Self Compassion Logo

Post-Traumatic Growth

by | Nov 23, 2024 | Mindfulness, Parenting, Self-Compassion | 0 comments

Join Chris Willard and me as we step into the world of mindfulness and connection

 

Hello Friends,

Yesterday I finished teaching my Parent-Child Mindfulness and Self-Compassion class for a research study, and a number of kids were crying at the end of class because they were going to miss our fun class and our group. Oh my goodness, does this touch my heart! So beautiful.🥹

The Parent-Child class has grown and changed over the years to include all of the playful animals and comics from the Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Workbook for Kids, and kids and parents love the class now more than ever (you can order the workbook or sign up for a free Mindfulness and Self-Compassion for Children and Caregivers info session below):

Order the Workbook

Free Intro Session with Jamie Lynn

How We Grow Through What We Go Through

Today, I’m excited to share with you something positive that can emerge from challenging life circumstances: post-traumatic growth. When adversity strikes, do you ever fear that you are going to experience a mental health setback? What if the opposite were true?

That’s what my candid conversation with Dr. Chris Willard for this month’s We Are in It Together podcast is about. We talk about the resources that we can bring to adverse experiences (including mindfulness, self-compassion and EACH OTHER) that can help us transform something difficult into something life-promoting. He even suggests that post-traumatic stress can co-exist with post-traumatic growth (could this really be true!?).

I am incredibly honored to have so many wonderful guests, including Chris Willard, for my podcast. HONORED!! Chris is a prolific author, instructor at the Harvard Medical School, intergenerational mindfulness teacher, and an all-around great guy! Here’s a little clip of Chris talking about how one parent found mindful moments in a car:

Highlights from our conversation include:

  • Chris’s story of moving from opioid addiction to flourishing through mindfulness and connection
  • Tips for making mindfulness trauma sensitive (for example, stationary mindfulness can be unsettling for some, but mindfulness in motion can be more accessible)
  • Having a caregiver practice mindfulness may actually be more beneficial for a child more than teaching the child mindfulness (your practice matters!)
  • The importance of community for healing (that’s why We Are in It Together!)

Please check out our podcast on your favorite podcast listening app (or my YouTube or Substack), and share it with others!

Thank you for being a supporter of mindfulness and self-compassion for children and caregivers. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to share this goodness with others :).

With gratitude for our community,

Jamie Lynn

P.S. This past week I got to spend some time in-person with Karen Bluth who is the program creator of the Mindful Self-Compassion for Teens program. She is such an amazing human with an amazing heart for sharing self-compassion with teens. I feel blessed to know such compassionate and visionary people. ❤️

Jamie-Lynn and Karen Bluth

Mindfulness for Kids and Grown-Ups

by | Nov 20, 2024 | Mindfulness, Resilience, Self-Compassion | 0 comments

A Silly Video and some Solid Strategies

Hello Friends!

Has anyone felt an acute need for coping strategies recently? Me, too! Today I’ll share some tools I’ve been using to get through, as well as how you can help kids grow these same skills. We’ll start with the silly kid stuff, and you can scroll down if you’d like to hear my personal stuff.

Silly Stuff for Kids – Koala is sitting on MY bench

One of the most playful aspects of the Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Workbooks for Kids is the animals! Beaver is the feelings habit animal that has a sticky brain. Can anyone relate to a sticky brain?! I sure can 😃

A handful of kids from “the Kids Team” helped me create some playful videos about the animals from the book. In this 1-minute video, Beaver is stressed out because a koala is sitting on “his” bench (do your kids ever say stuff like this!?). Go ahead and press play. It’s really good!

Note: If you are interested in buying stuffed animals featured in this video and the workbook for kids, I’ve created a webpage with stuffie links here.

As Spots (the mindfulness giraffe) suggests in the video:

“Instead of suppressing and obsessing, just take a look around.”

I know, it’s easier said than done. But truthfully, mindfulness is such an awesome resource for adults and kids. Last week when I had a lot of big feelings, I had to rely on mindfulness a lot: mindfulness of my feelings, mindfulness of my thoughts, and mindfulness of the fact that I needed NOT to focus on my feelings and thoughts too much. More about my personal journey below.

My Personal Coping Strategies

As a general rule I try to avoid talking about politics at work. I have a mom, dad, stepmom, stepdad and a little sister who all have different political views than me, and I understand and value people who view things differently. That being said, I’m having big feelings about the recent election, and I will share about how I’ve been processing my feelings.

This was an email I sent to a friend last week Friday:

My feelings are so big. I have been observing my own thoughts, and they are not reflective of my normal ideas (I have extreme thoughts about cutting ties with people and institutions). I’ve told myself that I can entertain the value of any of these thoughts in a couple of weeks. I’m just practicing mindful awareness (observing thoughts), and reminding myself that my thoughts are not reliable right now because my feelings are too big. Periodically I focus on my feelings (while walking in nature or talking with friends), and then I spend a lot of time refocusing my attention because the feelings can be overwhelming (feeling more doesn’t equal self-compassion).

