Do you sometimes feel anxiety, are you stressed or simply feel overwhelmed by the endless input of information every day?
Have you lost the connection to your inner-self or never discovered it? This is how I felt before I got introduced to the techniques of practicing mindfulness
What is mindfulness?
How mindfulness can help you to develop a happier life!
In this article you will learn about the positive effects of meditation and mindfulness. I will describe the WHAT, WHY and HOW of mindfulness: A guide to develop a happier day-to-day life.
Highlights
- WHAT is mindfulness?
- WHY should I practice mindfulness?
- HOW can I develop mindfulness?
- HOW can I use mindfulness in daily routines?
“Our mind is the most powerful thing!”
WHAT is mindfulness?
Simply speaking, mindfulness is the practice of bringing your attention to the present moment – a skill that can be developed through different techniques, especially by practicing meditation. Even though the term mindfulness has become quite mainstream over the past decade, a lot of people still think of it as something rather spiritual.
However, neuroscience research has proven that mindfulness can cure many health issues and make people more relaxed, positive and happy. Even though a large part of our brain structure is primarily shaped within the first 6 years of our childhood, science shows that neurons keep developing throughout life, which is an important insight when it comes to understanding mindfulness. It means that we can actually train our mind in a way so that it works to our advantage! We can get rid of subconscious believes, old thinking patterns, and we override negative brain activity with positive neurons. When developing our mind we are capable to actively change how we think, act and how we feel!
Therefore, the first ingredient for mindfulness is the core understanding that our mind is the center of our entire being and it’s the most powerful tool in our life!
Our mind is controlling every move, every word, and every thought at any given time! Yet, we are generally not consciously aware of the processes itself because it happens at immeasurable speed and mostly subconsciously. Consequently, it is very important to recognize that our mind plays the key role when we think, speak or do anything!
Once we understand the power of our mind, the further understanding of mindfulness lies within the following 3 principles:
- Be aware of the present moment & be conscious of your current state of mind
- Understand that everything is impermanent
- Understand that every moment is subject to change
It’s certainly not an easy task to keep focusing on the present moment while our thoughts naturally wonder around our memories from the past and create expectations for our future. To be present in the moment, we need to teach our mind that the past is over and the future has not come yet.
It’s also important to understand that nothing in life is permanent and nothing really belongs to us. Everything that we think we own (my house, my car, my body, my mind,…) will eventually disappear from us. This might be a scary thought at first but the more we are aware of this nature of life, the easier it becomes to let go of anything or anyone when we face these life challenges.
The third principle states that every moment is subject to change. As Heraclitus once said: “The only constant in life is change”. When we understand the deeper meaning of this saying, it helps to accept and appreciate the present moment because this moment can simply vanish any second.
The knowledge about these 3 principles will make it much easier to be mindful, bringing your attention to the present moment and being grateful for the little things in life.
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Why should I practice mindfulness?
With this profound knowledge about our mind, it seems surprising that a lot of people don’t pay more attention to their mental health. We invest a lot of time and money (just look at the last gym bill!) to push our body to the limits and we keep physically fit. Yet, what are you doing to frequently train your mind? When was the last time you said, “hey mind, let’s
start the day with a little mind jogging or let’s do some mind push-ups to get you in shape again?
Just like we train our body, we should train our mind!
Practicing mindfulness enhances our well-being in many ways, both mentally and physically. A lot of institutions have adopted programs based on mindfulness, such as schools, prisons, athletic clubs, hospitals, and others. Depending on the specific field and how it is applied, mindfulness can help with the following:
- Reduce stress (relieving the mind in tense situations)
- Control anxiety (reducing phobias and obsessive-compulsive behavior)
- Enhance emotional health & reduce depression (creating a more positive outlook on life)
- Enhance self-awareness (gaining a stronger understanding of yourself)
- Reduce and control pain (because our perception of pain is connected to our state of mind)
- Improve sleep
- Help with weight management
- Enhance athletic performance
- Lengthen the attention span
- Reduce age related memory loss & help with healthy aging
- Help to fight addictions (sometimes used in treatment of drug addiction)
- Help to generate kindness (increasing positive feelings and actions towards yourself and others)
Considering the positive effects that mindfulness creates, it will automatically lead to a much happier, healthier and joyful life, and ultimately, we will be more at peace when we leave this world!
How can I develop mindfulness?
The great news is that mindfulness lies within all of us! We just need to activate it by practicing specific techniques. If you train your mind just a few minutes a day but do it frequently, you will become more mindful with yourself and with others. Anyone can practice mindfulness at any time!
You can easily pick up a few methods at your own pace and capacity – like some of us enjoy going for a walk while others like to run a marathon. As long as you keep actively practicing, you will quickly find out what works best for you and how to implement it in your daily routine. Just as with any kind of exercise, the more frequently you practice, the better you’ll become and the easier it will get! And who knows… you might even be able to train your mind a way that you can actually run that marathon that you never thought you would!
