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Relaxation – Recommendations

Recommendations for use

Relaxation environments can be used in a variety of contexts. You, as the healthcare professional, decide how to use and apply them through the Virtual Reality tool.

In the following table, you will find the  different environments, adapted to the degree of technical input (from the highest to the lowest audiovisual support). The levels have been assigned according to the following criteria:

  • Level 1: Practice in a specific environment with image and audio support.
  • Level 2: Practice with only audio support or image support ( not both). Therefore, in the specific environments the visual guide should be removed and in the free environments only the audio exercises should be introduced.
  • Level 3: Practice in a free environment without audio and visual support.
LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2LEVEL 3
DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING
Breathing exercise under the sea and on the meadowIsland Under the sea (with/without audio)Relax exercises in an environment of another treatment
PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION 
Jacobson (with guide)
Island Under the sea (with audio)
Relax exercises in an environment of another treatment

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Relax – Intervention Protocol

Intervention proposal

“All the information contained in this section is for guidance only. Psious environments are therapy supporting tools that must be used by the healthcare professional within an evaluation and intervention process designed according to the characteristics and needs of the user.

Also remember that you have the General Clinical Guide in which you have more information on how to adapt psychological intervention techniques (exposure, systematic desensitization, cognitive restructuring, chip economy…) to Psious environments.”

How to apply the relaxation techniques  

Psious has 5 environments that allow working on the diaphragmatic breathing and progressive muscle relaxation

  1. Specific Environments
    Especially designed to practice different exercises 
    • Diaphragmatic breathing
      • Breathing exercise in the meadow.
      • Breathing exercise under the sea.
    • Progressive muscular relaxation
      • Jacobson relaxation exercise
  1. Free Environments
    Relaxing natural spaces where the patient can practice every relaxation technique at the discretion of the healthcare professional (Island and Under the Sea).

The specific environments are especially convenient to begin with the relaxation practice, since the visual support eases the learning process. As the learning progresses, it is recommended to progressively remove both the visual and the audio support available, in addition to generalizing it to the free environments or the ones corresponding to a specific treatment. Therefore, we suggest the following training sequence for every technique:

  1. Specific environment practice: with visual and audio support.
    • Breathing exercises: 3D elements and audio. 
    • Jacobson’s exercise: virtual coach and audio
  1. Specific environment practice: no visual or audio support either.
  1. Free environment practice:
    • Audio instructions (diaphragmatic breathing and progressive muscular relaxation) might be used first.
    • No audio instructions
  1. In the case of relaxation techniques being trained in the context of a specific disorder treatment, the next step would be the generalization of such techniques into the corresponding environment. For instance, in the case of agoraphobia, relaxation should be performed in such virtual environment in order to apply the learnt techniques
    • With the audio guide
    • No audio instructions

Psious-Based treatment protocol

Protocol for the application of VR relaxation techniques. Psychoeducation is included and combines VR relaxation in consultation with your home practice. It is recommended that the healthcare professional adapt and implement relaxation strategies to each patient’s needs and to the program.

SESSION DESCRIPTION
SESSION 1: PSYCHOEDUCATION AND MUSCULAR TENSION DETECTION 

Before starting the exercise:

  • Exercises to be used throughout the treatment and their benefits are explained. 
  • Explain the proven effectiveness of relaxation techniques through virtual reality. .

RECOMMENDED PROTOCOL

  • Introduction to Jacobson relaxation technique: foundations and procedure.
  • Practice using the Jacobsons exercise virtual environment (muscular discrimination):
  • Audio instructions and virtual coach ON
  • Optional intro ON.
  • Performance by muscle groups(hands-face-neck-body-legs-final).
  • Discuss with the patient how he or she felt during the exercise. 
  • Comentar con el paciente cómo se ha sentido durante el ejercicio.

HOMEWORK

  • Handing over psychoeducation bibliographic support.
  • Carrying out a tension-relaxation cycle before going to sleep.
  • Filling in the relaxation self-recording ( Annexes).
SESSION 2: JACOBSON’S  EXERCISE AND DIAPHRAGMATIC PRAGMATIC BREATHING

Before starting the exercise:

  • Review of homework and previous session.

RECOMMENDED PROTOCOL

  • Practice using the Jacobsons exercise virtual environment (muscular discrimination):
  •  Audio and virtual coach ON. 
  • Complete
  • Explaining the foundations of diaphragmatic breathing.
  • Practice diaphragmatic breathing in any of the specific virtual environments.
  • Audio ON.
  • 3D object.
  • Minimum-length inhalation and exhalation.

HOMEWORK

  • Practicing Jacobson’s exercise.
  • Filling in the relaxation self-recording ( Annexes).
  • Carrying out a 10-breath cycle before going to sleep.
SESSION 3: JACOBSON’S EXERCISE AND DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING

Before starting the exercise:

  • Review of homework and previous session. 

RECOMMENDED PROTOCOL

  • Practice using Jacobson’s exercise VR:
  • Complete.
  • Virtual coach OFF.
  • Diaphragmatic breathing training in a VR-specific environment.
  • Audio ON. 
  • 3D object.
  • Long-length inhalation and exhalation.

HOMEWORK

  • Carrying out a 10 -breath cycle before going to sleep.
  • Practicing Jacobson¡s exercise. 
  • The patient should write down the way he felt before and after practicing relaxation exercises in order to talk about it in the following session.
  • Whenever the patient feels anxious , he must stop and practice a 5 -breath cycle before carrying on with activity.
SESSION 4 : PROGRESSIVE MUSCULAR RELAXATION AND DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING 

Before starting the exercise:

  • Review of homework and previous session.

RECOMMENDED PROTOCOL

  • Diaphragmatic breathing practice in the free environment the patient prefers : Audio ON
  • Practicing the progressive muscular relaxation exercise in the the patient prefers free environment: Audio ON 

HOMEWORK

  • Carrying out a 10 -breath cycle before going to sleep. 
  • Whenever the patient is feeling anxious, he must stop and practice a 5 -breath cycle before carrying on with activity.
  • Practicing Jacobson s exercise.
  • The patient should write down the way he felt before and after practicing breathing exercises in order to talk about it in the following session. 
SESSION 5 : PROGRESSIVE MUSCULAR RELAXATION AND DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING

Before starting the exercise:

  • Review of homework and previous session .

RECOMMENDED PROTOCOL

  • Diaphragmatic breathing practice in the free environment the patient prefers : Audio OFF
  • Practicing the progressive muscular relaxation exercise in the free environment the patient prefers : Audio OFF

HOMEWORK

  • Whenever the patient is feeling anxious , he must stop and practice a 5 -breath cycle before carrying on with activity.
  • Practicing Jacobson’s exercise.
  • Carrying out 10-breath cycle before going to sleep.
  • The patient should write down the way he felt before and after practicing breathing exercises in order to talk about it in the following session…
SESSION 6 : RELAPSE PREVENTION

RECOMMENDED PROTOCOL FOR THE FINAL SESSION

  • Review of skills and techniques acquired throughout the treatment .
  • The training in relaxation techniques is concluded : reflections about the practice, conclusions , how to apply what has been learned in daily life.
  • Evaluation of the therapeutic process.
  • Future relaxation tasks are agreed in order to keep up with the results.

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Relaxation and virtual reality

Relaxation
and virtual reality

With Psious, training in relaxation techniques is easy and fast thanks to Virtual Reality (VR). In a few sessions, the patient will be able to generalize the use of the techniques learned and apply them in their day to day.

Relaxation techniques are useful for anxiety reduction, the treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD ), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), eating disorders, substance related disorders , addictive disorders and others.

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STRESS – Bibliography

Bibliography 


  • Houghton, S., & Saxon, D. (2007). An evaluation of large group CBT psycho-education for anxiety disorders delivered in routine practice. Patient Education and Counseling, 68(1), 107–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2007.05.010
  • Rummel-Kluge, C., Pitschel-Walz, G., & Kissling, W. (2009). Psychoeducation in anxiety disorders: Results of a survey of all psychiatric institutions in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Psychiatry Research, 169(2), 180–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2008.10.016
  • Rodrigues, F., Bartolo, A., Pacheco, E., Pereira, A., Silva, C. F., & Oliveira, C. (2018). Psycho-Education for Anxiety Disorders in Adults: A Systematic Review of its Effectiveness. Journal of Forensic Psychology, 03(02), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.4172/2475-319x.1000142
  • Godoy, D., Eberhard, A., Abarca, F., Acuña, B., & Muñoz, R. (2020). Psicoeducación en salud mental: una herramienta para pacientes y familiares. Revista Médica Clínica Las Condes, 31(2), 169–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmclc.2020.01.005
  • Sarkhel, S., Singh, O., & Arora, M. (2020). Clinical Practice Guidelines for Psychoeducation in Psychiatric Disorders General Principles of Psychoeducation. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 62(8), 319. https://doi.org/10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_780_19
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Stress and Virtual Reality

Stress and virtual reality

In the last few decades, psychoeducation has come up as a useful and effective mode of psychotherapy for persons with mental illness. It has been found to be fruitful in both clinical and community settings.