Last week, I processed my feelings in little (and sometimes big) bursts. I have processed shock, anger, and devastation. In between processing emotions, I tried to notice my five senses, and I also spent a fair amount of time focusing on other things (like my work!). Since then, my emotions have temporarily leveled out. I know I will have lots more processing to do in January, as will many of us.

Mindfulness and self-compassion are tools that we need now and will continue to need going forward. And they are tools that children—especially marginalized children—need now more than ever.

Upcoming ClassesThe Mindful Self-Compassion for Teens Course starts next week, November 19th!

If you’d like to learn more about Parent-Child Mindfulness and Self-Compassion, you can attend my upcoming free intro session. At the end of the intro session, I’ll share about how you could become a Mindfulness and Self-Compassion for Children and Caregivers (MSC-CC) teacher (optional part of intro session at the end).

  • Register for a free Mindfulness and Self-Compassion for Children and Caregivers (MSC-CC) intro session below.

MSC-CC Intro Session

 

And in January, I’ll be teaching an adult Mindful Self-Compassion Course, a Resilience Habits for Parents Course, a Parent-Child Mindfulness and Self-Compassion class, and even an in-person Self-Compassion for Shame course.

I am more committed than ever to helping spread mindfulness and self-compassion to youth, adults and families.

With love,

Jamie Lynn

P.S. Here’s a picture of a little stuffie that one of my Mindful Self-Compassion students sent me. I feel so loved! 😍

Jamie-Lynn with a stuff animal as a present from her student.

Contact        Disclaimer        Privacy        Login        Subscribe

© 2024 Jamie Lynn Tatera | All Rights Reserved

Mindful Self-Compassion for Teens Course

by | Nov 13, 2024 | Growing the Good, Mindfulness, Parenting, Self-Compassion | 0 comments

A pay-what-you-can class for Teens plus something for everyone

 

Hello Friends,

It’s been a rough week. I want to acknowledge that out loud. More on resources to cope next week.

Today I’m reaching out with a bonus email (no I won’t do this every week) because I am offering a Mindful Self-Compassion for Teens course that starts really soon—November 19. Here’s the registration link: https://jamielynntatera.com/mindful-self-compassion-for-teens/

This is a “pay-what-you-can” class for preteens and teens targeted to teens 11-14, but older teens are welcome to register. If you know a teen who could use some self-kindness and mindfulness skills, please share it with them. It’s a real game changer for teens.

It really helped me with handling emotions! The instructor is very supportive and the other participants are open to listen and non-judgmental. -Teen MSC-T participant

I definitely could have used a course like this when I was a teen, which is why I learned to teach it from my esteemed colleague, Karen Bluth, with whom I’ll be co-teaching this MSC-Teens course.

I’ll be offering a host of courses for kids and adults starting in January, but today, I’m highlighting the teen class because teens really need self-compassion and the class starts soon.

Also, for those who are in the Milwaukee area, there’s a great event on Sunday, November 17 entitled, One Thing I Wish You Knew. Teens share their vulnerabilities and challenges with mental health. I’ll be there to share some resilience resources before the teens share their stories. Individuals 13+ can attend the event for no cost.

I’ll reach out next week with more goodness (including a fun video!). Remember, when life feels hard, we need the resources of mindfulness and self-compassion.

With love,

Jamie Lynn

P.S. Wednesday morning I went to the lake to walk the beach and listen to the waves and process a lot of feelings. I saw a woman release these colorful balloons, and something about the color of the sky and the balloons and the whole scene really spoke to me.

A woman with balloons

Contact        Disclaimer        Privacy        Login        Subscribe

© 2024 Jamie Lynn Tatera | All Rights Reserved

Side-by-Side Feelings

by | Nov 4, 2024 | Growing the Good, Mindfulness, Parts of Ourselves | 0 comments

Coping with Letdown and Holding space for Joy

 

Hello Friends,

Life is full of cycles. The seasons have cycles. My kids’ sports teams have cycles. And projects and book launches have cycles, too.

When we put a lot of time and energy into creating something beautiful, it’s common to feel a sense of joy and euphoria. And when these good feelings pass, it’s common to feel letdown.

This past weekend, my older daughter made it to State with her cross country team. It was the highest honor! She was so excited!

Jamie-Lynn's older daughter - Maya running for cross-country team at the State competition.

She and her team did great. She felt joy and celebrated! But when she came back home and realized the season was over, she felt the coming down from a natural high…she felt letdown.

When I was in my teens, I would do anything to avoid the feelings of disappointment and disillusionment that accompanied the good times passing. Part of why I abused alcohol in my teens was because I wanted to make the good times last longer, and I wanted to avoid the bad.

