Dignity Health striving to make the world more mindful

The premise is simple: Everybody benefits when people are more mindful of themselves and others.

That belief is driving San Francisco-based Dignity Health to help people connect with their kinder, gentler selves.

In its Reflective Pause program, employees throughout the organization’s 39 hospitals are encouraged to spend time in “quiet contemplation” each day. The motivation behind the program was featured in a Businesswire release:

“At Dignity Health, we believe that it is difficult to be compassionate with others if you are not first compassionate with yourself,” said Christina Fernandez, senior vice president mission integration and spirituality at Dignity Health. “It only takes a minute or two a day to begin the journey of mindfulness practice, and it can make an immediate and meaningful difference in your daily relationships. That is why we make spirituality and the Reflective Pause program a focus in our workplace culture, to help our staff of caregivers connect with themselves, their patients, and colleagues in a more meaningful way.”

Research by the hospital system examined the benefits of being present in our daily lives. Mark Viden, Dignity Health’s VP of brand marketing, shared insights from the study on LinkedIn:

Dignity Health conducted a survey of more than 1,000 Americans and found that the vast majority (89 percent) agree that if people were more mindful (which we defined as a “state of active, open attention to the present”), they would be better able to listen to one another, understand and accept their differences, and find a common ground. More than three-quarters (77 percent) also agree that being mindful can benefit the community in which they live. Other findings from this survey point to similar trends, which you can see more here.

The Reflective Pause program and the survey results led to the development of the #Take2Mins movement.

Participation requires simply setting aside two minutes of time to meditate, breathe or reflect.

Viden told Businesswire:

“It is clear that consumers understand the benefits of practicing mindfulness, but there is often a misconception that it is something that takes a lot of time.

“Our #Take2Mins campaign provides digital resources to help people begin their daily practice in as little as two minutes. Our survey findings reveal that many agree: if everyone were more mindful about the world around them, it could have a broader, healthy impact on our communities.”

To bolster such claims, Dignity Health posted these tweets on its Twitter feed:

97% better mood, 95% better health... Just a few reasons why #mindfulness is good for you. #Take2Mins @ https://t.co/wpjXQ9QNMp http://pic.twitter.com/AUZknfVFfd

— Dignity Health (@DignityHealth) June 4, 2017

Everyone around us, even our pet, can benefit from a more present and mindful you. #Take2Mins at https://t.co/wpjXQ9QNMp http://pic.twitter.com/TlccfAdlTO

— Dignity Health (@DignityHealth) June 14, 2017

Mindfulness is good for you and good for others! Take more time to be mindful and benefit the community around you. #Take2Mins http://pic.twitter.com/LMFkpNpLOb

— Dignity Health (@DignityHealth) June 5, 2017

Feeling stressed out? This video on Dignity Health’s Facebook page takes you step by step through a breathing exercise to restore a sense of calm:

A landing page on the organization’s website offers access to a different breathing exercise to help you refocus your distracted mind, as well as a two-minute guided meditation.

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