Psychoeducation combines the elements of cognitive-behavior therapy, group therapy, and education. The basic aim is to provide the patient and families knowledge about various facets of the illness and its treatment so that they can work together with mental health professionals for a better overall outcome.

Barker, in the Social Work Dictionary, defined psychoeducation as the “process of teaching clients with mental illness and their family members about the nature of the illness, including its etiology, progression, consequences, prognosis, treatment, and alternatives.”

GENERAL GOALS OF PSYCHOEDUCATION

  • To ensure basic knowledge and competence of patients and their relatives about the illness
  • To provide insight into the illness 
  • To promote relapse prevention
  • Engaging in crisis management and prevention

Adapted from: Sarkhel, S., Singh, O., & Arora, M. (2020). Clinical Practice Guidelines for Psychoeducation in Psychiatric Disorders General Principles of Psychoeducation. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 62(8), 319. https://doi.org/10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_780_19

Stress is how the brain and body respond to any demand. Any type of challenges—such as performance at work or school, a significant life change, or a traumatic event—can be stressful.

Stress can affect your health. It is important to pay attention to how you deal with minor and major stressors, so you know when to seek help.

Psious’s psychoeducational environments will help you understand the basics of stress and how to cope with it.

SOURCE
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/stress/index.shtml

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Mindfullness – Appendix

Appendix

Audios adult environments

Audio of the exercise of the Body scanning environment 

In the next few minutes, we are going to focus on our body, try to identify the zones that are tense in order to relax them.

Focus your attention in the different parts of your body as we work on them being conscious of their state, and any time you feel tension consciously relax the area. First focus your attention on your head, feel its positions, weight, feel your forehead, your eyebrows, your eyes, ears, cheeks, lips, tongue, your jaw, focus on the sensations. If any zone is tense relax it. Bring the attention to the back of your neck, in the zone that is closer to your spine and shoulders. Pay attention to your shoulders. Notice the posture of your shoulders, are they slouched, are they tensed or relaxed? If you have noticed any tension, try to relax them every time you breathe.

Focus on how your arms feel, your elbows, forearms, your wrist, the palms of your hands, your fingers. Remember to relax the zones that are tensed. Now bring the attention to your torso, listen to your chest. Feel the heartbeats and the sensations when you breathe. Now focus on the upper part of your back, in between your shoulders-blades and the muscles around your spine and we will work our way down the back relaxing the muscles that are tense.

Focus on your abdomen, notice how it moves when you breathe. Now bring your attention to your hips and pelvis. Gradually low your focus to your thighs focus your attention in both legs, notice how they feel and then focus on the different zones of your thighs beginning with the upper-thigh if you are sitting down, notice how the thighs touch each other. Now bring your attention to the parts that are touching the chair. Descending slowly getting closer to your knees, if you notice tension in any part relax it. Now focus your attention in your knees, feeling the back of your knee, your kneecap, the sides, be conscious of every sensation that you find. Now direct the attention to your calf and notice the sensation. If they are resting their position. If there is tension or relaxation. If there is tension on the zone, relax and focus your attention on how the feeling of your muscles have changed. 

Bring the attention to your ankles and your feets, your heel, the arch, the ball of the foot, the toes, feeling the support points, the tensions, and last  you will be conscious of our whole body.

Focus your attention on your posture. Feeling the parts of your body that are in contact with the chair, feeling the heaviness and weights of your body, noticing how your body feels heavier every time you exhale.

Audio of the exercises of the Attentional focus environment 

Approximate duration: 17 minutes

In the following mindfulness exercise, you are going to clear your mind, you are going to put aside your worries, you are going to focus on the here and now, in the present , in your body and mind, and you will focus on the objectives of the activity leaving distractions behind. Pay attention to exercise.

Start by making yourself present in your body, in this place, in the present moment. Take two deep breaths.

Bring consciousness to breath. Bring awareness to the nose and feel the air go in and out through the holes in your nose. Notice how dry and cool air enters … and how humid and hot air comes out.

During the rest of the exercise, different elements will appear on which you should focus your attention.

EXERCISE 1: Tree

Now bring your attention to the leaves of this tree, notice how they are slowly falling. 

Choose a leaf and follow its course to the ground. Focus your attention on the movement of the sheet from one side to the other. Every time a leaf hits the ground, see what is being the center of your attention. 

Focus on how the leaves fall, watch their journey. Put your thoughts aside, let them pass. If any thoughts catch your attention, reward yourself for noticing and redirect your attention to the movement of the leaves. If you are watching the leaves fall, following their path, watching them flow in the air, congratulate yourself for achieving your goal.

In mindfulness practice there is no failure. It is a mindfulness exercise.

EXERCISE 2: Lemon Tree 

Look at the lemons. Focus on them, focus on their color … On their shape … On their texture … Think about their smell … Imagine that you cut one in half, and bite it, imagine the acid juice running through your mouth. .. Feel the salivation that this flavor produces for you, focus your attention on this reaction of your body… You are salivating. This is an example of how a thought can alter our body. So it is important to learn to manage our minds and direct our awareness and attention in the here and now. 

EXERCISE 3: River

 

You approach the river and focus your attention on the great variety of sounds produced by the water that comes from the mountain ice. Become aware of the different sounds that make up the flow of the river: some treble, some more serious, some closer, others farther … Let the thoughts that come to your head go like one more drop that follows the course of the River.

Focus on the here and now … Forget everything else …

Now that we are away from the river, bring your awareness to the changes that occur in the sound of nature. Listen without judging or interpreting what each of the sounds is. Your attention is focused on listening fully, looking for the details, the nuances.

EXERCISE 4: Meadow 

Now we are in front of a meadow of flowers. Focus your attention on each of the flowers and butterflies. One by one … Become aware of its colors, shapes, movement … Let thoughts, worries, tasks … go kindly and choose another flower or butterfly and continue to focus all your attention on the meadow in front of you now.

Pay attention to the new elements that appear, one by one, keep your attention connected to events, to the here and now.

Look around you and become aware of all the elements around you. Look at them, listen to them … Let the thoughts that come to your mind take their course, like the birds of the sky that come and go.

Focus on the here and now … Forgetting everything else …

Now little by little we carry the consciousness in ourselves. Direct attention to your body. Note each part of the body that is in contact with the chair and the ground. Start at the top, feeling how the upper back touches the chair … and you go down … Walk your body, observe and notice all the sensations … down to the feet. Pay attention to what you notice about your body, forgetting everything else.

To finish, refocus on your breathing. Feel how the dry and fresh air enters … and how it leaves humid and warmer.

Bring awareness to your abdomen and notice how it rises and falls when you breathe. Feel how it rises when you breathe in and how it falls when you breathe out. 

Before finishing the exercise, think about the importance of focusing your attention on the here and now.

Audio of the exercises in the Emotional regulation environment 

Approximate duration: 22 minutes.

EXERCISE 1: Principles of Mindfulness – Introduction

Throughout the following exercise we will practice various Mindfulness exercises. For this we must know some of the essential elements related to the attitude towards the practice of mindfulness, mindfulness, which will be present during the following minutes. 

The first is not to judge. Mindfulness is cultivated by assuming the position of impartial witnesses of our own experience, being aware of the constant flow of judgments, of reactions to both internal and external experiences, in order to get out of them. It is important to realize this ability to judge. Just watch the coming and going of thoughts and evaluations. There is no need to act on them, block them or hold on. They are simply watched and released.  Remember: don’t judge. 

The second point is the beginner’s mind. It is the mental attitude of being willing to see things as if it were the first time and to stay open to new potentialities, to see the wealth of the present moment. Remember: beginner’s mind.

The last point is acceptance. Acceptance means seeing things as they are in the present. Let us leave the past and the future, let us focus on the present. And we are going to be receptive and open to what you feel, think and see, accepting it because it is here, in this moment. Remember: accept.

EXERCISE 2: Meditation in nature – Walk

Now pay attention to this natural landscape. Breathe in deeply, noticing how the air enters through the nose and you expel it through the mouth. Direct your attention to the landscape in front of you. Just look at it. 

As you walk, focus all your attention on where you are, where you are here and now. Observe the whole place and everything in it, let pass the evaluations, comparisons and opinions about what you perceive through the senses. Focus on what you see, hear and feel without analyzing it, or relating it to your personal tastes, objects or memories. Let yourself go along the route, observe your path.

