I’m reading a book by the venerable Buddhist monk and sage Thich Nhat Hanh called “Peace Is Every Step.” I discovered it way back in the late 1980s, a year or so after my diagnosis with rheumatoid arthritis, and it started my long—and admittedly stuttering—journey into the practice of everyday mindfulness. I pick it up and read it again every few years. It always re-opens my eyes and my mind.
In “Peace Is Every Step,” Thich teaches, with sweetness and gentle humor, that we can find inner peace in everything we do, from walking to washing dishes. Being mindful doesn’t require actual meditation. We don’t need to sit in the lotus position with our palms up, eyes closed, attempting to levitate. Instead, we can use frequent moments during each day to find our peace, our inner calm, and ourselves.
Mindfulness, of course, is currently getting a lot of attention as a way to manage chronic pain…
Please read the rest at RheumatoidArthritis.net .
RheumaBlog 
Wren, I do believe that mindfulness is an important tool in our fight against RA. Now if RA would mind its own business I might be successful. LOL
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Thank you so much for sharing on this topic. Whenever I read about psychology, yoga, Reiki, dance philosophy it all comes back to mindfulness. I teach dance to children who are on the autism spectrum, have PDD-NOS, Asperger’s, Down Syndrome or a combination thereof, and my most mindful moments are when I’m teaching. I have not only the gift of RA which has since gone into remission.but the soreness, inflammation is there, and oh yes, the gift of Fibromyalgia! Such fun! Add to that I’m a caregiver for my parents and older of two teenage sons.
Anything that helps me stay in the moment helps. I recommend comedy improvisation, support groups that have a sense of humor, and doing what my mom who suffers from severe RA for 65 years, count waking up in the morning as a win everyday!
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