Finding a moment to be mindful
Discovering micro-moments for connection and presence.
"Mindfulness is simple but it's not easy" is a famous quote from Jon Kabat-Zinn, one of the founding leaders, credited with bringing the eastern spiritual of Mindfulness into the western scientific setting.
I was introduced to mindfulness in 2005 after attending Buddhism classes with a wonderful soul I met upon my relocation to Cambridgeshire from London. She introduced me to Buddhism and Mindfulness. At the time this was in the form of meditation. As someone who suffered from complex PTSD, it was not helpful for me. However, I was fascinated by it and the further I delved in, the more I realised that you do not have to sit in mediation to be mindful. Meditation is a formal practice of mindfulness, however, you can create an informal practice and be mindful in your everyday activities.
I began incorporating mindful practices into my day and studied mindfulness to teach in schools to young people struggling with attention and emotion regulation.
Whilst mindfulness may not be easy, it does come with many benefits such as:
Attention Regulation - by concentrating on a task we can train the brains circuitry to acknowledge distractions and return to the object of focus. The result is greater attentiveness
Emotion Regulation - listening and noticing our emotions helps us with emotion control and we can begin to understand what our emotions are telling us.
Resilience - mindfulness has been shown to effectively reduce stress levels and increase resilience.
Below I have included ideas for how you can bring mindfulness to your day.
Idea#1 - Fully enter the present moment through the senses
We perceive the world in through our senses. Chose an activity you do daily such as taking a shower. When you are in the shower notice:
Visual - what you see around you i.e. shower gel, shampoo, tiles, shower door, what colours can you see
Auditory - What can you hear? The sound of the water splashing on your skin
Kinesthetic - What can you feel? The water on your skin, the temperature of the body, the softness of the soap
Gustatory - what can you taste? If you can't taste anything thing of the last thing you ate or drank
Olfactory - what can you smell? The smell of the soap, shampoo, shower spray.
Idea#2 - Mindful when walking
When you are walking around the house, be mindful of how you are moving. Bring attention to your feet, notice how they feel on the floor beneath you. Notice the weight of your body shift from one foot to the other. Play close attention to the speed you are walking.
Mindfulness is not about being calm or having no thoughts, 'Mindfulness is the awareness that comes from paying attention in the present moment, on purpose and without judgement' Jon Kabat-Zinn
Idea#3 - There is no such thing as a wrong experience
Mindfulness is a personal experience and all experiences are valid. For some mindfulness may feel boring, irritating or pointless while others may feel relaxed or calm. The point is all experiences are valid. Reflect on your experience, perhaps write it in a journal and see if it changes over time.
Idea#4 - Repetition is key
Perhaps chose one activity to focus on every day over the next week. Repetition causes new neural pathways to be formed in the autopilot of the mind. Remember the saying 'neurons that fire together, wire together.'
Idea#5 - Keep a daily practice
By keeping a daily practice, you begin to recognise mindfulness as part of your daily routine and can introduce it throughout the day. This develops consistency and mindfulness becomes an integral part of your day rather than a separate activity.
Remember mindfulness can be formal (meditation) or informal, there is no right or wrong way to practice. Give it a go and let me know how you get on in the comments below.
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