Remember that you do not seek or expect anything specific from this practice. So focus only on perceiving the images and sounds at each moment. Look closely at the details of the landscape: the trees, the flowers, the animals … without interpreting or judging them. 

If you become distracted and lose your attention, nothing happens, observe what has captured your attention and focus again on experiencing the environment in which you find yourself. To do this, rely exclusively on your breathing, on the air entering your body slowly, filling your lungs … and leaving you very slowly, to focus again on the image of your landscape, in the environment in which you are here and now.

Let yourself be guided by the details of the landscape and take another conscious breath.

Be calm. Enjoy the scenery. Breathe consciously.

EXERCISE 3: Cascade of thoughts – Fire

Focus on your state, what you feel, what you think, what you notice. Visualize and focus your attention on the fire you are seeing, with the smoke diffusing upwards towards the sky. Now you are going to imagine that this fire is a way of seeing your thoughts. It symbolizes how your thoughts appear, how they reach your mind, and how they go: the smoke that rises in the heart of the fire that you observe and that dissipates upwards until it disappears is like the thoughts that appear in your consciousness and they flow in your mind until they disappear. This process occurs continuously in your mind. 

In these moments put all your attention beyond, behind the thoughts that form, observe the fire and the smoke, but notice that you are totally outside of it, you are an observer. At this moment become aware of the torrent of thoughts that appear that come to your mind and observe them as a spectator.

Whatever it is, whatever comes to your mind, take advantage to cultivate the state of full consciousness. Identify what has caught your attention. Pay attention to it without valuing it, Accept it because it is there. Use conscious breathing to regain attention when you realize that you have focused on a particular thought. Let the thoughts run their course, with the smoke. Continue to watch the fire, without thinking about it. Observe it without mentally entangling yourself in anything concrete. 

Now focus exclusively on your breathing for a few moments, focus only on it.

See the route taken as you move away from this landscape. Look at the elements of which it is composed from this new perspective. 

Focus on the sensations produced by looking at it. Pay attention to what you feel, what you perceive, what you notice … 

Remember these feelings. Now we are going to change the landscape, look at the changes that are taking place.

EXERCISE 4: Conscious observation and attention to sensations – Summer walk

Now we are going to walk through this desert while doing an exercise of conscious observation. You are going to look around you to locate yourself where you are in this new landscape. Start by focusing on something that you see around you … a cloud, a pyramid, a palm tree … Focus your attention and it will be totally absorbed by the object. Just watch it, focus on its shape, its color on the physical sensations you are noticing.

Try to focus on the present, here and now. Observe how your mind quickly breaks free of thoughts and focuses on this moment. Pay attention to how different it feels to be in the present moment, in a very conscious way. Mindful observation is a subtle but powerful form of meditation. Try it.

Now you are walking through the space you are in, this desert. Sunny landscape, hot day …, try to perceive all the sensations that occur in your body. It is important that during your walk through the desert you focus your eyes ahead. Focus on calm. With attention focused on the landscape, on your way. Walking. Don’t pretend to get anywhere, no need to hurry. Stay present with every step you take, aware of where you are at every moment. 

As you can see, you have a path to follow, a fixed path. Let the mind rest, let yourself go, focus on the road, look ahead, follow the route … You just have to focus on the path you are traveling. Remember that you are in the desert. You are walking in a warm place. You are not going anywhere, you are walking, moving forward. Nothing interesting is going to happen along the way. You just have to focus on what you are seeing. Let yourself go. If you get mentally entangled, you get distracted, lean on your breathing here and now, and continue with full attention to the elements of the landscape, the colors, the sensations … Remember: let yourself be carried away in the desert. You are calm, with your eyes straight ahead and your attention focused on the journey. You are not going anywhere in particular. Focus on what you see, on the sensations it produces. Feel the temperature of the environment you are in. Stay tuned for the sensations you perceive. Now you stop. 

You stand for a few moments feeling each and every one of the physical sensations that you identify. Your breathing, your heart rate, your muscle tone…

EXERCISE 5: Final gratitude exercise – Thank exercise

We mindfulness with a gratitude exercise. Look at what you can see from this point. Take a conscious breath and focus on three aspects of your life for which you feel especially grateful. Identify each of these aspects with the three elements that appear before you.

Remember: three things you feel especially happy about. Do not think of very extraordinary things, think of small things that are in your life and fill you with satisfaction. Mentally elaborate a phrase of thanks for each of the things you have identified. When you have thought each affirmation, take a conscious breath: when you breathe in, concentrate all the gratitude you have just thought, and when you breathe out, share your positive feelings with those close to you. Remember: inspire, focus all the gratitude you just thought. Exhale and share all your positive feelings with the people you love. 

Reflect the emotional sensations and thoughts that you experience, your lived experience. Be grateful for what you have. Be aware of the gifts that life offers you, day after day, of those things that you usually do not pay attention to. Be aware of the important things in life and lovingly share with others the joy that this day brings us.

Audio of the 360º environment Swimming with dolphins

Audio of the exercise

Hello and welcome to this guided meditation to tackle difficult times.

When we find ourselves in situations that overwhelm us, we usually react unconsciously.

Most times verbally, other times physically, and many times, we end on doing things we regret. 

We all find ourselves facing frustrating situations that generate anger, rage and fury inside of us. 

This situations push us to our limit. In this meditation we will learn how to stop the reaction of rage, screams, my hand…

All of this reactions, that will regret just of do it. You are going to experience how to do it your own way, follow the instructions, 

We all have a few seconds where the body warns us that we are reaching that limit. We need to be aware of the reactions of our body’s when facing anger and rage. 

Think about recent situation close to the day to day, where you have felt that limit, a moment of extreme rage, frustration, anger, 

where do you feel it in your body? 

How does that moment of reaching the limit presents it to you? 

How is your breathing in that moment of fire? 

Rate it from one to ten.

 If you are near to nine or ten you need to stop.

Keep some distance for each one,, 

Only if you keep some distance can you control yourself. 

Our brain is prepared for this kind of task, you just have to practice it. 

Think in something that usually produces rage in you, relieve the situation. 

When you feel that your body is changing as it gets near to eight, nine or ten the first thing to do is to stop. 

Distance yourself from a few seconds to recover the control. 

Where do you feel it in your body? 

You need a some space to yourself, and you need it urgently.

 Focus in your exhalations make that last a little longer.

Well you do that, enjoy the surroundings.

 Feel the peace that can base under the sea. 

Appreciate the freedom and agility of dolphin movement. 

Represent yourself in them words like harmony, patience, acceptance, compassion, kindness, peace, words that represent you, antidots, keywords to fight the moments of stress, frustration and rage that you feel from time to time. 

Focus your attention to your neck. 

Free him of all the burden he has received, bit by bit through the rhythm and the movement. 

Then, go  to your shoulders and arms, free them, bit by bit. 

Focus your attention on the chest and stomach, feel as it expands when you inhale and contracts when you exhale, slow, feel that sensation, feel how your body is breathing.

 If you need it, make the exhalation longer, focus your attention to your legs. 

Feel how the tension in your thighs melty, as you breathe deeply, your calves relax, bit by bit. 

At last, relax your feet and your toes, enjoy that sensation of relaxation, perceive how you are swimming inside your mind, the dolphins represent your positive thoughts.

They come and go from here to there.

You just watch them, watch them as they swim. 

When you inhale, focus your attention on how your lungs expand inside your body, how they filling with fresh air, remember that in some rage moments you need a moment of focus. 

Commit to stop for a few seconds every time you feel rage, frustration, stress, focus your attention to your body. 

Where do you feel it? 

Rate your disturbance level that nine or ten,

 it can be in the stomach, in your chest, in your throat, it doesn’t matter. 

Make your exhalation last longer, 

Allow the word you choose appear as the antidote for that situation to appear, acceptance, patience, forgiveness, compassion, love, whatever you consider to that moment, now, in this present time it doesn’t matter how bad you felt.

You know you can stop rate the reaction that disappearing  in your body.

Extend your exhalation and use the right word as an antidote to what makes you angry. 

Be aware of your degree of disturbance or relaxation level now. 

Be aware of the sensations of your body. 

Extend your exhalations  and use one emotion that you consider desirable to describe your feeling at this moment, give it your attention a few seconds. 

We know the importance that is knowing how to act without reacting, being able to choose the right action and learn how to stop the unconscious reactions, that is how add consciousness to your life.

If you find yourself plate with distracting thoughts, that’s fine, just let them come and go, distracted yourself it’s normal, just try to focus again on nature and the physical sensation of breathing. 

Enjoy the present with all of your attention.

Now, take one last breath, 

inhale from your nose, 

exhale from your mouth, 

You can release a sigh, feel the sensation and the emotion of comfort 

Now, take out your glasses and stay in silence for a few minutes, the experience is over.

