Ugnayan ng Pahinungod UPOU Hosts Conversations on Mindfulness

The Ugnayan ng Pahinungod University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) hosted a webinar titled “Mag-isaisip: Conversations on Mindfulness” on 16 May 2022.  The webinar is the fifth and last in the Lusog-Isip series organized by the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod Committee on Psychosocial Emergency Services (CoPES). The virtual event was streamed live via Facebook and YouTube platforms.

Assoc. Prof. Marshaley J. Baquiano from the University of Guam and UP CoPES Volunteer was the resource speaker for this episode. Asst. Prof. Rachelle Bersamin from the Department of Social Sciences of UP Mindanao and UP CoPES Representative for UP Mindanao Ugnayan ng Pahinungód served as the host.  

Dr. Baquiano opened the discussion by sharing that the ability to focus on something is a vital skill in dealing with one of the biggest issues we face today, which is stress.  She asserted that mindfulness can help us cope with stress.  She defined mindfulness as the state of intentional, non-judgmental focus on the present moment.  She clarified that mindfulness is living in the now, paying attention in a particular way, and it involves acceptance and friendliness to whatever is experienced, rather than the habitual patterns of judgment and criticism.

Asst. Prof. Baquiano shared the following psychological, physiological, and spiritual benefits of mindfulness:

• increased awareness of one’s mind
• significantly reduced stress, anxiety, and negative emotions
• increased control over ruminative thinking, which is a major cause and symptom of depression and anxiety
• increased mental flexibility and focus
• improves short term memory and processing speed
• decreased distracting thoughts and emotional reactivity
• increased capacity for intentional, responsive behaviors
• enhanced immune system functioning
• increased brain density and neural integration
• lowered blood pressure and levels of stress hormones
• increased self-insight, self-acceptance, compassion, empathy, and sense of morality

Dr. Baquiano also cited some common mindfulness techniques, such as mindful breathing, body scan, mindful eating, loving kindness meditation, and mindful movement.  She tackled some common problems associated with executing mindfulness exercises and gave specific movements and activities that will help alleviate such problems.  She closed her talk by reminding the participants to take a moment to check in with themselves and be more mindful the next time they feel anxious, stressed, and uncomfortable.

The presentation was followed by a short Q&A session, where concerns on sustaining and staying committed with mindfulness, suitability of mindfulness, and personalities appropriate for mindfulness, to name a few, were tackled.

CoPES is one of the systemwide programs which aims to strengthen the capacities of UP constituents and partner communities towards psychosocial well-being through its three-fold components – Kamalayan (Awareness-building), Ugnayan (Networking), and Kasanayan (Training).  The Ugnayan ng Pahinungód is the official volunteer program of the University of the Philippines.

 The entire episode of “Mag-isaisip: Conversations on Mindfulness” can be viewed via the UPOU Networks – Multimedia Center Facebook page.

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Written by Jaime P. Guimbao

Edited by Myra C. Almodiel and Anna Cañas-Llamas