those chemicals
and they've come into my body.
So those are reasons why I think someone
might wanna look into this, that doesn't really
have anything to do with the fad.
And, you know, it can certainly help your health,
it can help you manage
your day-to-day life and schedule better.
It can bring you into the moment so that you
can have more pleasure out of life.
And you can do it at any time.
You can certainly do meditation and you can do yoga.
And if that works for people,
I think that's fantastic.
But for people who are just starting,
and myself, even, and I wouldn't consider myself
a beginner at all, but I really do try
and find the moments of the day
to be able to do it.
So, for example, just before
we were going to be doing our recording today,
I was rushing about.
I'd had some things happen that were unexpected,
and the timing wasn't exactly great.
But what I wanted to be able to do
was just before I got on the phone with you guys,
is to say, "Okay, let's come back into this moment.
It doesn't matter what has just happened,
what's going to happen.
Let's just come into this moment,
get grounded, get centered.
Use this time, this very moment,
to do that so that I can be focused
and with you guys when we're doing our podcast."
And so that's kind of the everyday piece of it.
Well, great.
I'm glad that you explained that
because once, I think, people hear the benefits
of mindfulness, they will begin
to incorporate it into their everyday living.
For me, it's simply just a way of being.
It's a way of being where I am present
and fully engaged in whatever I'm doing.
And so whether it's doing the dishes.
For me, there's a difference between
doing the dishes to get them done
and then really doing the dishes.
So I am engaged with doing (laughs) the dishes.
I mindfully do the dishes.
I enjoy the warm water, the soapy suds.
And so whenever there's a family gathering,
I am the dishwasher.
Even though they may have a dishwasher in the house,
I'm like, "I'll do the dishes."
What I wanna clarify for your definition
is that it is really being present
and fully engaged, aware of thoughts
and emotions, with really not
getting caught up in them.
Is that correct? Yep, definitely.
I think a lot of it has to do
with those stories that we tell ourselves.
So you can stand and do the dishes
and experience things with your five senses, right?
So you're explaining the suds, the warmth of the water.
There's your touch, there's your sight.
There's probably a smell that goes with the dish soap,
potentially, maybe, you know,
with the kitchen that's happening.
There's a sound that happens there.
Any of your five senses is a great way
to bring yourself into the moment.
And when I heard you describing doing the dishes,
that's what you were doing.
You weren't thinking about what you had to do next
or what the conversation was at the dinner table
or what do I need to be focused on for the rest
of, you know, the afternoon or the evening?
You were really immersing yourself in that.
And the five senses is really the easiest way
to try and do that, so that you don't overthink it
and you aren't focused on those emotions
or those stories that your brain is telling you.
So you mentioned senses, so I think
that really ties into the next question
I want to ask you, and is really specific to our listeners.
How might a mindfulness approach benefit someone
with a visual loss, especially those new
to vision loss, who are adjusting to that?
How do you think the mindfulness approach
can benefit someone?
So from my perspective,
and, you know, the whole idea of going through
a health struggle, I think, is stressful for everyone.
There's elements of anxiety.
You're not sure what to expect.
You don't know how things are going
to be tomorrow or the next day.
You're feeling likely
a sense of loss, fear.
All of those emotions
certainly get you very worked up.
And the idea of the mindfulness coming into that moment,
appreciating where you are, having that experience,
is helpful because it's keeping your brain from worrying.
Worry is really something that, the idea
that our brain is making up stories about things
that aren't going to happen, is kind of how I see worry.
So if we really thought about all the places
our brain went in a day and how many of those stories
actually came true,
there are probably not that many.
We have a tendency to really build on that.
So being able to say, "Okay,
this is the situation that I'm in.
How might I experience what I have here now,
versus worrying about what's going to happen,"
can really help control that anxiety.
Now, it's my understanding, through some conversations
that you and I have had, that becoming, that sense
of vision loss, that one of the biggest challenges
is your orientation mobility
and being able to sort of move through
the world in a different way
because you've lost some of your sight.
If you think about mindfulness, much of it starts
with being able to just ground yourself
and take a deep breath.
And when I think about when I need a sense
of balance, when I'm moving, when I'm walking,
if I'm holding my breath,
I'm really going to have some trouble standing,
moving, because your body is so tensed up.
It's really not moving with the flow.
Having that breathing coming in and out
can really ground your body,
it relaxes your body,
and it's going to allow you to have better control
over where your body is in space
as you're trying to move forward.
So, from my perspective, I would think that
that might be something that could be helpful
for people as they're trying to learn how to, you know,
move through the world as their vision is declining.