Audio of the 360º environment The waves of the Atlantic ocean

Audio of the exercise

When the response to life’s stress becomes so intense that it begins to dominate us, we need tools to help us reduce the response to stress.

One of the most important and difficult is to stop feeding the stressful experience with sometimes obsessive and intrusive thoughts.

Our brain has the necessary resource to achieve this, since it has the ability to observe itself. 

You are going to practice with a resource of your brain that consists of simultaneously observing your body and your mind while thinking stops.

The human brain has this ability and when it achieves it, it experiences serenity, a feeling of well-being and tranquility.

This tour makes it easy for you to experience moments of mindfulness that you will remember and help you in your practice.

It is a basic exercise in mindfulness.

Through virtual reality you will experience how you feel when you are in full attention.

Become aware of your body, correct your posture so that your back is straight and your shoulders are relaxed.

Be aware that you are sitting. And make your chair rotate 360º.

Take a deep breath, observing what your breathing is like at this moment.

Do it a few times and try to lengthen your breath.

You enter a space of nature and observe how the impact of the experience activates the surprise emotion that keeps you in a vigilant, expectant attitude.

Become aware of that universal emotion, surprise. See what it’s like to feel.

Observe how you feel.

Observe how your mind intervenes now. You may notice something specific that you find pleasant or unpleasant.

Observe if your mind establishes evaluations, criticisms, judgments.

He does so in his attempt to orient himself.

Or you may just get carried away.

Observe your thoughts.

Sometimes sensations may appear. Feelings. Observe them.

Watch what your mind is doing.

Now see how your body feels.

Feel your breath.

Now you are in a 360 environment. You can go all the way and let your mind stop now somewhere from which you can calmly observe while perceiving your visual field.

I suggest you observe how your body feels while observing this natural environment through your glasses.

Everything you are seeing is where it needs to be.

You don’t need to classify or judge it.

It is what it is.

It is what it is.

From this privileged position, observe what you see, this nature that is in its natural order.

You don’t have to intervene in it.

Look at this piece of wholeness.

Balance between heaven and earth.

See how your body feels and how your mind feels when you just observe.

Experience what it feels like to be mindful.

If your mind takes you out of the experience through thoughts, feelings, memories.

Watch what it does.

See if he has a tendency toward judgment.

See if he has a tendency toward accepting the experience.

Watch

You are practicing your ability to observe.

Feel your body again.

Look at yourself.

See yourself as you observe through the glasses letting yourself be carried away by the experience.

Feel your body and mind again when you stop thinking.

Feel your body and mind again when you stop thinking.

And again.

Whenever you need it, train.

Every time the free spaces of judgment and thoughts are getting longer. And your body feels calm and your mind feels peaceful.

You are in mindfulness.

Keep watching.

This is how this experience is recorded in your memory so that you can use it whenever you need it.

You have learned to be mindful.

You are going to come out of the experience.

Be quiet for a few minutes.

Breath deeply.

And when you consider. 

Take off your glasses.

Audio of the 360º environment Deep roots

Audio of the exercise

I welcome you to this new virtual experience of encounter with nature

You are going to make a walk, sometimes you feel movement and in others, the image stops so that you can observe everything around you for a few minutes.

Sensations, feelings or thoughts may appear or not, let yourself go.

If you wish interrupt this experience, all you have to do is remove your glasses off at any time.

Breath deeply

Relax your shoulders

Here we go.

You are going to make a walk through a forest in the Canary Islands

We begin to taking attention to the breathing

Inhale

Exhale

Breathing is in itself the axis of our existence that allows us to know where our body is.

ByI inhale in, I calm my body

By I exhale in I smile

By inhaling I calm my body

And I expire I smile and I unify my mind and my body

Become aware of my breathing, I practice my entire attention, which is being aware of everything what is happening in and outside of me.

By I inhale in, I calm my body

By I exhale in I smile

Our emotional brain, the limbic cortex, releases what we think, or we feel, and our behaviors that many times are unconscious and have to do with our survival

The emotional brain houses our positive and negative experiences internal and external ones and especially what we have experienced in the effects and attachments of our world of relationship with others.

Everything thats sets our memory, our beliefs and our behavior.

You are now in a 360 environment in a forest full of ferns, trees and neverending life, visible and invisible which allows you to perceive a fragment of the all and the order of nature.

The union of earth, water and air that makes life self-regulating and recycling itself eternally

I’m going to ask you to place yourself in that center of your self

That you have undoubtedly experienced other times

From curiosity, from stability, letting judgment behind

Breathe

By I inhale in, I calm my body

By I exhale in I smile

By  inhale in, I calm my body

By exhale in I smile

In the mind of all humans we find a lack of attention.

Unconsciousness

Lack of knowledge and lack of empathy

And also curiosity

Compassion and generosity

Moments where we feel centered

Anchored

And we can relate to our deep I or spiritual part and that we usually feel in the center of our chest

We all experience painful feelings and destructive impulses that make difficulties in our lives.

The practice of entire attention teaches us to recognize them

To come out of them

Not to store emotional whirlwinds and to modulate our emotions

By I Inhale in, I calm my body

By I exhale it I smile

With your imagination bring the image of your mother

The authentic, the adoptive one or the one that was mother figure for you

And in the presence of her image remember everything you received from her

Her love, her joy, her caring, her wisdom

Everything good that I received from my mother I keep it in my heart

Everything negative, she gave me and maybe it hurt me or that I did not understand, that she came on a moment of unconsciousness, ignorance or lack of attention

I do not need it

I get it out of me

And here in front of this nature I give it to the earth to recycle it

Everything good that I received from my mother I keep it in my heart

Everything negative to me I give to the earth to recycle it

By I inhale in, I calm my body

By I exhale i smile

Now I brings the presence of my father

Everything  good and positive that I received from him, whether it was a lot or a little

Everything that was positive, what helped me, I keep it in my heart

Everything negative

The unconscious

Based on ignorance that made me suffer, 

I give it to the earth to recycle it

Everything positive I keep it in my heart

Everything negative I give it to the earth to recycle it

Now I bring the presence to my grandparents

The real ones maybe, and if you didn’t know them the adopted ones.

Those ones that plays that role for you

Everything good they gave me in my heart, I keep it.

Everything that was harmful I give it to the earth to recycle it

I now bring the image of friends, lovers and many others with shared life is

Those that appear now in your memory

Everything good I got from them

The supports, the joy the ear that listened to me, the everything that I got

I keep all of that in my heart

Everything negative, insults, the objections, the abandonment

Everything that hurt me I give to the earth for recycle it

Remembering that it was given to me in a moment of ignorance, of unconsciousness from there part

Everything positive I keep it in my heart

Everything negative I give it to the earth for it to recycle it

Now I bring the image of all my teachers, the ones that gave positive and negative for me

Everything good that I received from them I keep in my heart

Everything negative, insults, scorn, abandonment

Everything that hurt me I give to the earth for recycling

Remembering that it was given to me in a moment of ignorance, of unconsciousness on his part

I keep everything positive in my heart

All the negative I give it to the earth for it to recycle

Now I evoke the image of my teachers, both those who were positive and negative for me

Everything good that I received from them I keep in my heart

Everything negative I give it to the earth to recycle it

And finally I want to ask for forgiveness to all that for any reason or another I have hurt or offended

I ask for your forgiveness from the bottom of my heart because I did it in a moment of blindness or unconsciousness, of lack of understanding and lack of wisdom and compassion from my part.

All those negative aspects of me I give them to the earth so that it recycle them

Inhale

Exhale

Take all the attention back to your center, and from there send positive energy to all your body

To all cells

And to all the organs of your body

I radiate all of the energy to everyone has arounds me

To everyone suffers wishing peace and harmony to everyone

Expanding the energy also to everyone in the earth

Continue the walk until the end in silence, become aware of the walk made

The experience is ended

You have to go back to the room

Breath deeply and when you wish, you can take your glasses off 

Keep in silence for a few minutes to reflect.

Audio environments for children.

Audio of the Winter exercises 

EXERCISE 1: Winter introduction

Approximate duration: 4 min 30 seconds

Hello, I welcome you to this exercise where you will have fun in a magical setting. You are going to travel, think that it is going to be a special trip where you cannot go on foot, neither by car, nor by motorcycle, nor by plane… you will be sailing with your breath. You are going to “tranquilandia”.

We are going to do an exercise in which we will learn to be very attentive. As you see the landscape you will travel through you will see colors, shapes, you will hear sounds, and I would like you to pay a lot of attention, I want you to listen to your breath while you travel, shall we start?

