What is Mindfulness?
What is Mindfulness?
“Mindfulness is the awareness that arises when we non-judgmentally pay attention in the present moment. It cultivates access to core aspects of our own minds and bodies that our very sanity depends on,” says Jon Kabat-Zinn, from The Unexpected Power of Mindfulness Meditation.
Mindfulness is a way of existing in the world- how we relate to ourselves, to others and to the world around us. Mindfulness is the ability to be aware in the present moment, with an open mind and heart, without the clouding of thoughts, stories, emotions, and judgements. We can think of mindfulness as REMEMBERING to remember. We spend 46% of our day on autopilot and while we are in autopilot, we tend to be unhappy. Mindfulness is often described as a bird with two wings: the wing of awareness and the wing of compassion. Just like a bird needs two wings to fly, we must cultivate both wings.
What is Self Compassion?
“When we suffer, caring for ourselves as we would care for someone we truly love. Self compassion includes: self kindness, a sense of common humanity, and mindfulness.” —Kristen Neff
Self Compassion consists of three elements:
Mindfulness
Common Humanity
Self- Kindness
Curious to learn more? Test how self compassionate you are.
When learning about the world of mindfulness, it’s important to understand the terminologies we use. Below are my list of important areas to define and understand in our work together.
Benefits
Study after study has proven that mindfulness offers a wide range of benefits from physical, mental to emotional well being.
Reduced stress and anxiety.
Mindfulness can help regulate emotions and reduce symptoms associated with stress and anxiety.
Improve focus and concentration.
Mindfulness meditation can increase neural pathways to improve attention and concentration and decrease the intensity of emotions and thoughts that can get in the way of focusing.
Increasing self-awareness.
Mindfulness can help increase self- awareness and provide greater insight into thoughts, feelings and emotions. Cultivating self awareness enables us to respond to our inner and outer world with an clear mind and open heart.
Practicing Mindfulness may also:
Reduce anxiety and depression
Decrease blood pressure
Improve sleep
Aid in decreasing the effect of chronic pain
It can really hard to incorporate a meditation practice into your life. Having struggled for years to find a rhythm and consistency that works for me, I know first hand what can get in the way and how to work through the obstacles to develop a practice that works best for you.
Mindfulness, more importantly, living a mindful life goes beyond “sitting on the cushion”.
We can incorporate mindfulness through eating, speaking, walking (just to name a few).
