Category Archives: Mindfulness

Gratitude

Once a year, go somewhere you’ve never been before. – Dalai Lama

And who knows, a new tradition may greet you. – Modern Mind MD

This year I embarked on 2 new career journeys- this very intimate private practice, Modern Mind Women’s Health, and a medical travel assignment to Billings, Montana. My heart is warmed by all the new traditions of care and caregiving, integrated mind-body measures for health, wellness, & healing and new relationships that have emerged.

This Thanksgiving was spent with my family visiting me at my locums practice in Billings, Montana. The nearby mountain town of Red Lodge was the venue for our homemade meal, and my younger daughter Amelia, our annual Thanksgiving chef, created a new tradition of Thanksgiving brunch charcuterie board. Artistic yum!

May all our blessings abound, this holiday and always.

Have you tuned in to your longing?

This morning I listened to the sound of rain. The sound of rain falling on the Front Range of Colorado is not the most common of sounds.  I did not expect for it to be a moment of meditation, though in retrospect, it was indeed.  I became intentional about hearing it- paying attention to the sound of the medium sized drops and watching the rain fall onto the backyard garden, grass, fruit trees, rocks and more. I listened as the sound of the drops became louder and then softer.  Freshness, renewal, growth – reminding me of a favorite quote from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh “the tears I shed yesterday have become rain.”

We are often engaged in the practice of meditation without even knowing that we are- perhaps it’s in those moments that we become aware of our longings. When we bring intentionality to the practice, we reap the benefits- and with the growing body of research, this list of benefits is getting longer every day. To me, mindfulness is a quality that can be cultivated to transform our longing into intention. 

Now sprouting from a seed watered long ago is the latest offering at Modern Mind Women’s Health.  A small group of clients came together for a 5 week series.  These are people who, just like me and you, live a full life and yearn to manifest their longings.  Eager to dive deeper into the complex web that makes us human, we convened together to tune in, listen and share deeply. We completed Level 1 below.

Mindful Meditation Groups – yet to be named (yes, please help, I’m taking suggestions!) – are sprouting:

  • Level 1- From Longing to Intention – a small group for mindfulness cultivation, with practical meditation and mindfulness instruction, focused inquiry, sharing and discussion (5 sessions, $350)
  • Level 2- Participants Contributing and Sharing – a supervised group for continuation of intentional practice (5 sessions, $200)
  • All levels- Drop In (literally, pausing the day and “dropping in” to mindful meditation practice) – a commitment to deepening practice

What do you need? What do you long for? How would you like to begin? Let us together discover *magic (Mindful Approach for Gynecologic and Gestational Integrative Care). Contact Dr. Jenny Kim: modernmindmd@gmail.com

VUCA: volatile. uncertain. complex. ambiguous.

Hey, it’s crazy out there!  These are VUCA times- Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous.  This concept applies to almost everything in our dynamic world. Daunting? No doubt, yes indeed. 

But what if we embrace that we are exactly where we need to be?  What if we actually incorporate the tools for collaboration and participation that we all have access to?  What if we believe that we and our children have the capacity to heal and thrive in VUCA?

Our attention is our most valuable commodity at a time when distractions are fierce. Let us reset in the groundedness and stability that lies within.  

At Modern Mind for Teens, we use *magic (Mindful Approach for Gynecologic Integrative Care) to cultivate the practices of heart centered health.

Summer Workshop Registration: “Let’s Talk About Sex”

The brilliance of the brain

The adolescent brain is undergoing a phenomenal process called Brain Remodeling; pruning & myelination.  Pruning involves removing the connections that are not used, and myelination takes the ones that are left and makes them faster.  Whether an adolescent is pursuing an academic or athletic or artistic pursuit, they are likely to thrive with the brilliance and resilience of the adolescent brain.  What other skills are needed to thrive in life despite setbacks and challenges?  When do we struggle and what do we do in those times? Luckily, all brains have neuroplasticity, the amazing capacity to change and adapt. At Modern Mind for Teens, we cultivate practices for empathy, compassion and connection, so we can learn together in a state of receptivity rather than resistance. 

Summer Workshops NOW ENROLLING Modern Mind for Teens
kids worksheet with solved maze placed on table with pen

Learn more about the brain’s Neuroplasticity from Rick Hanson, Ph.D.

Teens do need Privacy but why might they be driven to Secrecy?