I want you to pay attention to this breathing exercise. I want you to feel, and you can notice how your back is stuck as if you had put glue between your back and the back of your chair. Remember that for the exercise to be successful you have to keep your back straight.

Is it alright if we start? Let’s start by counting out loud 1…, 2…, 3… (pause) Now we will join these three numbers with the breaths, let’s start…

Let’s take a deep breath: First put your hand on your belly and notice how it goes up and down while you breathe. Imagine as if you had to inflate a balloon, Take air through your nose with all the force you have, taking all the fresh air from the room where you are …, now release the hot air, from inside your body, through the mouth, this air you no longer need. When you finish picking up and releasing the air, count 1.

Now we will focus on the sound heard, the wind, the trees, your breathing … and we will give all our attention to that sound. We will notice that the more we concentrate on listening, the more attentive we will be, it is like a super power !!!. You will see that the volume sounds very high, but calm, when you pass the time it will go down until it is completely silent. Keep it up as you look and explore the landscape you are in right now.

We continue again, breathe in the fresh air through your nose from the environment where we are now, with all the force until no more air fits you and … we hold it inside and … we release it through the mouth, we count 2, we return from new and last time, we catch all the fresh air through the nose that is going to renew us and give strength to our body, we release it and expel it through the mouth, you have already used it and you no longer need it, we count 3.

I want you to remember this exercise and that during the trip that we make you are taking the breaths that we have made here and now, if you get lost or forget about it, don’t worry when you realize you start to breathe deeply again. 

Do we start our ATTENTION journey?

EXERCISE 2: Home

Approximate duration: 4 minutes

We are going to start our Attention trip, for this, remember what I have explained to you, take a deep breath, so that you can focus and learn on this trip with much more attention. I want you to not miss a single detail, it is a magical trip in which you have to go looking aaaaaall what you see and then tell me what you liked the most.

We start with a deep breath, taking a deep breath before continuing. Remember that we have to do it naturally and try to listen to your breathing and how the sounds of your environment sound, with a lot of attention and as if we were really there.

If you get confused and your head starts to spin nothing happens, very interesting things can happen to us at any time, but now, we have to focus on one thing, traveling with ATTENTION. Think that if you succeed it is a kind of superpower that we can develop little by little with practice. Refocus on the sound.

Remember that I do not force you to anything, but simply following the sound, 41 let your head follow the sound naturally and calmly. We will notice that the sound gradually fades … until it finally disappears.

EXERCISE 3: Lighthouse

Approximate duration: 1 minute 30 seconds

We will take a deep breath before continuing.

Little by little we will begin to hear another sound, remember that you have to focus on that soft, delicate, and calm sound, relaxing in the sound, but without letting your head get distracted. If many thoughts come to you, don’t listen to them, let them go, nothing happens. Finally, the sound will gradually loosen … You can !!!

We come to the final part of the exercise, focus on the sound while you contemplate the movement of the dawn, it is those colored lights that appear in the sky You have done very well, you have managed to forget many thoughts that distract you, congratulations !!!

EXERCISE 4: End of winter 

Approximate duration: 1 minute 50 seconds

finish the ATTENTION exercise as we have started but this time we will do 5 deep breaths in the way I have taught you, remember 5 times as the 5 fingers of your hand. Once you finish the 5 times, focus on how little by little the sound and the image fade away. When the screen turns off, stay a while with your eyes closed if you want …

Ah! And before I forget, today and this week you are going to test what we have practiced and learned. I want you to ask your parents, siblings or family to put you a song, the one you like the most, close your eyes and continue listening to the song. I want you to hear everything, noise, tone, timbre, lyrics of the song, when I finish I want you to remember how many instruments have you listened to? What did the lyrics of the song say? Why have you chosen this song which is what you like most about it? Very well, you have done great !!! When you’re ready, take off your glasses and slowly open your eyes.

Audio of the Autumn exercises

EXERCISE 1: Autumn introduction 

Approximate duration: 4 minutes 30 seconds

Hello, I welcome you to this exercise where you will have fun in a magical setting. You are going to travel, think that it is going to be a special trip where you cannot go on foot, neither by car, nor by motorcycle, nor by plane… you will be sailing with your breath. You will go to “tranquilandia” where you will learn to be calm, relax and use your joy.

You are going to do an exercise in which you will learn to feel pleasant emotions. Do you know what it is to be happy and happy? I want to see how you feel while doing a breathing exercise. I want you to sit down, and make your back stick as if glue had been put between your back and the back of your chair. Remember that for the exercise to be successful you have to keep your back straight.

Is it alright if we start? You are going to start counting to 3, 1 …, 2 …, 3 … Now you will join these three numbers with your breaths, you will see how you breathe … You will breathe deeply, I explain, take air through your nose with all the force you have , taking all the fresh air from the room where you are, when you are taking aaaaaall the air and expels it and release through the mouth the hot air inside your body that you do not need, count 1, to do the breath well, put your hand on top of the belly and notice how it goes up and down. Now you will focus on the sound being heard and give your full attention to that sound. You will notice that the more you concentrate on listening, the more attention you pay, it is like a super power!

You will see that the volume of your breathing first sounds very high, but do not worry, when you hang out it will go down until it is completely silent. Keep it up as you look and explore the landscape you are in right now.

Keep going again, breathe in the fresh air through your nose with all the force until it doesn’t fit anymore and we hold it inside and release it through our mouth, count 2, we come back again and last time, collect all the fresh air through your nose that is going to renew and strengthen your body 43 and release and expel it through your mouth, which you have already used and no longer need, says 3.

I want you to remember this exercise and that during the trip we take you take your breaths, if you get lost or forget about it, don’t worry when you realize you start to breathe deeply again.

Do you want to start the JOY trip?

Let’s start … Let’s see … Have you ever felt angry about a situation that has caused you anger, sadness … want to scream? For example, you have been punished, or you have not got a good grade, they have bought you something you did not want, or something is happening to you that you do not want and you want to erase it …

Now you are going to travel in a world that there is nothing unpleasant, that you can dream that everything is possible, that sadness and rage, today they are not going to travel with us, there are only pleasant things like joy, laughter, or calm

EXERCISE 2: Grinder 

Approximate duration: 2 min 20 seconds

¿ Shall we start the journey then?

Remember to start with a deep breath to charge energy for the trip, as if you were putting gasoline on your ship. If you get confused and your head starts to spin nothing happens, very interesting things can happen to you at any time, but now, you have to focus on one thing, traveling with JOY. Think that if you succeed it is a kind of superpower that you can develop little by little with practice. Refocus on the sound.

Remember that I do not force you to anything, but simply follow the sound, let your head attend to the sound in a natural and calm way. Note that the sound gradually fades away … until it finally disappears. 

Then you are going to imagine all the good people in your life (your family, friends, teachers, pets …) that surely you have many and many. Which ones are good to you, do they love you and prove it to you? Which ones protect you and which ones do you have a good time with? It is very easy, you will see !!!

Now you are going to look at the grinder in front of you, this grinder has the ability to make bigger and stronger those pleasant feelings that you have and are thinking and you can make them go all over the world. You are going to look at it carefully, feeling that with each turn it makes, those good feelings you have grow little by little. Even if you want, you are going to send someone you want some positive feeling, who do you want? Come on, you are doing very well !!!

EXERCISE 3: Projection of joy 

Approximate duration: 2 minutes 20 seconds

Take a deep breath before continuing. Now that you have experienced this magnificent sensation a little, you will do the same with the people with whom you have perhaps had a fight or are afraid of, whether they are your friends, your teachers, someone from your family, or someone you have known. Even if you have argued because what was happening to you was unfair, such as a punishment, a change of plans or a situation that you are experiencing is very unfair.

Now imagine the person you want. Imagine that you have that person in front of you and that you have had a problem with them. You feel bad …, pay attention to what you notice in the body when you think of this person and now imagine him in front of you, what do you notice in your body? And what do you feel? You are going to imagine yourself with this person and you are going to feel that you are very happy, radiant, with a lot of joy. Try to imagine and project this positive feeling now, it is great !, it is like a super power, in which you decide when and how you want to see things, and that shows and communicates what you feel, that’s why now you will project the same joy and love that you feel towards your loved ones Very well done, that’s how it is done !!!

EXERCISE 4: End of autumn 

Approximate duration: 4 minutes 10 seconds

Take a deep breath before continuing. 

You have reached the final part of the exercise, you are in an elevated area and you can see a sunset that inspires pleasant sensations in your interior. Take advantage of this moment, you can only live it here and now, with your super power you decide what to feel and who to imagine in your life, imagine many happy people, smiling, a moment without sadness. Remember a time when someone helped you. People help and love each other as they are, without exception, an ideal and magical moment and now that you are in it. Use the super power to the fullest now, feel as if all that energy of JOY envelops everything you know, not only people but also plants and animals, everything is wrapped in that magical feeling of joy and love … Very well done, congratulations !!