What would your opinion be on that, Debbie?
What do you think?
I think that's a great insight
because orientation mobility
is really focusing where you are
and where you want to go, and moving safely
and effectively through the environment.
And I think the use of mindfulness
really helps people focus on your surroundings.
One of my favorite captions from a book,
it's by a Buddhist monk called Thich Nhat Hanh,
and his book is "Peace is Every Step."
He's talking about walking.
So I'm thinking of a visually impaired person
walking through their environment,
whether they are sighted guide
or with a guide dog or with a cane.
But he's saying to be aware of the contact
of your feet and the earth.
And what I especially love, he says,
"Walk as if your feet
are kissing the earth."
Yes, I've heard that, Debbie.
Yep, I've read that.
So for the visually impaired person,
it's really being aware of the surroundings.
What textures are my feet encountering?
Is it the carpet in the house?
Is it the hardwood floor?
Outside, is it asphalt?
Is it grass?
What am I in contact with?
Most of us are so in a hurry to get
from here to there and everywhere,
we don't pay attention to that.
And for a person with a visual impairment,
orientation mobility skills are very important,
and I kind of see mindfulness
going hand in hand with that.
I totally agree, Debbie.
When I was thinking about how the idea
of mindfulness could really benefit folks
that are having that vision loss,
there's gotta be a turning up of some of your senses
because you have one that's declining.
And being able to do that as you're walking,
as you're moving, is so critically important,
as you said, for safety.
And so when you are doing something like, say,
for example, you're using a pair of scissors
or a knife, you've increased your awareness.
You're really more focused on it
because you don't want to hurt yourself,
because you're dealing with something
that's a little more dangerous.
And I would think that in walking,
that's the idea, is how do I stay safe?
Well, I stay safe by really concentrating on what
my body is doing and how it's doing it.
And as you said, there's such beauty in movement.
There's such beauty in being able
to move our bodies.
And you kind of gain an appreciation for that
just going through that exercise, saying, "Wow,
think about all the things that my body
is doing in unison,
just because I'm sort of asking it to
and becoming very present with it."
So I think there's a strong appreciation
and gratitude that can go with that, hand in hand,
when you bring your awareness
and your focus to it as well.
Truly, the practice of mindfulness really helps
with enhancing senses, whether it be hearing,
whether you're in tune to just noises
in your apartment or home, the hum
of the refrigerator, when the furnace kicks on,
the cat purring in the other room,
as mine is doing now.
What are the smells in your environment?
You know, you talked about your body's position
and movement, the textures you're feeling.
So all of those are so important for someone
with visual impairment.
You know, when someone is diagnosed with vision loss,
the other senses don't immediately kick in, right?
They don't become super, they don't have super hearing.
That all has to be enhanced,
and mindfulness is a really good practice
to help that happen, wouldn't you say?
Yes, absolutely.
And, you know, there are short meditation exercises,
again, that I'll do with people in workshops,
and many of my workshops are quite short.
They might only be an hour or two.
So we try and tap into different ways
to use each of those senses to enhance them.
And so another exercise that we might do is sitting,
taking deep breaths, becoming aware of the breath.
Maybe three, four, five of those,
and then tuning into your environment.
So like you were saying, it's what's happening
in the space that you're in?
So even here now, you know, I can hear what's happening.
I can hear some buzz from some lights on my desk.
I can hear the traffic outside.
I can hear, you know,
I've got some workers outside, actually,
that are helping paint my house today.
I can hear that.
So there's different levels of sound
that you can really tap into, and all of that.
Say, for example, I was working on my computer
or I was reading or something,
I wouldn't be aware of any of those, likely,
unless they became an annoyance to me.
But when you really tap into the levels of sound,
it's kind of fascinating and you might be surprised.
Now, if we go back to that idea of safety
and security for people, if you are trying
to move from your living room to your kitchen
and you can hear that refrigerator,
you're gonna know how close you are
or how far away you are
because you're going to become attuned.
And there's great value in that.
If there's somebody at the door.
There's a lot of different things here
that I think can help.
And so from my perspective, I do think
that enhancing the senses through that practice
has really just a good value
in creating more safety,
more security, less anxiety.
And I think really just a competency
and a proficiency that helps people
as they're struggling with the vision loss
to feel like, I've got this.
I actually have some other ways that my body
is going to help support me, that's going
to help me feel safe in this world.
And I'm using them, I'm working with them,
I'm training them.
I'm getting them to this place where I feel
a good sense of proficiency.
And I think the mindfulness practice
can definitely be added to helping nurture that
and help it along.
