What is TSD Mindfulness?

E, founder of When Motherhood Looks Different, LLC and TSD certified mindfulness coach

As Mamas parenting kids with complex health and education needs, or living with chronic illness, we are often reacting to moment-to-moment stress - unexpected hospital visits, meltdowns, and juggling all the appointments from doctors offices to therapy sessions. We are in the THICK of it, everyday.  And when this is your experience, defaulting to autopilot is easy; we often don’t have time to consider the ways we uniquely experience stress (mentally and physically). All of it is enough to make any parent feel isolated and misunderstood. 

And this led me to deepen my prayer, mindfulness and meditation practice in the early days of the pandemic. I discovered TSD mindfulness a few years ago, and decided to explore how it differed from traditional mindfulness practices. But first, let’s back up to what mindfulness means. There are countless definitions, perhaps one of the most commonly known is from author and professor Jon Kabat-Zinn: “Awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally. “ 

What is TSD mindfulness and how is it different from traditional mindfulness?

When I first came across TSD mindfulness (founded by Sarah Vallely) I wondered if it could REALLY help someone like me - raising our neurodivergent daughter Nai (who has underlying health issues), while juggling marriage, and coming alongside my family in supporting Dad through late stage Parkinson’s disease.  I didn’t (and still don’t) have an hour to meditate daily. It’s a miracle if I get 15 min. most days! I needed a well-being practice to support me in an accessible way.  

TSD mindfulness is the awareness of sounds, physical sensations, sights, thoughts, emotions, energetic sensations, and the quality of your attention. It is a practice which encourages us to understand the mind / body connection, and how this connects to the ways we experience stress. These are broken down into three fields: mental, heart and gut which make up the temperamental body, a TSD mindfulness term illustrating our psychological and energetic system.

The mental field desires change, operates on logic and produces decisions.

The heart field desires attention, operates on trust and produces authentic emotion.  

The gut field desires preservation, operates on survival instinct, and produces an alarm, warning us of upcoming change.  

TSD mindfulness sees this field as “concern [ed] with change to status quo, such as a change in the way people perceive us, our physical well-being, our mental health, and our emotional stability.”

Identifying Your Unique Stress Type 
While traditional mindfulness encourages us to practice meditation and being present in our lives as a way to reduce stress, it is also deeply important to understand clearly how you, as an individual, experience stress. In one-on-one coaching, we begin with identifying your unique stress type using a questionnaire, and then based on the results and speaking with you, I lean into specific tools to help you manage stress. 

TSD mindfulness identifies seven types which range from stress to grief, past trauma, thought patterns, physical sensations and more. Instead of using similar strategies with every client, my approach, rooted in TSD mindfulness, centers careful reflection and deciding what works best based on your unique stress type.  Stepping into TSD mindfulness as a practice doesn’t have to feel overwhelming; it is an accessible way of stepping into mindfulness which offers support in everything from navigating grief and shame to call in deeper self compassion. I am here, let me help you call in presence and thrive, moment by mindful moment. 

Curious about TSD mindfulness, and how it can support you on your motherhood journey? You can find a comprehensive breakdown of what coaching with me looks like and reach out for a free 15 minute consultation chat.

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