You will finish the JOY exercise, just as you started but this time we will take 5 deep breaths in the way I have taught you, remember 5 times as the 5 fingers of your hand. Once you finish the 5 times, focus on how little by little the sound and the image fade away. When the screen turns off, stay a moment with your eyes closed if you want …

I propose that today you give three very strong hugs to three people you want, and accompanied by “I love you very much” or “Thank you”, I also suggest that you write to them on a piece of paper or draw a picture to show them how much you love them and that you put it on them, without them noticing, in your pocket, your bag, under your pillow … let your imagination flow. When you’re ready and you’ve made your plan … take off your glasses and we’re done with the exercise.  

Audio of the Summer exercises

EXERCISE 1: Summer introduction 

Approximate duration: 4 minutes

Hello, I welcome you to this exercise where you will have fun in a magical setting. You are going to travel, think that it is going to be a special trip where you cannot go on foot, neither by car, nor by motorcycle, nor by plane… you will be sailing with your breath. You will go to “tranquilandia” where you will learn to be calm, relax and use your ENERGY.

You are going to do an exercise in which you will learn to feel pleasant emotions. Do you know what it is to be energized? I want to see how you feel while doing a breathing exercise. I want you to sit down, and make your back stick as if glue had been put between your back and the back of your chair. Remember that in order for the exercise to work out, you have to keep your back straight.

Is that okay if we start? You are going to start counting to 3, 1 …, 2 …, 3 … Now these three numbers you will unite with the breaths, you will see how you breathe … You will breathe deeply, I explain, take air through your nose with all the force you have , taking all the fresh air from the room where you are, when you are taking aaaaaall the air and expels it and release through the mouth the hot air inside your body that you do not need, count 1, to do the breath well, put your hand on top of the belly and notice how it goes up and down. Now we will focus on the sound being heard and give our full attention to that sound. You will notice that the more you concentrate on listening, the more attention you pay and the more energy you have, it is like a super power!

You will see that the volume sounds very high, but calm, when you pass the time it will go down until it is completely silent. Keep it up as you look and explore the landscape you are in right now.

Go on again, you breathe in the fresh air through your nose with all the force until it doesn’t fit anymore and you hold it inside and release it through your mouth, count 2, come back again and last time, catch all the fresh air through the nose that is going to renew you and give strength to your body and release it and expel it through your mouth, the one that you have already used and you no longer need, you count 3.

Very well !!! Go on like this for a while while you look and explore the landscape where you are right now.

I want you to remember this exercise and that during the trip you take you take your breaths, if you get lost or forget about it, don’t worry when you realize you start to breathe again deeply.

Do we start our ENERGY journey?

EXERCISE 2: Magical Items

Approximate duration: 2 minutes 30 seconds

Remember to start with a deep breath to charge energy for the trip, as if you were charging your ship with batteries. See where you are now, the plants, the animals, the sound that surrounds us … If you get confused and your head starts to spin and nothing happens, nothing very interesting can happen to you at any time, but now, you have to focus on one thing, traveling with ENERGY. Think that if you succeed it is a kind of superpower that you can develop little by little with practice. Refocus on the sound.

Remember that I do not force you to anything, just by following the sound, let your head follow the sound naturally and calmly. You will notice that the sound gradually fades away … until it finally disappears.

The place where you are NOW has a very good thing, and that is that it is full of energy! As you know there is good and positive energy on the one hand and there is also bad and negative energy on the other. Well this place where you are is made to absorb and eliminate negative energy, don’t you think it’s cool?

If you look closely, there are things that float and that move, these objects collect and absorb a lot of energy to be able to float and by looking at them carefully you can fill yourself with their positive energy. This energy is in the trees, in the flowers, in the air, in the water, in all of nature and now you have it all for yourself directly. YOU’RE GOING TO TRY, DO YOU THINK? Now, you are going to look at the magic object that you like the most in your environment, when you stare at it, an energy force comes out that targets you and recharges you with its magical energy, its vitality and its strength. How cool, enjoy !!!

EXERCISE 3: Recharging energy

Approximate duration: 3 minutes 10 seconds

Take a deep breath before continuing. When you finish I want you to feel the strength and energy that is NOW inside you, you will feel 48 that you have more heat and the energy of the sun that charges you and fills you with energy… Look around you calmly and notice everything that is there.

If you get confused and your head starts to spin and get distracted nothing happens, you don’t have to worry, it’s normal, but you have to be alert because you lose energy when that happens.

For example, when we put a new battery in a toy it is positively charged, that means that it will last a long time, on the other hand, if it does not work, the charge becomes negative, it no longer works. Well, after the example, you are going to return to the exercise, you are going to refocus on the magical object that is closest to you. Breathe, paying attention to how you do it, now you can ask yourself, is my energy charged positively or negatively?

EXERCISE 4: End of summer

Approximate duration: 2 minutes 10 seconds

Take a deep breath before continuing. You are reaching the ruins of a very powerful ancient civilization, they are abandoned, but powerful jets of energy still come out of them, just by being close to this civilization, it gives us more life and more strength. Here we are safe, take a deep breath and look at the last magical object … as you can see, jets of energy come out of all the ruins, you feel very good, very free and light, as if you were about to fly, with the batteries full, with a lot of vitality. Enjoy this moment !!!! You have done great, very well done !!

Finish the ENERGY exercise, just as you started but this time you will take 5 deep breaths in the way I have taught you, remember 5 times as the 5 fingers of your hand. Once you finish the 5 times, focus on how little by little the sound and the image fade away. When the screen turns off, stay a while with your eyes closed if you want …

During the day today, identify in the morning, in the afternoon and at night how you and the people in your house and your surroundings are, and you see telling them how you see them and how you see yourself. For example, maybe you notice that in the morning you have a positive charge, but at night you have a negative charge because you feel tired … You can tell your parents what their burden is, your friends, your teachers, etc …

Audio of the Spring exercises

EXERCISE 1: Introduction Spring

Approximate duration: 4 minutes

Hello, I welcome you to this exercise where you will have fun in a magical setting. You are going to travel, think that it is going to be a special trip where you cannot go on foot, neither by car, nor by motorcycle, nor by plane… you will be sailing with your breath. You will go to “tranquilandia” where you will learn to be calm and RELAX.

You are going to do an exercise in which you will learn to feel the sensation of relaxation in your head and in your body. Do you know what it is to be relaxed? I want to see how you feel while doing a breathing exercise.

I want you to sit down, and make your back stick as if glue had been put between your back and the back of your chair. Remember that for the exercise to be successful you have to keep your back straight.

Is it alright if we start? You are going to start counting to 3, 1 …, 2 …, 3 … Now these three numbers you will unite with the breaths, you will see how you breathe … You will breathe deeply, I explain, take air through your nose with all the force you have , taking all the fresh air from the room where you are, when you are taking aaaaaall the air and expels it and release through the mouth the hot air inside your body that you do not need, count 1, to do the breath well, put your hand on top of the belly and notice how it goes up and down. Now we will focus on the sound being heard and give our full attention to that sound. You will notice that the more you concentrate on listening, the more attention you pay and the more energy you have, it is like a super power!

You will see that the volume sounds very high, but calm, when you pass the time it will go down until it is completely silent. Keep it up as you look and explore the landscape you are in right now.

Go on again, you breathe in the fresh air through your nose with all the force until it doesn’t fit anymore and you hold it inside and release it through your mouth, count 2, come back again and last time, take in all the fresh air through the nose that is going to renew you and give strength to your body and release it and expel it through your mouth, the one you have already used and you no longer need, you count 3.

Very welcome !!! Keep it up for a while as you look and explore the landscape where you are right now. I want you to remember this exercise and that during the trip we take you take your breaths, if you get lost or forget about it, don’t worry when you realize you start to breathe deeply again.

Shall we start our RELAX journey?

Keep it up for a while as you look at the landscape you are in right now, it is a place where there are no worries or anything that makes you feel bad.

EXERCISE 2: River

Approximate duration: 1 minute 40 seconds

Take a deep breath before continuing. When you finish I want you to feel relaxed.

Take a deep breath before continuing. If you get confused and your head starts to spin and get distracted nothing happens, we don’t have to worry, very interesting things can happen to us at any time, but now, you have to focus on one thing, to travel with relaxation, we have We need to rest easy and refocus our attention on our RELAX journey. Think that if you succeed it is a kind of superpower that we can develop little by little with practice. Refocus on the sound.

Watch the river and the movement of the water for a while, imagine that everything that worries you or that you do not like and goes downriver. Continue this exercise and at the same time breathe slowly and deeply, paying attention to how you are breathing. Little by little you realize that you are becoming more relaxed and calm, with a very nice and pleasant feeling.

