Mindful Bodies: Smart Phone Health

Let's build awareness and healthy habits around smartphone use.

When we take our phones for granted, they can run the show and take a toll. The risks of smartphone misuse include pain and injury from what doctors are calling "text neck," "tech neck," and "text thumb," as well as sleep disruption, distracted attention, and overexposure to EMF radiation. The good news? These smartphone pitfalls are totally avoidable when we practice some simple, smart habits.

This class outlines the specific choices learners and their families can make to improve their relationships to their phones. Through experiential activity, useful facts about science and anatomy, and easy-to-follow tips, learners will gain a direct experience of what's possible when it comes to relating to their phone in a health-conscious way, and an action plan to apply what they learn. With practice, our choices can become our new habits, and have a significant positive impact on our focus, sense of comfort in our bodies, connection to our surroundings, relationships, health, and well-being.

*Smart Phone, Smart Body!*
The heart of this class is about cultivating body awareness, and discovering how we can adopt healthy movement and posture habits when using our phones. With awareness, we can choose to practice small daily habits that have a huge impact over time. We will explore our bodies' habitual response to objects by using the smartphone as an "in." Then, equipped with some basic facts about anatomy, learners will be guided to explore new ways to support their bodies through mindful awareness.

*Nighttime Phone Use*
We'll cover some basic facts about sleep health, light, and circadian rhythm in relation to smart electronics use. 

*EMF Safety*
We'll cover simple tips for reducing phone-related EMF exposure and why this is important.
 
*Reducing Distractions*
Let's choose how we use our attention rather than having our phones choose for us. We'll learn how to use mindfulness and customized phone settings to help reclaim and master attention.

A take-away handout and action plan guides learners to carry their experience of this class into their daily lives. For learners interested in continuing to develop a mindful movement practice and increased body and sensory awareness, please contact me to discuss followup lessons.