Chats with Elena Canty I Episode 3 featuring Joanne Dawson

This is episode 3 of 'Chats with Elena Canty' - a four part podcast series brought to you by Irish Wheelchair Association- Ability Programme & co-sponsored by Equal Ireland. 

In this part,  Elena chats with Joanne Dawson. Joanne is a  Job Coach with the Ability Programme at the Irish Wheelchair Association. Joanne facilitates a mindfulness group with Elena and her peers. Elena and Joanne discuss the impact of mindfulness and how it affects both of them. They also share a warm moment of appreciation and admiration for each other.

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About Elena Canty:

Elena is a Communications Executive at Event Plan and VE Studio Cork. She is responsible for PR, Digital Marketing and Communications activities. Elena is a graduate of CIT now Munster Technology University where she obtained a Master of Arts in Public Relations with New Media, and a Bachelor of Business (Honours) in Business Administration. Elena has experience in event management, public relations, social media management, and digital marketing. In her spare time, Elena enjoys socialising with friends, going on shopping sprees and dining in style. 

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Podcast music by Justin Grounds.
Edited by Daniel Clancy
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Transcript

Joanna Dukkipati:
Hi, you're listening to Chats with Elena Canty,
a four-part podcast series
brought to you by the
Irish Wheelchair Association Ability Programme
and co-sponsored by EQUAL Ireland.
Every episode in this series is an
opportunity to get to know Elena Canty.
Elena’s personal experiences helps us be who we can be.

Elena Canty:
Hi everyone. Welcome back! Today,
I'm going to be talking to Joanne Dawson.

Elena Canty:
Hi Joanne, how are you keeping?
Joanne Dawson:
Hi Elena!
How are you? It's great to talk to you today.
Elena Canty:
Am ploughing away.
Joanne Dawson:
Good woman. Nothing like it.
Elena Canty:
How are you keeping?
Joanne Dawson:
Ah sure grand!Ploughing away like yourself as well. Just keep it going.
Elena Canty:
Yeah that’s it!

Elena Canty:
You know the whole concept of a mindfulness,
obviously, it's important to teach it to everyone
and now more than ever but I suppose the hope is
that the younger that we start
mindfulness to everyone the better is especially in children.
How would you describe mindfulness to a ten-year-old?
Joanne Dawson:
What mindfulness is basically is coming back
and returning to the present moment
as much as we can and it's being aware within the moment because you know what,
sometimes you can go off and in our thoughts
and rattle on and it's all about coming back. You know what to describe that to a ten-year-old,
You can probably.. the way you could describe
it say if it was a bird
or a butterfly outside or we’re getting them out into the garden
they could just get them to focus in on that
butterfly are on that flower or to smell that flower
or that and and it's kind of it's
because you're giving them - the how would you say - the practical element of mindfulness.
So they're actually doing it and you know what,
I mean that and I think that's the best way to describe
it so that they are getting it done that way.
They will be doing it from that aspect of things.
So mindfulness is about being in the moment -
It’s coming back to the moment,
you know, and the way we do that - you know one way actually is ‘anchoring’ : If you go off in your mind
and there's a hundred thoughts when thoughts come  and then you go into another thought from that.
It's about catching ourselves in that
and bringing us back and how to do that is
anchoring back to our breathing  -
to be aware of our breathing.
coming back to that, doing something practical like that.
So whether it's something out in nature
or indeed whether it could be just with their
eating their food.
And tell them just to be tuned-in
to their senses when they're eating their food,
the taste that just get them, you know that kind of thing.
So when that's that's how I go about that.

Elena Canty:
And I think to be honest, I think
even though a ten-year-old might not have known
what mindfulness was until now I I actually genuinely believe
that they have been practicing it all along.
They just didn't know the name of it.
It’s when they become adults, it’s the hardest thing really and I remember being mindful when I was a kid.
Just focusing on whatever that task was those doing
whether it was out in nature or
if I was playing with my Barbie doll,
or if I was drawing or painting or whatever it was.
I was doing. Kids only focus on the now what they're actually doing and like eating as well.
And I love mindful eating, actually, as well.
For years,
it's been like said that I'm a slow eater
but what in reality it's actually
what we should all aim to do - is be slow eating at every meal so I love it. Absolutely absolutely.

Joanne Dawson:
No. No, I agree with everything you said there I
think as a child and was it when you were
really you're just being mindful,
anyway! You're in the moment and I think
it's when we get older.
That's where really really,
you know,
we get out of practice with mindfulness
because we're getting into society thinking ‘Oh so will have to go here, have to do this, have to do that.’
You know what I mean. So definitely I think we can
learn so much from children.
I think if you learn and watch,
you learn so much from a child,
they're so in the moment, you know the kind of way.

Elena Canty:
100%
Joanne Dawson:
Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah,
Elena Canty:
I agree. Really, we need
to be in their company more often, to be honest.
Your group mindfulness sessions have
been so helpful as well. Every Monday, I always look forward to them.
Particularly, like the different mindfulness practices that you do for us and you know,
like the body scan and all of those. Which one would be your favorite?
Joanne Dawson:
The body scan,
I think is very powerful because I think you
it makes you aware of all the different parts you're going down
through the practice. In case nobody is aware of it-
you're basically it's like a meditation you're going
through all the different parts of your body
and basically breathing in and breathing out into
them and then just being aware and stuff like
that like that can be...
It's really really powerful really in the sense,
in that kind of a way because you're really
really focusing in on each part.
I suppose my favourite… I really enjoy is the mindful walking if one can get out into nature
and out and breathing the fresh air it so important these days. I love being out in nature myself,
and you know what I think just being in tune with nature,
you know, and it's trying to be mindful when you're walking as well.
And I think it's a great practice actually
for mindfulness really is
because you could be going off
and rambling and a thought will come
into your mind you’d be gone after that.
But then you come back and go right now
and come back to the present moment
is so it's you know one it that's
what is it all to do with it practicing practicing practicing and coming back and coming back.