Great, keep it up!!!!

EXERCISE 3: Energy Light

Approximate duration: 1 minute 40 seconds

Take a deep breath before continuing. Observe where you are right now, the plants, the animals, the sound that surrounds us … Breathe normally and calmly … Now pay attention to your body, and imagine that you release an energy light, a light that has appeared above you. This kind of light has the power to make everything that worries us or makes you feel bad disappear, making us stay very calm and relaxed, a very good and pleasant feeling. This light begins to descend little by little, first through the head, then through the shoulders, then through the back and chest, the belly, following the hip, the legs and finally ending with the feet. Remember, take a deep breath, enjoy the moment … you are very comfortable and without any tension …

EXERCISE 4: Spring End

Approximate duration: 2 minutes

Take a deep breath before continuing. You are reaching the most relaxed area of ​​this landscape, where you can see and observe everything around you, from a higher part, where there are no nerves or tension, and you move it and imagine it as if it were there below you, It does not affect you because you are in a very high part, where it can not bother you or affect you at all. Enjoy this moment, notice how your body is so light that you can float and how your breathing is deeper and calmer. Congratulations, you have done very well !!!!!

We will finish the RELAX exercise, as we have started but this time we will do 5 deep breaths in the way I have taught you, remember 5 times as the 5 fingers of your hand. Once you finish the 5 times, focus on how little by little the sound and the image fade away. When the screen turns off, stay a while with your eyes closed if you want …

I want you to close your eyes today and during the week and remember the exercise if you feel unwell or think you need it.

When you are about to take off, little by little, the Virtual Reality glasses.

[ DISCLAIMER: This document has been automatically translated using Google Translate. ]

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Mindfulness – Bibliography

Bibliography 


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  • Richard, D. & Lauterbach, D. (2007). Handbook of exposure therapies. San Diego, CA: Elsevier.
  • Shapiro, S. L., Carlson, L. E., Astin, J. A. & Freedman, B. (2006). Mechanisms of Mindfulness. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(3), 373- 386. Recuperado de: http://www.mindfulnessstudies.com/wp-content/ uploads/2014/01/2-Shapiro-M-echanismsOfMindfulness2006.pdf
  • Spira, J.L., Pyne, J.M., Wiederhold, B., Wiederhold, M., Graap, K. & Rizzo, A. (2006). Virtual reality and other experiential therapies for combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. Primary Psychiatry, 13(3), 58-64. Recuperado de: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/James_Spira/publication/2283876 36_Virtual_reality_and_other_experiential_therapies_for_combatrelated_posttraumatic_stress_disorder/links/00463518c81d4ac9d10000 00.pdf
  • Vøllestad, J., Sivertsen, B. y Nielsen, G.H. (2011). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for patients with anxiety disorders: Evaluation in a randomized controlled trial. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 49(4), 281-288. Recuperado de: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/ pii/S0005796711000246
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Mindfulness – Recommendations

Recommendations for use

Mindfulness environments can be used in a variety of contexts. You, as the healthcare professional, decide how to use and apply this technique through the Virtual Reality tool. 

To increase the sense of immersion in the patient, you can ask your patient to pay attention to their surroundings and sounds.

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Mindfulness – Intervention Protocol

Intervention proposal

“All the information contained in this section is for guidance only. Psious environments are  therapy supporting tools that must be used by the healthcare professional within an evaluation and intervention process designed according to the characteristics and needs of the user. 

Also remember that you have the General Clinical Guide in which you have more information on how to adapt psychological intervention techniques (exposure, systematic desensitization, cognitive restructuring, chip economy…) to Psious environments.”

Mindfulness for adults

All the information contained in this section is for guidance only. Psious environments are therapeutic tools that must be used by the healthcare professional within a process of evaluation and intervention designed according to the characteristics and needs of the user.

Also remember that you have the General Clinical Guide in which you have more information on how to adapt psychological intervention techniques (exposure, systematic desensitization, cognitive restructuring, mindfulness…) to Psious environments.

An orientation protocol is proposed below on how to apply mindfulness through VR. This protocol includes psychoeducation and written instructions on how to apply mindfulness to daily life and its duration is eight weeks with a weekly session.

SESSION 1 
  • The patient is offered information about the exercises he is going to perform, and is informed about the benefits of its practice.
  • Brief introduction to Mindfulness.
  • The proven effectiveness of Mindfulness through VR is explained.
Recommended protocol for the first session
  • Perform the virtual tour of the Conscious Walk environment so that the patient becomes familiar with the tool, only until the first exercise.
  • Perform the diaphragmatic breathing exercise or progressive muscle relaxation in a virtual environment of relaxation.
  • Discuss with the patient how they felt during the exercise and after it.

HOMEWORK

  • Mindfulness of routine activity.
SESSION 2
  • Perform the virtual tour of the Conscious Walk until completing the first two exercises.
  • Practice of diaphragmatic breathing or progressive muscle relaxation in a virtual environment of relaxation.
  • Discuss with the patient how they felt during the exercise and after it.
  • Body exploration (body scan).

HOMEWORK

  • It is recommended that the patients write down on the dossier how they have felt before and after performing the exercises (self-registration of relaxation/meditation), in order to discuss them with the   healthcare professional in the next session.
  • Put into practice the Mindfulness technique daily
SESSION 3
  • Perform the complete virtual tour of Conscious Walk (using the stop option whenever is necessary).
  • Practice of diaphragmatic breathing or progressive muscle relaxation in a virtual environment of relaxation.
  • Discuss with the patient how they felt during the exercise and after it
  • Body exploration (body scan).
  • Discuss the relaxation/meditation self-registration chart with the patient in order to solve any difficulties that may arise when practicing the exercises.

HOMEWORK

  • It is recommended that the patients write down on the dossier how they have felt before and after performing the exercises (self-registration of relaxation/meditation), in order to discuss them with the   healthcare professional in the next session.
  • Perform mindfulness exercises daily.
SESSION 4 
  • Perform the partial virtual tour of the Spring Summer environment only until Spring is completed.
  • Practice of diaphragmatic breathing or progressive muscle relaxation in a virtual environment of Relaxation.
  • Discuss with the patient how they felt during the exercise and after it.
  • Body exploration (body scan). 
  • Discuss the relaxation/meditation self-registration with the patient in order to solve any difficulties that may arise when practicing the exercises.

HOMEWORK

  • It is recommended that the patients write down on the dossier how they have felt before and after performing the exercises (self-registration of relaxation/meditation), in order to discuss them with the   healthcare professional in the next session.
  • Perform mindfulness and relaxation exercises daily.
SESSION 5  
  • Perform the complete virtual tour of Spring Summer.
  • Practice of diaphragmatic breathing or progressive muscle relaxation in a virtual environment of Relaxation.
  • Discuss with the patient how they felt during the exercise and after it.
  • Body exploration (body scan).
  • Discuss with the patient the self-registration of relaxation/meditation in order to solve any difficulties that may arise when practicing the exercises.

HOMEWORK

  • It is recommended that the patients write down on the dossier how they have felt before and after performing the exercises (self-registration of relaxation/meditation), in order to discuss them with the   healthcare professional in the next session.
  • Perform mindfulness and relaxation exercises daily.
SESSION 6  
  • Perform the mindfulness exercise in the relaxation environment Under the sea guided by the healthcare professional.  
  • Practice of diaphragmatic breathing or progressive muscle relaxation in the same environment.
  • Discuss with the patient how they felt during the exercise and after it.
  • Body exploration (body scan).
  • Discuss with the patient the self-registration of relaxation/meditation in order to solve any difficulties that may arise when practicing the exercises. 

HOMEWORK

  • It is recommended that the patients write down on the dossier how they have felt before and after performing the exercises (self-registration of relaxation/meditation), in order to discuss them with the   healthcare professional in the next session.
  • Perform mindfulness and relaxation exercises daily.
SESSION 7  
  • Perform the exercise of mindfulness in the environment of relaxation Under the Sea (the patient alone, without the help of the healthcare professional).
  • Practice of diaphragmatic breathing or progressive muscle relaxation in the same environment.
  • Discuss with the patient how they felt during the exercise and after it.
  • Body exploration (body scan).
  • Discuss with the patient the self-registration of relaxation/meditation in order to solve any difficulties that may arise when practicing the exercises.

HOMEWORK

  • It is recommended that the patients write down on the dossier how they have felt before and after performing the exercises (self-registration of relaxation/meditation), in order to discuss them with the   healthcare professional in the next session.
  • Perform mindfulness and relaxation exercises daily.
SESSION 8  
  • Body exploration (body scan).
  • The initiation into mindfulness is concluded: reflections on the practice, conclusions, how to apply what was learned into daily life.
  • The therapeutic process is evaluated and future relaxation and meditation tasks are programmed.

