Mindfulness Talk
What is mindfulness exactly?
Mindfulness is a powerful player in healing chronic stress, anxiety, illness. In fact, scientific research shows that five minutes of daily meditation can lower your stress levels, strengthen your well-being and even soothe physical aches and pains.
It’s a word that gets thrown around a lot lately, it even seems a bit trendy and for some seems impossible.
Mindfulness is a pretty simple work that conjures up lots of confusion.
I find that when focus on the practice of mindfulness — the experience of it — rather than the definition, it makes a bit easier to understand.
In its simplest terms, mindfulness is the act of being fully present and engaged with the current moment that you are in. It boils down to truly experiencing what is here and now, and appreciating each moment. As simple as that sounds, most people don’t actively or purposefully engage in mindfulness, so the explanation can be difficult to fully comprehend. We understand it in our brain maybe, but can’t really understand the experience of it unless we are practicing it. Sometimes it’s easier to explain what it’s not: it’s not mindlessness.
Real-Life Mindfulness
Have you ever caught yourself having an argument or debate with someone, getting yourself all worked up and upset… only to realize that the whole discussion was taking place in your mind? The other person wasn’t even there, it was just you and your mind. In fact, you are actually just driving along in your car with the radio on and windows open. You didn’t even realize that your mind began the argument, and it’s hard to know exactly what the trigger was. We do this constantly and create unnecessary stress and anxiety… and can even lose sleep because of it! Much of the time, the things we worry about are not even going to happen, but our mind convinces us that they will. It’s quite amazing to think about how much of our life is spent in the a non-reality that our mind creates, versus the actual reality that is in front of us.
An untamed and untrained mind negatively impacts our physical health and our mental health. When we experience a nightmare, our body begins perspiring, our heartbeat increases, and our breathing speeds up. All of these physical symptoms solely caused by the mind. The mind made us believe that we were in danger, and this convinced our body to react as if it was really happening.
Think of the difference between the fear of a flood and an actual flood. Do we treat them the same way? During an actual flood we are present, taking the necessary tasks to protect ourselves and our things. During the thought or fear of a flood, we are spending the time worrying about the flood but not actually present in the moment. In fear of a flood, there isn’t actually a flood… so there is nothing to be doing.
The more we understand how the mind works and how it affects our physical and mental health, the more we have to conclude that the mind is the main cause of our problems and suffering. We give ourselves so much anxiety by misunderstanding and misinterpreting another person’s words or behavior. Too often, we can let that misunderstanding brew in our mind for days, weeks, months or even years. This leads to resentment, regret, and an overall lower quality of life if it persists.
How to Practice Mindfulness
Did you know we have anywhere between 70-90,000 thoughts a day? 90% are negative or at best neutral in an untamed brain. The act of observing our thoughts and connecting with our breath can help create stillness and awareness. We become the observer of mindlessness, and this allows us to begin the practice of mindfulness.
““Allocate a regular time each day to being still. If you wait until you get around to it, you never will.” ”
Mindfulness practices are not complicated. However, in order for them to be effective, some consistency is important which is the case for almost everything else in life that we hope to benefit from. If we can simply sit everyday for five minutes and gradually increase our practice by one or two minutes each month, we will see our perspectives on life change for the better. Deep intentional breathing and focusing on how we’re feeling are simple ways to start a regular practice.
Find the right motivation and intention. If you are experiencing a bye day or just don’t feel like practicing mindfulness, it might help to remind yourself why you practice and what it can do for you (in that case, it may be helpful to bookmark this piece!).
Find the right attitude and attention. Each practice will be different, but try not to think of them as “better” or “worse.” There is no bad way to become more mindful.
Find the right time and timing. Just as each practice will be different, the length of time appropriate for your practice can vary as well. Some days you may need only a few minutes, and other times you may want to stick with it for a bit longer to make sure you have a rewarding experience.
Find the right spot and posture. It’s important to feel safe and secure, wherever you decide to practice. That may be on a cushion on the floor, in your office chair at work, or even sitting in your car in traffic. You will benefit from finding a comfortable and familiar spot for your regular practice, but there’s no harm in modifying your seat or posture if circumstances require it!
Find the right routine and stick to it! Although the length, location, and posture of your practice can and will change depending on your situation, it’s best to make a minimum commitment when it comes to frequency. Whether practicing once a day works best for you, or multiple times a day, find a routine that you will be able to stick to in the long-term.
Mindfulness Exercises
6-7-8 Breath: Breathe in for a count of 6, hold at the top for a count of 7 and then release for a count of 8. This is a great mind-rebalancing trick for anxiety or stress. Focus on the breath and practice for a full minute.
Grounding: Keeps you present and centered in the moment by getting real with your surroundings. Notice 4 things that you see, 3 things that you hear, 2 things that you can feel, add smell and taste if they are available. Repeat a few times, seeking different stimuli.
Mindful Moment: Close your eyes for a moment. Just check in with yourself, take a deep breath and notice how you feel. Then spend the next 2 minutes simply paying close attention to anything that you are doing.
Notice Your Inner Troll: Just bring awareness around to the chatterbox in your head and give it a character. I like to picture mine as a ridiculous, little troll that marches back and forth in my head. I notice it, then I giggle at it, then I choose to be the observer of my thoughts rather than the troll. I sit back and watch the troll without any judgment. I notice it, then giggle at it and say, “very interesting, now I will get back to the present moment.”
Benefits of Mindfulness
Reduces stress
Reduces and can even eliminate depression and anxiety worry and rumination
More emotional intelligence, less reactivity
Improve complex problem-solving and decision-making
Enhanced leadership
Promotes quicker healing in illness
Increased levels of satisfaction in all areas of life
Improved success in all areas of life
By becoming aware of the way the mind functions, we can significantly reduce the amount of anxiety we experience due to false conceptions. With a little training and practice, we can begin to learn to press the pause or stop button when we see the mind causing us anxiety without any good reason.
Ultimately, mindfulness allows us to become very purposeful on how we live our lives. Instead of being in default mode with life happening to us we step into design mode and our entire world begins to happen for us...on purpose.
The Journey to Joy Membership Portal
Looking for more mindfulness tools like this to assist you on your journey of self-discovery? The Journey to Joy membership is jam-packed with short messages and exercises just like these (including some of the most powerful tools that I use with my 1:1 clients!) delivered monthly in your membership portal. “Joy Starts Here” is designed to be easy to follow, fun, soul-enriching, educational and supportive. The modalities provided are all backed by neuroscience and the science behind happiness, healing, joy and emotional wellness.
