Mindfulness

Do you ever feel like you struggle to live in the moment? Or ever feel like life constantly moves at a fast pace? Being more mindful can help! Mindfulness encourages us to slow down, accept the things in life we cannot change (or at least cope with them better), and also just enjoy life more. Mindfulness is a skill we all have, we just have to work on embracing it and using it. 

What is Mindfulness?

We hear about “Mindfulness” or “being more mindful” all the time, but what exactly does it mean? Mindfulness is simply recognizing what is going on around us and and also inside of us. It also means being present in the moment without allowing thoughts of what’s to come to interfere with the moment. It can be broken down into 2 parts: attention and curiosity. 

Attention means we focus on physical sensations, thoughts that come up, or the environment around us. An example of this would be when we put intentional focus on our breathing. Curiosity means we notice the things that come to our attention, but not reacting to them. Another aspect can be coming into a new situation without expectation of how it will make us feel, we just allow it to happen. We let the thoughts and feelings come as they may, without trying to force them into a certain direction. 

Mindfulness is NOT having no thoughts or feelings at all, ignoring your thoughts, feelings, or experiences, or forcing yourself to relax in a certain way. It is all about accepting how you feel, good or bad and recognizing those feelings. Mindfulness is often times associated with meditation and deep breathing exercises, which are great ways to get in touch with how you are doing/feeling physically and mentally.

How does Mindfulness work?

We so often get caught up in thinking (or worrying) about the future, or focusing on things in the past we may regret. We spend so much time doing this, we sometimes forget to live in the moment and appreciate the things around us and things happening right now. We need to be paying more attention to the here and now and looking for the everyday things that bring us peace and joy. Here an example: pretend you have an important deadline at work. You may immediately start to think “how am I going to get this done?” or start to feel very overwhelmed and start to feel tense or upset. Someone who regularly practices mindfulness will notice how their mind and body are reacting to the deadline. They will notice their shoulders getting tense or their negative or overwhelming thoughts about it and they will acknowledge how they are feeling. The aren’t trying to push the feelings away, instead they are giving it attention and processing why they feel that way. When you allow yourself to be mindful of how you are feeling, you are better able to utilize coping skills to deal with it. Mindfulness also includes having compassion for ourselves and others. Instead of criticizing ourselves when we have negative feelings, we allow ourselves to acknowledge them and be aware of them. You may say “I feel ________________ and I can deal with this by __________” and working through it instead of wallowing in it. It is all about staying present in the moment and being honest with yourself about how you are feeling. 

Are you ready to try Mindfulness?

Bring mindfulness to your meals-instead of eating front of the TV, really focus on what you are eating and enjoying your food

Bring mindfulness to work-check in with yourself throughout the day. What are your thoughts like? How are you feeling physically? 

Bring mindfulness while you are getting around-stay present in the moment and really look around on your drive to work (or somewhere else for those who live in town). Take the time to notice the things you see. 

Bring mindfulness into sensations: spend a full minute following your own breath. When your mind starts to wander (because it probably will) bring it back to focusing on your breath. As you practice more, you can add more time. 

A few things to keep in mind:

• Start slow. You do not have to fully jump into it on your first try
• It is natural for your mind to wander. When you feel it wandering bring it back to the present moment. The more you do it, the easier it will be. 
• It takes care and time. It may be challenging at first, and may feel unpleasant at times, but be persistent. Give it the time to work and to help you.