Mindfulness for children

Proposal of psychological intervention for children based on Mindfulness and Virtual Reality.

Mindfulness can be used as a tool in the intervention for the treatment of different difficulties linked to mental health or to improve abilities and capacities in individuals with no psychopathology. Currently, there is still little empirical validity about the use of Mindfulness in children and adolescents. According to Zoogman et al (2015), “mindfulness seems to be a promising intervention modality for young people. Although to date most of the studies on mindfulness with young people generally involve healthy participants recruited in schools, the findings of this metaanalysis suggest that future research could focus on young people in clinical settings and on the symptoms of psychopathology”. Because of all of this, it must be the  healthcare professional who decides how to apply the mindfulness technique through the tool that constitutes virtual reality (VR). We recommend the decision process to be carried out according to the characteristics of each patient and the therapeutic objective established from the evaluation. 

In what follows, there is an illustrative protocol about how to apply mindfulness through VR in minors. This protocol includes each of the VR environments, with their pertinent therapeutic objectives and the considerations to be taken into account before using them. A closed intervention protocol has not been established, thus leaving the selection, the order of presentation, number of repetitions, etc. of each one of the possible mindfulness activities applied by VR in children from 6 to 12 years old in the hands of the health worker.

Description of treatment sessions 
Intervention general dynamic
  • Information is offered to the patient about the exercises they are going to perform and about the benefits of their practice. Each activity has specific objectives; it is advisable to explain them to the patient before performing them.
  • Perform participant modeling of abdominal breathing exercises (see audios in section 8 of the manual), prior to launching the setting (especially in the first sessions). In the following ones, only a brief reminder will be necessary.
  • At the beginning of the intervention, in order to familiarize the child with the virtual environment, it is recommended to activate this environment (playing the general viewing window, without activating any event yet) so that the child can explore freely and observe what is around (in this case, he will appear at the beginning of the Winter scenario). This will favor that he can ask us questions, that we ask what he sees, how he feels, etc. Once this part of the environment has been explored, the desired event will be activated according to the therapeutic objective. In the beginning, it is recommended that the sessions be initiated by the introductory activity of the station intended to work on and that the desired exercise (event) of the corresponding station is subsequently performed (activated). For example, starting with the Winter introduction and then moving on to the House or Lighthouse activity, without having to follow a chronological order.
  • Use the stated objectives as a reference and remember that the same activity can be repeated several times to favor training.
  • Finish activities with the breathing exercise and with the programming of homework, by means of some example and/or preparation of activity.
WINTER ENVIRONMENT ATTENTION EXERCISES – ATTENTION FOCUSING
ObjectivePrevious preparation 
Winter introductionFocus on the breath and sounds of the environment Modeling abdominal breathing. Introduction to attention, what it is, how we use it, etc. 
HousePay visual and auditory attention to the environment, divert attention from thoughts and direct it towards the activity:
Visual: attention to the smoke of the house.
Auditory: attention to sound (especially music and wind).
Tell the patient that after the exercise he will talk about what he has seen (smoke from the house, stars, snow, animals…).
LighthouseChanging the focus of attention from one sound to another: from the music to the sound “little sparkles” effect.  
Change of the focus of attention from a sound to an image (the aurora borealis).
Indicate that there will be different sounds and that he has to pay attention and detect the changes!
Winter endFive cycles of abdominal breathing. 
Preparation of activities for home
Prepare a song to listen to with the patient to train in consultation what is proposed to do with him during the week: listen to a song and change the focus of attention from instruments, to notes, to the lyrics of the song, etc. Work after the VR session.
AUTUMN ENVIRONMENT EXERCISES OF JOY – GENERATION OF NICE EMOTIONS
ObjectivePrevious preparation 
Autumn introduction Focus on the breath and sounds of the environment.Having talked with the child about a pleasant memory that happened with someone close to them, parents, a friend, grandparents …
PinwheelFocus attention on the sound and movement of the pinwheel, as well as on the “memory” of the loved ones the child has in their life. Activate, manage and amplify pleasant emotions.  Having talked with the child about a pleasant memory that happened with someone close, parents, a friend, grandparents …
Projection of joy Focus attention on physical discomfort as a result of emotional distress caused by a discussion, a problem with a family member or partner, etc. Train the ability to generate pleasant emotions in relation to an unpleasant situation. Avoid/manage the appearance of aggressive thoughts towards that person.Having talked with the child about some unpleasant memory that happened recently with someone close to him (parents, friends, grandparents…).
Autumn endGeneration of pleasant emotions through the memory of lived situations in which he has felt joy, affection
Five cycles of abdominal breathing. 
Preparation of activities for home.
Talk about some pleasant past experience or about one that the patient would like to live, in which he has laughed out loud, there have been affectionate hugs…
At the end of the VR session, prepare one or several notes with secret messages for family, friends or any other loved one.
SUMMER ENVIRONMENT EXERCISES OF ENERGY – IDENTIFICATION AND MANAGEMENT OF EMOTIONAL STATES
ObjectivePrevious preparation 
Summer introduction Focus on the breath and sounds of the environment.Modeling abdominal breathing. Introduction to what are the emotional states.
Magical objectsAttention focus. Imagery and visualization to favor activation. Work control of thoracic and clavicular breathing to promote activation. Choose, with the child, a superhero position that he will put into practice in order to “recharge energy” within the VR environment. 
Recharge energyIdentification of emotional states (positive and negative energy) Talk with the child about the emotional states, about the fact that us feeling one way or another makes us feel “strong” or “weak”, with or without “energy” (e.g.: “Joy loads us the batteries…, sadness unloads us … “). Play with nonverbal behavior to reflect postures with energy and without energy
Summer end Detection of own and other’s emotional states (parents, siblings, teachers…).
Five cycles of abdominal breathing. 
Preparation of activities for home.
Talking about how being in certain places makes us feel good, (e.g.: “In which places do you feel very good?”; “What things, objects, activities of those sites help you to charge the batteries”?; “Look at the surroundings, at the ruins and imagine how the energy flows towards you and loads your batteries …”).
Work on what kind of bodily sensations tell us that we are “charged” or “discharged” of energy. Help the child to recognize them.
SPRING ENVIRONMENT EXERCISES OF RELAXATION – CONTROL OF ACTIVATION
ObjectivePrevious preparation  
Spring introductionFocus on the breath and sounds of the environment Modeling abdominal breathing. Introduction to what it is to relax …
RiverManagement of emotional cognitive discomfort. Let go of unpleasant thoughts.Talk about thoughts and how they may be related to the emotional state. Explain how the management of thoughts can help regulate emotions.
Light of energyVisualization and muscle relaxation exercise. Muscle relaxation modeling. Make some kind of body screening by imagery-visualization (imagine a “light” that runs through the body) to detect the discomfort and “letting it go”.
Spring end Promote a state of relaxation through autogenous auto instructions of relaxation, height, and lightness… 
Five cycles of abdominal breathing. 
Preparation of activities for home. 
Discuss how we can generate sensations of heat, lightness, heaviness, etc., in our own body. For example, do an exercise (modeling) of how your hand can become light as a feather (autogenic training).

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Mindfulness and Virtual Reality

Mindfulness
and virtual reality


Mindfulness is defined as the consciousness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and without being critical, to the development of the moment-by-moment experience (Kabat-Zinn, 2003, cited in Boettcher et al., 2014). However, it is more than a type of meditation, since it is considered a state of consciousness by nature (Shapiro, Carlson, Astin & Freedman, 2006) that involves consciously paying attention to the personal experience of “moment by moment”.

Through the use of meditation practices (both formal and informal), in combination with components of other therapies such as the cognitive behavioral intervention with mindfulness aims to help patients become more aware of problematic patterns of thinking, feelings, and action. In addition, it helps them develop a better acceptance relationship with their unwanted internal experiences (Morgan, Danitz, Roemer and Orsillo, 2016).

The concept of Mindfulness is essentially transdiagnostic (Boettcher et al., 2014), therefore, its use in the field of psychological therapy is justified from a broad theoretical framework in which it is considered that individuals with mental disorders share behavioral processes and specific cognitive factors that contribute to the development and maintenance of said disorders (Barlow et al., 2004 and Mansell et al., 2009, cited in Boettcher et al., 2014). These are processes such as selective attention both internal and external, avoidance of attention, interpretation biases, recurrent negative thoughts and avoidance and safety behaviors (Harvey, Watkins, Mansell, & Shafran, 2004, cited in Boettcher et al., 2014). Therefore, through the practice of Mindfulness it is not intended to treat specific aspects of a specific disorder, but to treat certain aspects common to different disorders.