Now that we've talked about what is mindfulness
and how it could benefit someone with vision loss,
could you tell us how we might begin
a practice of mindfulness?
And perhaps you could take us through
a little exercise.
Sure, absolutely. I'd love to, Debbie.
Let's take just a minute right now.
So you've heard me say quite a few times here
as we've been talking about just doing
some deep breathing.
And it really is a simple thing,
but it's one of those things
that if you don't tell yourself to do it, you don't.
And it's funny, when I do big conferences,
when I'm onstage, I can get people
to put their things down
and take a deep breath.
They're very, usually, audiences are pretty obedient,
but we'll start by just grounding ourselves.
And it's funny how, when somebody says to you,
"Okay, we're just gonna take a few deep breaths,"
in your mind, you're like, oh,
that sounds really pleasant.
Why wasn't I doing that before? (laughs)
And then you do it, and it's quite pleasant.
It's not a chore.
It's actually something that feels good.
I would like to just go through an exercise.
It's just gonna take us a minute,
but to just do a little bit of deep breathing
so we can feel what that feels like,
to become a little bit more grounded and clear,
even while we're listening,
you know, to a podcast
and then, you know, a conversation that's got
a lot of animation and a lot of interesting information,
how we might become grounded.
So what I'm gonna have you do is, if you're in the car,
I don't recommend that you shut your eyes,
if you're listening to the podcast (laughs) in a car.
But if you are somewhere where you're sitting in a chair,
or even if you're standing.
If you can sit down, I think it's better.
But to just sit down, get your feet flat on the floor,
get your bum into the seat,
and just sit up as straight as you can.
So really just giving yourself lots of room there
to do the deep breathing.
And what we're gonna do is we're just going
to take three deep breaths,
and I'll walk you through it.
What we wanna do is take a long inhale
and a long exhale.
If you're looking or thinking about your body
and what should it be doing,
your chest shouldn't be rising.
You really want your belly.
And some people call this belly breathing,
where your diaphragm is pushing down,
so it's opening your lungs up.
So your belly kinda gets pushed out
when you do that,
and that really allows that breathing to happen.
So let's just go ahead and do that.
Again, gets yourself just situated in your chair.
And if you're comfortable with it,
either close your eyes, or maybe just put your eyes down
and focus on something that's a little bit lower.
And we're just gonna take our first deep breath.
Deep breath in
and out.
Deep breath in
and out.
Deep breath in
and out.
And then I would say just open up your eyes,
move a little bit.
And then the question I would have for you,
Debbie, is how do you feel now
versus before we just did those few deep breaths?
I feel so relaxed.
I love breathing exercises.
They're so simple.
And what helps me is it really anchors my mind.
And until you try it, you don't know
that it works, but it does work.
And, again, Tiffany, it's not about, right,
getting in the car or finding a ride to the gym.
These are simple exercises, breathing exercises
that you can do at any time during the day.
So what are some of your suggestions
for incorporating mindfulness into daily routines?
You've got the key right there, Debbie.
It's the daily routines.
So what are you already doing
that you can bring that mindfulness in?
Actually, I've got some good tips
on my website for that,
that don't feel like I'm having to set
a time to go meditate or, like you were saying,
I'm not going to a gym.
It's really like where are the moments during my day
that I can start to become mindful?
You can do it while you're brushing your teeth.
You can do it when you're sitting down
to have your first drink of the day.
So maybe it's a cup of tea or a cup of coffee,
and really just experiencing that.
I tell a lot of folks that, for me,
I'm an espresso drinker.
I just like a little bit of espresso in the morning.
But for me, the experience
of creating that espresso
and having all of my senses take place there with it
is how I start that idea of mindfulness every day.
It's, you know, I'm walking up,
I'm seeing my espresso machine.
I'm pressing the button.
I'm hearing the grinding of the beans.
I'm then smelling the scent.
I'm seeing the liquid come out.
I'm able to pick it up and feel the warmth.
I have the scent once again
as it comes next to my nose.
And, you know, as you know,
there's not a lot to an espresso,
but for me, just that moment is a way
that I say, "Okay, I've woken up.
I'm in my day now.
How do I become present in it?"
And it's one of the first ways that I do it.
And I think people being able to find
those individual moments is what matters.
Another easy thing that I do is I transition
from different things in my day.
I will do things, like the breathing exercise
that we just did, to be able
to bring myself into this moment.
So if I'm switching from one task to another,
I might just stop and take a deep breath.
That might happen in my kitchen.
It might happen in my office.
It might happen as I've, you know, rushed into a store
and I've gotten into my car and I'm gonna drive.
