What is mindfulness and how to get started with your mindfulness practise?
Mindfulness is intentional awareness of the present moment without any judgement, with kindness. Mindfulness practise allows us to become aware of the feelings we are experiencing, the thoughts we are having that are causing us to feel a certain way, the sensations that are occurring within our body and the situation that is triggering us. We notice it all without any judgement. We start to become present in the here and now. Imagine when someone cuts us off in traffic, instead of cursing and swearing, you just observe with kindness. How would you feel if you had thoughts such as, “Maybe they had a difficult day,” or, “Maybe they have an emergency and need to get to a certain place.” Imagine how rejuvenating you would feel inside.
Research on mindfulness shows that mindfulness practise can help us transform ourselves in positive ways by reducing the time we spend in judgement of ourselves and others and by increasing our self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence. Studies also show that mindfulness can reduce symptoms of anxiety disorders, depression, pain, and insomnia. It has been shown to decrease blood pressure and enhance our ability to pay attention.
You can start a daily mindfulness practise by setting your timer for 5 minutes on your phone and just observing your breath. You may notice your mind wandering and when it wanders just acknowledge it has wandered and bring it back to the breath. Remember the key is to observe with kindness.
Watch the video below for how to start practising mindfulness in your daily life:
“You are not stuck. You are just committed to certain patterns of behaviour because they helped you in the past. Now those behaviours have become more harmful than helpful. There reason why you cant move forward is because you keep applying an old formula to a new level in your life. Change the formula to get a different result.”
–Emily Maroutian
