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Coming to your Senses_Layout 1 18-09-18 2:49 PM Page 2

Jenn Shields conducts an outdoor mindfulness instruction.

“A big part for me was when we had three kids in Katrina Sigurdson, owner of Party Professionals in
three years, and it was busy and it was loud, and it was Brandon and a mother of two young boys, said
crazy…and that was life,” she said. “I found that I can incorporating mindfulness into her life within the past
be a better mom for them. There’s a lot of things year has made a world of difference. The local
about the crazy I can’t change but the one thing I can decorating and rental company is especially busy
change is my own mindset and my own headspace, so during the summer season as they make dream
I’ve started integrating that more into my life.” weddings come to reality.
She realized that others were likely feeling the same “It’s very hectic. We’re working seven days a week,
way, and put out the feelers for a mindfulness class go go go all the time,” she said. “So between running a
called “Finding Space Amongst the Chaos.” business and just doing all sorts of normal mom things
“The response was crazy. People were looking for it, …it’s a constant busy.”
they were wanting it,” Shields said. “I think for a lot of A friend encouraged her to try some mindfulness
people it’s almost like permission to get started. apps and that’s when she started dabbling in Open
Either they didn’t know how to start and were reading Hearts Wellness classes. Sigurdson said she was
about meditation or mindfulness… or just were looking for a way to clear her mind and decompress.
feeling overwhelmed and knowing they were needing She now tries to do some form of mindfulness
to do something.” practice every day or two.
Shields is planning on opening a space called Open “It’s almost like a restart and just feeling like you can
Hearts Studio in downtown Brandon in November. It breathe again. Clearing your mind. It takes away that
will be located on the fourth floor of the historic Bass overwhelming feeling for me, which is huge,” she said.
Building, 29 10th St. She uses a combination of the Headspace app on her
Mindfulness is the ability to be fully present in the phone and attending classes.
moment, which is often developed through “As you do it more and more, you start to realize how
meditation. According to the U.S. Department of your brain can finally begin to shut off a little bit. It’s
Health and Human Services, meditation can ease pretty amazing actually,” she said. “I didn’t really
symptoms of anxiety, depression and insomnia. believe a lot of it before until I started doing it, and I
Studies have also shown that it may have positive would be a big advocate now.”
impacts on the physical body, from reducing blood Tiffany Green dove into mindfulness practice
pressure, as well as symptoms of irritable bowel following a devastating injury she suffered abroad. In
syndrome, ulcerative colitis and other ailments. 2017, Green went to Bali for yoga teacher training.

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