Here are some simple techniques you can get started with!
MEDITATION
One of the key techniques and the most common tool to develop mindfulness is meditation. When we meditate, we are concentrating our mind on a specific object, thought or activity. Meditating doesn’t mean not to think! You are not supposed to fully clear your thoughts from your mind nor fight them. Just try to concentrate on what’s happening right now, in this present moment. There is no right or wrong! No need to judge or change anything, just be aware.
Meditation techniques can come in various shapes and sizes. There are many different styles and variations, but no matter which meditation you practice, it will help you to become more mindful.
1) Breathing Mediation
Breathing meditation is a good way to release stress or to calm down in a tense situation. You simply focus on your natural breath. If you get distracted, just think “I am breathing in” while you inhale and think “I am breathing out” while exhaling. Since our breath is naturally always available to us, we can do this anywhere at any time! It’s easy. It’s quick. It’s always accessible.
2) Body Scan
A body scan can also be performed pretty much anywhere. Simply bring your attention to specific body parts – start at the top of your head, concentrate on your forehead, eyes, lips, shoulders, arms, stomach, legs, and so on. This can help to overcome sleepiness and helps to gain focus for a specific task that you are about to perform – so it can also be applied before doing any other meditation. Over time you will learn to be more aware of the sensations in your body and become more mindful of them, so you can perform physical activities more mindfully as well.
3) Loving-Kindness Meditation
This mediation helps to feel more compassionate towards yourself and others. Spreading loving-kindness opens up our mind and can create more positivity in life. There are many recordings on YouTube that can help you being guided through the meditation, or you can simply chose one of the suggested recordings in our 10-day Loving-Kindness Meditation Challenge where you can chose to be guided through the meditation by a Sri Lankan monk.
OTHER MINDFUL PRACTICES
Aside from meditation, there are many other tools and techniques you can use to be more mindful. As mentioned above, mindfulness is simply the practice of bringing your attention to the present moment. So whenever you try to concentrate on one thing or bring your attention to what you are doing, you are already being more mindful. In the following section you can find some additional helpful techniques that can easily be implemented in your daily life.
How can I Use Mindfulness in daily routines?
When people think about mindfulness and mediation it seems to still create an imagine in our head of an old, wise man sitting on a cushion in a slush green garden, lost in deep concentration for hours or days. Yet, mindfulness and meditation can be practiced in many different ways and it is much more than just sitting on a cushion!
Implementing mindfulness into your daily routine can be rather fun and easy.
1) Before you start your day, take a few minutes to think (or write down) how you want your day to be
Picture your day with a positive attitude while you run through the tasks and events for the day. Be grateful that you are allowed to create this day as you picture it, and prepare your mind to accept any unexpected surprises. The more mindful you are about what’s going to happen – good and bad – the more mindful (and mostly more joyful) you will experience this day! Have a nice day, but don’t expect to have a nice day! 🙂
2) Set your alarm a few times throughout the day and stop doing what you are doing
Once the alarm rings, pause everything for a few minutes to either concentrate on your breathing or try to feel the sensations in your body at that very moment. Am I cold, am I relaxed, is it itchy somewhere? Change your position, get up from your chair, or just take a few conscious breaths. Anything you do to bring your mind back to the present moment and focus on only one thing, will help to bring back more energy and concentration to your daily routine.
3) Before eating breakfast, lunch and/or dinner, open the window and take a few 4-second breaths
Open the window and deeply inhale while you count to 4 and then exhale while counting to 4 again. Repeat this practice at least 3-4 times and consciously feel your breath while doing so. You will then be relaxed and more aware of your meal once you start eating your food.
4) Be mindful of your food when you eat (or drink)
Before you start eating, briefly pause to mindfully look at your food. Notice the color, the smell, the shape, the taste, and how it may make you feel. Be grateful for your food. If you are dining with others, you may share a thought of gratitude together. Be mindful of how much you load into your stomach (often we get distracted by watching TV or a good conversation) because a full stomach can also affect our concentration and our mindfulness.
5) Try to do one thing at a time (!)
This may seem a little backwards in the era of “multi-tasking”, but it is very important to remember that anytime we are trying to do more than one thing at a time, we are not focused and cannot perform with our full concentration. So pick a few tasks throughout the day where you fully shut off everything else and just focus on that specific task for a few minutes or longer.
6) When your phone rings, take a deep breath before picking up instead of rushing to answer it
This is a very fun and easy technique. Just pause for a second and take a deep breath before answering any call. While you will be more focused on the call, it can lead to a better conversation. It also helps to develop your overall mindfulness in the long run because the more you practice, the more mindful you will become!
TOP 10 LEARNINGS
Get started
If you want to try any of the suggested meditations click here to read and learn more:
- Breathing MEditation
Breathing Meditation
- BODY SCAN
Body Scan
- LOVING-KINDNESS MEDITATION
Loving-Kindness Meditation