As a grown up, I’m trying to learn to welcome all of my feelings, even the challenging ones. They are a natural part of the cycle.

I experienced this recently with my book launch. So much time and energy was directed into creating and launching the first volume of the Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Workbook for Kids. The book is beautiful! And the launch was beautiful! There were some bumps on the path, but ultimately our launch was a big success. But after the initial waves of orders came in, I watched the orders slow down to a trickle. And I felt the the natural feeling of letdown.

A part of me wanted to try to distract or avoid the feelings, but instead I used my resilience habits. First, I used the “Buddy habit” and reminded myself that letdown is a natural emotion and part of the cycle of beginning and ending. I allowed myself to feel the feeling, and I used the “Spots” habit to feel the feelings in my body.

Then I used one of my favorite strategies from the Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Workbook for Kids: I invited myself to “share the plate.” Yes, disappointment was on the plate, and so was gratitude, joy, love, and hope.

Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Workbook Activity: Share the Plate.

I also offered myself kindness in two forms: Snuggles and Super Snuggles. I soothed myself because the feeling of loss that accompanies something special ending is hard. And then I encouraged myself. I’m on a new leg of the journey.

Next week I’ll share more about what the new leg of the journey looks like (it’ll be a team effort). But for now, I’m simply holding space for where I am today. I will hold multiple feelings side by side.

This week is an election week, and I’m sure we all have a lot of side-by-side feelings. I am wishing each of us the freedom to feel our feelings. May you soak in the beauty of emotions you enjoy, and may you hold any challenging feelings with a sense of love and belonging to humanity.

Sincerely,

Jamie Lynn

P.S. In just two weeks I’ll be co-teaching the Mindful Self-Compassion for Teens class with my esteemed colleague, Karen Bluth. Click here to learn more. I’ll share more about this awesome opportunity for teens in a separate email later this week.

P.P.S. Here’s a picture of our family after Maya’s cross country race! I am so prateful (proud and grateful) of how far she came not only in her skills, but also in her inner compassionate and encouraging voice.

Family at the State Cross-Country Competition.

Contact        Disclaimer        Privacy        Login        Subscribe

© 2024 Jamie Lynn Tatera | All Rights Reserved

Thank You!

by | Nov 1, 2024 | Jamie Lynn's Journey, Mindfulness, Parenting, Resilience, Self-Compassion | 0 comments

You make a difference PLUS see the first chapter

 

Hello Friends,

The outpouring of love, book orders, and support this past week was simply amazing. Thank you!

Would you like to see the first chapter of the workbook? I shared a PDF of the intro in a previous newsletter. But today you can see both the intro and the first chapter of the book when you click this link (after you click the link, you’ll need to PAUSE, and then scroll down).

The first chapter will give you a good feel for the content, fun-factor, and layout of the book. If you haven’t yet ordered the Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Workbook for Kids, Volume 1, you can order it now :).

ORDER THE BOOK

Thank you to all who ordered on the 24th and shared your receipt numbers with me. If you ordered on launch date but didn’t yet register for the How to Help Kids with Tricky Thoughts and Feelings Masterclass, you are still welcome to do so. I numbered the list of names and used a random number generator to pick #24, Anvita Mishra, who won the Super Snuggles raffle!

Raffle Winner

Coincidentally, Anvita was present on launch day and was a phenomenal contributor to the workbook and book launch effort. And Anvita’s daughter, Aarya, is pictured below helping me cut the cake. Aarya spent hundreds of hours with me creating and editing activities in the book.

Celebration of launching a new book.

To date, I have received 10 workbooks to donate to children at Fratney Elementary – a diverse Milwaukee Public School. Mil gracias (a thousand thanks) to those of you who have already donated!

If you would like to donate a workbook, you can send copies of the book to my husband’s work (Patrick Bieser, 1572 E. Capitol, Shorewood, WI 53211), and I will hand-deliver the book to a child at Fratney. I’m hoping to get 60 books, one for each third grader.

You can also order the workbook for yourself (your inner child!) and your loved ones. This mother-daughter pair shared:

“We love doing the mindfulness and self-compassion workbook together so we can help each other name our feelings to tame our feelings. We do the workbook together at night before bed.” –Fia and Thekla Ross 

It seems kind of crazy that the first volume of the workbook has been launched. I have a lot of side-by-side feelings (which I will share with you next week). Helping kids joyfully learn self-compassion feels like a dream come true! Thank you for being a part of my dream team.

With love and gratitude,

Jamie Lynn

P.S. Here’s a video of our family singing “We Are in It Together” at the launch party. I have tears of joy and gratitude as I introduce the song:

P.P.S. I will be offering a Mindful Self-Compassion for Teens class for adolescents, ages 11-14, mid-November thru mid-December. You can reply to this email for details if you’re interested for your teen / pre-teen!

Contact        Disclaimer        Privacy        Login        Subscribe

© 2024 Jamie Lynn Tatera | All Rights Reserved