Elena Canty:
The Buddha says: ‘With our thoughts, we make the world.’
Have you experienced this Joanne?

Joanne Dawson:
Well, absolutely. It's so true.
It's so true our thoughts do make our world.
It's whatever you think of people are interested in.
Some people aren't and some people are able to
and the Law of Attraction, The Secret all that kind of stuff.
So it's whatever you put out there,
you know, and it's if you're...
and also if you’re going to think negatively the whole day
well then more of that , then might as well expect that
for the rest of the day.
Do you know that kind of away?
So we think more positively
and even that would change
or own outlook as such, if we think positively
about things and then you know,
what's pretty cool people much better even
for ourselves and how we feel within ourselves and all that kind of stuff so very much,
it's very much a powerful powerful thing

Elena Canty:
Absolutely! Yeah and the Law of Attraction is just it's so powerful.
I am… God.
It's about ten years, over ten years ago now
when I started reading ‘The Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne
and it does change your life even
like the simple things of running into town
and you need to get a parking space
and my mom and I would always say,
“The secret, the secret. We will find it.”
And sure we always do, we always find the parking space then.
So we love ‘The Secret’ - Rhonda is fabulous really,
and it gets you in the moment then as well and it reduces your
own anxiety and yeah, it's great.

Joanne Dawson:
And so Elena, like yourself, I really
enjoy the Monday's with yourselves.
I think it's a great group. We have going
and it's been really very enjoyable
and it's great to see the growth and development in the group.
And you know, I think its great the peer support
within it as well as being really great to see developing as well.

Elena Canty:
Yeah. Yeah, I love the peer support as well.
I think that will be another favorite of mine from the group
mindfulness sessions because we can all bring
different advice to the meeting,
but also we can all be very relatable
to our challenges week to week.
So it's nice to you know to listen
and it's also nice to have people hear
maybe a challenge that you have
and to give advice to others as well
who might have a challenge coming up or have
been going through something.
So it's nice. It's lovely to have that peer supports, definitely.
So I really appreciate it Joanne.
Joanne Dawson:
No problem, Elena.
Elena Canty:
You're so full of knowledge
and you're so full of support for me.
And for the other members in the group mindfulness session
and you're just so empathetic and you
give so much clarity and understanding and
kind of a sense of comfort in whatever we are discussing
and yeah, it's lovely just it's lovely to know you
and it's great just to be in the company
of you every week because you're fabulous.
Joanne Dawson:
And I must say Elena, I really admire you I
really do think you're an inspiration
for other people like yourself.
You really are. I mean look at all you've gone through yourself
and like the challenges is you meant yourself start
and then to go through school, college all that and do your Masters and now look at where you are.
So you're really somebody very much to be looked up to.
I certainly think you're an inspiration to others
and in relation to your such a lovely lovely
bubbly person you really are
and like you give so much to other people as well.
I can see that in the group, you know, and particularly,
you know, and I think for you going through all that you've gone through I think you're a great
advocate [and you’ve] great advice
to others to other members
because I know some of the other members are in other situations that you may have been in
before yourself. You're great with your
advice on that as well.
You know, thank you for being who you are
because you are amazing.

Elena Canty:
Well, thank you and I appreciate that.
But yeah, I really do love the weekly group mindfulness sessions.
And yeah, it's just a blessing to be a part of it.
Really.
For everyone listening here today,
what would be your guidance to anyone
who wishes to improve on
the mindfulness practice?

Joanne Dawson:
If somebody could take
5 or 10 minutes out of the day and just practice mindfulness and there is so much online.
There's so many YouTube clips
- there’s so much guided meditation on it.
Or you know what sometimes it's just sitting
and looking out of the garden or looking out or going for a walk.
We can always be very mindful
when we're walking as well
and you know and just taking in what's out there and looking around us and rather than you know,
the way you could be walking
and you know, what you’d be thinking of this
this, that and the other… come into your mind
but so it's about just becoming aware of that.
Now that's easier said than,
that's a practice and that takes time.
And that’s [what] mindfulness is all about really as such.
so it's about coming back, coming back
and returning and whether that's returning
to your breathing as such with you,
which is your anchor. Other people obviously just come back
and just observe and look what's around you and
that’s then you simply being back in the moment.

Elena Canty:
So thank you Joanne.
I really enjoyed today's chats -
Joanne Dawson:
It was lovely Elena, it's been great.
I really have enjoyed it. So thank you very much - very enjoyable.

Joanne Dukkipati:
You were listening to Elena Canty chat with Joanne Dawson.
Joanne Dawson is a Job Coach with the Ability Programme at the Irish Wheelchair Association.
We hope that you learnt some useful
tidbits there - about the impact of mindfulness.
Next week is the finale
of our podcast series: Chats with Elena Canty.
In the finale, Elena
very generously takes on numerous questions on various
topics that the people of Cork sent her on.
So tune in - until then-
take care. Bye!