Mindfulness is rooted in eastern philosophy and is over 2000 years old.
Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to the present moment, on purpose, and non-judgmentally. Bringing one's complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis. It is something you can bring into every aspect of your life. And it can support every aspect of your life, the positive and the negative.
Mindfulness is the 'in' thing. It is a fad to many people, just a buzz word.
This underestimates its benefits and qualities. Mindfulness is a self-awareness practice. It is not religion based, you do not need to have faith in anything, you only need to train your mind to pay attention to the moment you are in. It can be practiced by anyone whatever their beliefs or background.
Its benefits are vast:
· increased emotional awareness
· decreased anxiety
· increased focus
· decreased worry
· increased concentration
· decreased depression... and on we can go.
Medical articles that support this:
Mindfulness supports you to enjoy and be in the moments in life that are wonderful. The beauty of it is that it supports you in life to face the challenges that come that are not so wonderful but are a part of life. Mindful living helps you become aware and deal with whatever life experiences you are having.
Sometimes people may assume that being mindful means you are free from negative emotion, but that is not the life we live. We are human beings who experience emotion, a huge part of who we are. I personally still get angry at the inconsiderate drivers out there, I still shout, but I accept it for what it is and let it go.
Accept it, change it or let it go!
Mindfulness helps decrease the impact of the emotion in the instant, it helps you see them for what they are, and supports you to know you have a choice.
Mindfulness supports conscious awareness of the breath, and body regulation. The mind body connection.
The first step is to STOP!!! BREATHE!!
Enjoy that for a minute, just be one with your breath.
Now PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR THINKING!!!
Then you gift your conscious self with CHOICE..."WHERE DO I FOCUS MY ATTENTION?"
If you are in any way struggling with life, as in, even if only sometimes...it just gets too much. The stress, anxiety, depression, worry, drama, pain. And you want to free yourself of all that you can, then mindfulness is a practice, a technique, a tool. That can help!
Mindfulness living can deepen your capacity and bring more meaningful, balanced and peaceful experiences into your life.