The Practice Space - meditation for professional self-preservation

Welcome to The Practice Space, where we will meet at the intersection of meditation and clinical practices to explore ideas and skills that will help to support us in our professional practice. Join siblings Stacy Remke, Clinical Social Worker and Professor at the University of Minnesota’s School of Social Work, and Sara Remke, a practicing end of life doula and meditation teacher as they discuss a myriad of topics and meditation skills that can help us all better manage the complexity and impact of interpersonal interactions in our professional and personal lives. Child welfare professionals can benefit from these conversations which offer space for reflection on practice and impact of the work on mind and body.

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There is a movement of energy in, through and around each of us. Meditation can be an incredible tool to help us respond to these energies. People who enter into professions such as child welfare tend to be sensitive and empathetic, and are naturally more impacted by the energy of others. Finding ways to address these energies and messages can be profoundly helpful. This initial episode of The Practice Space offers an introduction to the meditation skills that can help us to build resistance and better sustain ourselves in practice.

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In this episode of The Practice Space, learn about ways to navigate the intense energies associated with trauma that you may be exposed to in your work. Gently clearing your own energy space helps to create spaciousness for others while allowing them to find their own resilience. This episode shows us how to redirect energy and to be compassionate in a more holistic way.

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In this episode of The Practice Space, learn about ways to retain your neutrality and openness as you navigate challenging energies and intense emotional situations. Hear about some simple daily habits that you can use to ground yourself to be present and encounter each unique situation as it is, not as you might imagine or prefer it to be.

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In this episode of The Practice Space, learn about the importance of developing skills to guide human interactions, especially in practice settings that may be uniquely challenging. Some professional arenas can include chronic stress for workers (such as with child welfare and palliative care), and we can also experience isolation and difficulty talking about our experiences with others. Caring for yourself includes cultivating human connections where you can talk about and deal with tough and complex issues, together.

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Energy exchange is happening all the time, all around us. Your own personal, emotional space that you carry with you wherever you go accumulates finished and unfinished interactions, and these can sit in your space and create discomfort. In this episode of The Practice Space, experience a guided meditation and clearing practice where you can dive deeper and learn ways to find more room for yourself and discern what belongs to you and what you need to let go.

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In this episode of The Practice Space, we discuss grief. Our own grief, plus that of others. We all carry unprocessed, unassimilated experiences that we hold within our own energetic space. These experiences can be triggered by others, and they can really rattle us and we don’t always know why. If something hasn’t been assimilated within us, it lights up! When things light up for us, it can be uncomfortable. But, it’s important to remember that it is not a failure, but an opportunity to process and build more space for yourself. The more you allow your grief, the more you are able to take part in joy and life.