{"id":52472,"date":"2022-05-10T20:58:50","date_gmt":"2022-05-10T20:58:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techstyle.onehealth.com\/?p=52472"},"modified":"2022-05-10T20:58:50","modified_gmt":"2022-05-10T20:58:50","slug":"how-mindfulness-helps-you-shed-your-masks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eloquent-brown.192-250-224-79.plesk.page\/?p=52472","title":{"rendered":"How Mindfulness Helps You Shed Your Masks\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Coming out as a gay man was terrifying for Charles Hargobind, but mindfulness helped him step into his authentic self with confidence.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

BY STEPHANIE DOMET APRIL 10, 2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: https:\/\/www.mindful.org\/how-mindfulness-helps-you-shed-your-masks\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charles Hargobind knows the Mindfulness Ambassador Program he leads from both sides of the desk. In his work with\u202fMindfulness Without Borders<\/a>, he\u2019s tasked with leading high school seniors through the twelve-week mindfulness training program, from introducing basic meditation practices, to learning techniques for navigating challenging emotions, to recognizing and understanding their internal narratives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hargobind sees the program working. \u201cWeek one they\u2019re all hunched over, maybe a hoodie on, arms crossed, and then by week five, they\u2019re open and willing to share about their vulnerabilities, willing to share whole heartedly and honestly about what is challenging them in a moment of anger or happiness and how they\u2019re relating to that emotion and what their narrative around that emotion is.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s not just seeing that is believing. Hargobind himself is a graduate of the program, and for him,\u202fmindfulness<\/a>\u202fcame along at a particularly painful point in his life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hargobind, who was raised by parents who were \u201cvery traditional in their thinking,\u201d knew he was gay, but was struggling to come to terms with his identity. Finally, he decided to come out to his best friend. I\u2019m gay, he told her. \u201cShe looks over to me and she\u2019s like, \u2018What? NO, no, no, no, no. You can\u2019t be, Charles, are you kidding me? Do you know how many times people have asked me if you were and I defended you? Do you know how many times I had to stick up for you? \u202fNo, don\u2019t tell anyone this, no.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t exactly the reception he was hoping for. His parents also were not immediately accepting of his news. He felt isolated and afraid, his best friend\u2019s words ringing in his ears.\u202fNo, you can\u2019t be.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mindfulness Allows You to Honor Yourself as You Are <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the Mindfulness Ambassador Program helped him shed his mask. \u201cFor a long time, I was wearing masks in every interaction of my life. I was terrified to\u202fshow up authentically<\/a>.\u201d Then he read a quote from fantasy writer Patrick Rothfuss:\u202fWe all understand how dangerous a mask can be, we all become what we pretend to be.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat was a pivotal moment when all my masks fell on the floor and shattered, and I remember trying to pick them all up piece by piece and reassemble them because I didn\u2019t want anyone to see me for who I truly was. But there was a point where it wasn\u2019t the same, the masks were flawed, they didn\u2019t fit properly, they weren\u2019t me anymore, and I had no choice but to live in my vulnerability.\u201d Hargobind remembers calling on his mindfulness training in that moment, staying with\u202fhis breath<\/a>, allowing some space to feel uncomfortable, and knowing that everything would be okay. \u202f\u201cHowever, it unfolds, it will unfold and that is my experience, that is unique to me. That\u2019s what mindfulness did for me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think mindfulness offers that ability to unlock this door that was not even in awareness and allow all those things to flow out and allow you to roll with your emotions or roll with the punches or whatever it may be, so that you can become the best version of yourself.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hargobind believes mindfulness can be a lifeline for all the kids he works with, but there\u2019s a special place in his heart, and in his work, for at risk LGBTQ teens. He believes mindfulness offers them something vital. \u201cThe understanding that you weren\u2019t meant to be put into a box, so why would you ever force yourself into a box. You get to see your mask, you get to see your vulnerabilities, and you get to be with them, whether that\u2019s happiness, sadness, anger, joy\u2014you get to honor\u202fthose emotions<\/a>, you get to be your own best friend as cliche as that is. I think mindfulness offers that ability to unlock this door that was not even in awareness and allow all those things to flow out and allow you to roll with your emotions, or roll with the punches or whatever it may be, so that you can become the best version of yourself.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Hargobind that\u2019s exactly what mindfulness did\u2014and does. \u201cI was in such a dark place, and I kept looking for something to be my salvation or to liberate me in some way, and when this program came into my life, it gave me that. The freedom to stop looking for that light at the end of the tunnel and instead find it within.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you or someone you know is struggling with coming out or accepting<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

their sexual identity, explore the resources available\u202f<\/em><\/strong>in the United States<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u202fand\u202f<\/em><\/strong>in Canada<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Coming out as a gay man was terrifying for Charles Hargobind, but mindfulness helped him step into his authentic self with confidence.  BY STEPHANIE DOMET APRIL 10, 2019  Source: https:\/\/www.mindful.org\/how-mindfulness-helps-you-shed-your-masks\/  Charles Hargobind knows the Mindfulness Ambassador Program he leads from both sides of the desk. In his work with\u202fMindfulness Without Borders, he\u2019s tasked with leading […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lgbtqa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eloquent-brown.192-250-224-79.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eloquent-brown.192-250-224-79.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eloquent-brown.192-250-224-79.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eloquent-brown.192-250-224-79.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eloquent-brown.192-250-224-79.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=52472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eloquent-brown.192-250-224-79.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52472\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eloquent-brown.192-250-224-79.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eloquent-brown.192-250-224-79.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eloquent-brown.192-250-224-79.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}