The teenage brain is going through a process of self-discovery and the desire for more privacy is a natural part of growing up to gain autonomy and individuality. Giving kids more and more freedom is a key part of helping them develop the skills they need to be functioning adults.  What resources will help them cultivate a sense of trust, community and support so they can maintain privacy rather than be driven toward secrecy?

At Modern Mind for Teens, we cultivate practices for safe and healthy self-discovery and sharing.

Be Informed / Be Embodied – “Let’s Talk About Sex”

The richness we possess

Self-worth, self-esteem, self-compassion; let’s uncover the jewels that are ours to keep

-Dr. Jenny Kim, Modern Mind MD

Positive affirmations build self-esteem in order to create a more stable sense of self-worth.  In a world where we are constantly exposed to information and feedback, solicited or unsolicited, praiseworthy or humiliating, our sense of self-esteem can easily falter.  What can we lean on in those times?  Or rather, how can we lean in? The research on self-compassion is compelling.  At Modern Mind for Teens, we cultivate practices for self-compassion so that our teens can fumble forward into the self-worth that every human deserves.

Modern Mind for Teens – Summer Workshops Enrolling Now!

Mindful Birthing with PRIDE

Mindful Birthing families come in all shapes, sizes, and orientations, and all are welcome in our classrooms.

In the US, between 2 million and 3.7 million children under age 18 have an LGBTQ+ parent. Approximately 191,000 children are being raised by two same-sex parents. Overall, it is estimated that 29% of LGBTQ+ adults are raising a child who is under 18.

-LGBT Demographic Data, 2019; Press Release 2019; Gates, Marriage and Family 2015

Summer Class starts end of June for due dates September, 2022 and beyond

Pride Month – June 2022

Teen Summer Workshops ‘Let’s Talk about Sex.’ In celebration of PRIDE month, this class is always inclusive of all genders. We honor adolescents in their process of growth and exploration. Getting to know oneself and one’s intentions allows us the courage to find love and happiness, require consent (a basic human right), and maintain healthy boundaries. Modern Mind for Teens provides the perspective of a gynecologist and meditation instructor- Register for a session in Boulder, Longmont, or request a workshop in your location:

Let’s Talk about Sex

Now Enrolling: Summer workshops for Teens in Boulder, Longmont and upon Request

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus…it’s catchy and sure feels that way sometimes, but since this book isn’t really about gender stereotypes, what is it we need to glean?  As people, our relationships are complimentary, and we thrive from mutual respect and being seen.  Biologically, we benefit when our bodies dispense the neurochemicals that result in pleasure, happiness and stress reduction.  Becoming curious about ourselves and each other cultivates trust, safety, intimacy, inclusion and connection.  Modern Mind for Teens invites you, ‘Let’s Talk about Sex.’

Beginner’s Mind – taking a refreshed interest

My 17 yo daughter brought down a mason jar this morning. Seeing a new combination of orange, rosemary, and star anise, I looked at it with interest and wonder…

As I typically do, I made an assumption. “How did it taste?” I asked. She responds “It’s not to drink, it’s to smell,” and I perceive the familiar tone that I know well and receive as ‘Duh, mom, you’re so dumb, you never get me.’

I inhaled the aroma, I liked it, it was sweet & pleasant

I thought of all the times that she came downstairs in complete disgust of the smell of certain ethnic foods, receiving her dislike in the form of criticism, anger, and ‘you people are repulsive.’ And all of a sudden, perhaps resulting from the sweetness of the aroma I had just inhaled, I understood. I perceived something different- she has to notice what she doesn’t like to find the things that she does like, and indeed, the process of noticing is often UNPLEASANT.

the magic is the shift in perspective, seeing it all in a neutral light,

allowing it to be as it is, dropping the judgement

I have been inspired this week by the dozens of talks in the Parenting Teens in Uncertain Times Summit – the lesson that our teens are neurologically wired to detach and become independent reverberates through each and every talk. Teens are determined to explore the world in a way that is unique from their parents’ experience and so they must willfully exert their dissatisfaction, disdain and dislike for our ways. Ouch, whoa, the cruelty of parenting…and in surrender I place my hand on my heart to eject a release of oxytocin to sooth my soul.

How much gentler could it have been if I had never taken personally the process of discovery that showed up as anger? Will my brain and body rewire so that I can remember next time? The science tells me that yes, indeed, with mindful attention, my physiology is programmed to rewire and be gentler over time. Everyone has that capacity. Let’s drop in to what’s here, right now.