Teenagers and adults victim of bullying and diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome: Mindfulness based strategies

Sit comfortably in a relaxed way, with the spine straight, on a cushion on the floor or on straight-backed chair. The body is relaxed, to promote mental alertness and clarity. The attitude is about open-minded curiosity, the intention is simply use the breath as an anchor for being mindfully aware of one's experience in every moment (Hopper, 2012). Notice the touch and pressure where body makes contact with cushion or chair, explore the sensations with curiosity and acceptance. Maybe sensations indicate body tension: the posture can be adjusted and must not be painful but if you decide to move, do it in a mindful way: observe the intention to move and subsequently the change in sensation as a result of moving. Eyes are closed. Direct attention to the breathing: inhaling and exhaling naturally, focus to the sensations of your flowing breath, in and out of nostrils and in abdomen. Take a few deep breaths without strain, emphasizing movement and sensations, aware what you are attending to. The breath finds a natural rhythm. Allow the body breathing on its own, the inhalations and exhalations coming and going, nolice the slight pauses between each in-breath and out-breath. It is natural for mind to wander but simply note it and gently but firmly bring awareness back to the breath. Sensations arise and pass away. Ifolher thoughts come in the mind, acknowledge them and without judging yourself, gently shift awareness back to breathing. You may listen mindfully the sounds around you by noticing the volume, tone and duration without analyzing or judging them and then redirect the focus to breathing. If it's the first time, practice 10 minutes or less; usually this sitting meditation is 15-20 minutes long, it's most beneficiaI if incorporated into a daily routine (Shapiro & Carlon, 2009). Daily practice typically refers to a 20 to 45-minutes session of sitting meditation, one or twice a day. Il includes pay attention to the sensations of one's breathing and noti ce where one's attention wonder to, with acceptance and without judgment. Practicing in the moming is best because this increases the likelihood for mindfulness to be present over the coming day. For novices just 10-20 minutes per sitting may be enough: practice is not a chore or an ordeal, and it's important not to push oneself too hard. Intensive mindfulness practice refers to meditating for some hours a day, for several days or even consecutive weeks, in a setting away from the usual pressures. The first intensive experience is commonly a week-long silent "retreat" and can really be an eye-opener. Mind tends to become very calm and settled after few days of silence meditating: mental chatters quiet down and with an increased dea I of objectivity, acceptance, non-reactivity, it's possible to observe the functioning of one's mind. During intensive retreats practices to cultivate kindness and compassion are included. Effects last for weeks afterward. (Kabat Zinn,1990). Since painful memories can emerge or intensify during silent meditation, it is important to have enough skills for managing these sad experiences before engaging in intensive practice: meditation retreat centers usually assess in advance for risk of such reactions and have procedures to help people needing supporto

A study on emotion regulation following a focused breathing induction in mechanisms of Mindfulness investigated if a 15 minutes recorded focused breathing induction in a normal, primarily undergraduate population would decrease the intensity and negativity of emotional responses to affectively valenced picture slides and increase willingness to remain in contact with aversi ve picture slides (Arch & Craske, 2006 ). The effects of thi s focused breathing induction were compared with the effects of 15 minutes recorded inductions of unfocused attention and worrying. The focused breathing group maintained consistent and moderately positive responses to the neutra! slides before and after the induction, the unfocused attention and worry groups responded significantly more negatively to the neutral slides after the induction than before il. The focusing breathing group reported lower negative affect and overall emotional volatility in response to the post-induction slides than the worry group, and greater willingness lo view highly negative slides than the unfocused attention group (Fig. lO and Il). The lower-reported negative and overall affect in response to the final slide blocks, and greater willingness to view optional negative slides by the focused breathing group may be viewed as more adaptive responding to negative stimuli. The results are discussed as being consistent with emotional regulatory properties of Mindfulness.