And I say, "Wait, you need to get yourself more grounded."
I think one of the things I like to do
is I'm on the computer a lot.
Often, when the chime sounds
and I have something coming into my inbox,
I will just stop, before I answer it,
I'll stop and take a breath
and just observe where I'm at
and just get grounded before I proceed
to answer the email.
It just gives me a fresh way of looking at the email.
And my cat, my cat Buick,
he helps me practice mindfulness all the time.
I mean, he will jump in my lap
at any time during the day and says, "Pet me."
And just petting him during the day
and hearing his purrs and feeling him,
it really is just a routine that we have.
And he loves-
Animals are great for that, actually, Debbie.
That's a great call out.
Because when we are with animals in that way,
we are so automatically present,
and there's all kinds of unconditional love
that's going with that, that I just think
has just a beauty to it.
But you really are, when you're petting your dog
or your cat, or maybe you, you know,
you have another animal,
you're in that moment with them.
You're not just in passing, petting them.
You're present with them.
And I love the sound, the purr.
That's great.
It seems that we've covered a lot
about mindfulness, and in just a short time.
And I appreciate all your insights
and your encouragement for people.
Just to remind people, the thing
that I always remember,
when you hesitate to start a new practice
or anything, you're always worried, right,
am I doing this right?
Am I doing it wrong?
I remember when I tried to take tai chi.
Oh, my gosh. (Tiffany laughs)
My body doesn't move that way and I
(Tiffany laughs) was never doing it right.
(Tiffany laughs) The beauty of mindfulness
is, you know, you can define it for yourself,
and there's no right or wrong way.
The key is to be in tune with your breathing, right,
to bring your mind and your breathing
and everything in sync.
Isn't really that the basics of it?
That is definitely the basics of it.
And it's just paying attention to it.
'Cause the good news is that our body is going
to breathe, whether we focus on it or not.
That's the good news.
But if we can take advantage of that
and really focus on it,
it really becomes a foundation for mindfulness.
It becomes a foundation for changing
how our body is operating
in its chemicals and stress and anxiety.
You can't go wrong with it and there's no judgment.
You know, we talked about what the belly breathing was.
As long as you're taking a deep breath
and it feels good, that's what matters.
It's putting yourself in that present moment
with the breathing.
There's no pressure.
And as you said, there's really no right or wrong,
in my mind, in how I approach mindfulness.
Really fascinates me
how this mindfulness practice
connects with vision loss
and how it can really help people deal with emotions
and have some clarity.
And not that you're ignoring feelings,
but you're not being overwhelmed with them.
You really have a new way of being.
So if people wanted to access your website,
Tiffany, how can they find you?
So I am at www.tiffanyguske.com.
and that is T-I-F-F-A-N-Y,
G as in good, U-S-K-E.
And there are a lotta resources out there,
including a quick start mindfulness guide,
that you can go in there, click in,
give me your email address
and it'll shoot it right out to you,
which is a really good way to just get familiar
and start with the everyday routine piece.
It really gives you examples of how you can use
that everyday routine to start a mindfulness practice
that fits you and is very personalized to you.
And the blog posts out there are great.
I have a specific grouping of posts
that are called Mindfulness Monday,
and those are really just intended to be very short,
quick hits of mindfulness that you can incorporate.
So if people are curious,
I think those are two really good resources
to take a look at and see if mindfulness
is something that's a good fit for them.
It's easy to look at, to read, to consider,
and then incorporate into your everyday life
as it suits you, in a very customized and personal way.
Absolutely, and I think this
is a wonderful website.
I've checked it out myself,
just kind of as preparation
for the show, and then I found myself
looking a little deeper at it and going,
"Wow, there really are a lot
of interesting things here to read about,"
some of which are very short reads
and some of which kind of take a deeper look into things.
We also have some resources in our show notes,
so you can check those out as well
on the Hadley website.
Debbie, for you, if people wanna contact you
or learn more about you or ask you questions,
how can they contact you?
Yes, contact me at Hadley at Worman,
that's my last name, W-O-R-M-A-N,
@hadley.edu.
And my extension is 6685.
Fantastic.
I wanna thank you both so much for being here.
And I'll say I feel very relaxed and clearheaded
(Tiffany laughs) after this (laughs) episode.
That's great,
With a sudden craving
for espresso and a purring cat, too, so.
(group laughs)
Thank you, again, for joining us.
We learned a lot.
And I wanna thank the audience
for joining us and listening.
Got something to say?
Share your thoughts about this episode
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or make suggestions for future episodes.
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@hadley.edu.
Or leave us a message at
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Thanks for listening.
(gentle music)