Katarina Gleisberg shares best practices for letting go of stress, anxiety despite adversity

Published by Marco LeRoc at July 21, 2020

In a world filled with worry and fear, mindfulness coach and educator Katarina Gleisberg believes in the benefits of practicing self-awareness to deal with stress.

A lifelong learner, Gleisberg has traveled the world to teach classes on English along with mindfulness techniques, which help students, learn how to manage their emotions and maintain self-control.

The Golden Rule

“Mindfulness is paying attention on purpose to the present moment without judgment,” Gleisberg says. “The golden rule of mindfulness is that everyone can practice it at any time free of charge.”

Gleisberg says people can abstain from judgment by practicing self-kindness.

“Mindfulness is paying attention on purpose to the present moment without judgment, Share on X

“A lot of times, we feel guilty for feeling bad, but that’s judging ourselves,” Gleisberg says.

“When we can note what is actually going on, that takes some of the power away.”

A way to cope

Gleisberg says labeling the emotion involves focusing on the current moment rather than ruminating on pessimistic thoughts.

Instead of pushing negative emotions away, she says people can gain peace of mind when they accept the emotion as it is.

“If we resist anything that feels unpleasant, we’re actually making that situation worse,” Gleisberg says. “The moment that we can actually put words to what’s going on, it takes some of the fear away.”

A world of difference

In a hateful society, Gleisberg says people can use mindfulness to extend kindness to others.

“We may not agree with someone,” Gleisberg says, “but if we can take the time to realize ‘This person is human and just like me,’ then that can serve to activate compassion.”

“We may not agree with someone ,but if we can take the time to realize. This person is human and just like me, then that can serve to activate compassion.” Share on X

Progress over perfection

Gleisberg says people can become frustrated when they’re pursuing fast change or an overly-ambitious goal. Her advice is to take baby steps instead.

“Pick something small that you’re already doing in your life,” Gleisberg says. “When you’re paying attention to that present moment, you are practicing that mindfulness muscle and you’re allowing yourself to be instead of feeling like you always have to do.”

About Katarina Gleisberg

Katarina Gleisberg is a mindfulness educator, coach, and co-creator of the “Calm During Chaos” Mindfulness e-Course. After teaching ESL, 3rd & 4th grades, and Special Education in three countries; she was struck by a striking commonality: Students of all backgrounds and ages showed greater attention, calm, productivity, and collaboration after a short mindfulness practice.

“Pick something small that you’re already doing in your life. When you’re paying attention to that present moment, you are practicing that mindfulness muscle and you’re allowing yourself to be instead of feeling like you always have to do.” Share on X

She evolved her teaching focus to spread mindfulness (non-judgmental present moment awareness) and its holistic health benefits including greater attention, compassion, stress-relief, life satisfaction, empowerment, and strengthened immunity. Mindfulness can be practiced anywhere, any time, free of charge for everyone! Learn how you can start your own simple mindfulness practice, without adding any extra time into your daily routine.

You can find more mindfulness resources on Katarina’s platforms:

“Calm During Chaos” Mindfulness e-Course: https://bit.ly/2ygmGqP