Our fast paced lives encourage more stress, and less self awareness as we juggle work, being someone, helping family, dealing with stress etc etc etc etc etc… When we go about our lives in a mindful way we have a general sense of heightened awareness, peacefulness and physical relaxation. These are certainly great reasons to practice mindfulness in themselves, but the benefits go far beyond that.
There is some evidence that backs up the idea and benefits of Mindfulness too. It was shown in a study (created in 2011) that the cognitive and psychological benefits reported by mindfulness practitioners may come from actual physical changes in the brain structure.
In this study, participants had MR images taken of their brains before and after they took part in a 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program. The results were shown afterwards.
After spending an average of 27 minutes each day practicing mindfulness the participants had increased the grey-matter density in the hippocampus (which is known to be important for learning and memory).
The same changes were observed in structures associated with self-awareness, compassion and introspection.
On top of that the researchers also noticed a decrease in grey-matter density in the amygdala, which plays an important role in handling anxiety and stress.
It is with great thanks to the plasticity of the brain and the practice of mindfulness, we can actually play an active role in changing the brain and deliberately increase our well-being and quality of life. Lets be mindful and truly help ourselves.
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Using colour for mindfulness can benefit your unconscious mind
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Mindfulness Mistakes to Avoid
As you start practicing mindfulness, you’ll likely feel discomfort and become restless fairly quickly. Know that this is perfectly normal.
Your mind is simply not used to so few incoming stimulus and will protest by sending you these signals. When you feel this slight discomfort, stay in control and refuse to immediately give in to the temptation to quit.
A lot of people have the misconception that meditation is about emptying your mind completely and get increasingly annoyed each time a thought steals their attention. This is not true.
In fact, not being so good at meditation is actually good for your self-control and willpower. The more you lose focus, the more you practice your willpower each time you bring it back.
If you’re just starting out, you’ll likely feel awkward and that you’re probably doing it wrong. That’s all right.
You won’t be a great meditator right out of the gate so don’t expect to be. Just know that any mindfulness practice is way better than none at all and that you will get better with time so have fun with it ?
Now, let’s get to it shall we? The practice of mindfulness is going to be divided into meditation practice and everyday exercises.
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Meditation Practice
1. Pick a time and trigger. This doesn’t have to be an exact time of day. Pick a general one like in the morning when you wake up or during lunch. The trigger should be something you’re already doing like brushing your teeth, eating lunch or something else that’s a part of your regular routine.
2. Find a quiet spot. This could be a room in your house or out on a park bench. It doesn’t matter where you are as long as you get a couple of minutes of undisturbed alone time.
3. Get comfortable. Find a position that’s comfortable to you, whether it be sitting or lying down. Sitting is preferred if you have a tendency to fall asleep sleep while meditating (and don’t want to do that). Loosen your belt and unbutton your pants so that nothing gets in the way of your breathing.
4. Clarify your intention. A couple of words or a sentence is enough. As you start out you can use the basic intention in mindfulness practice: ”My intention is to be awake, open and attentive in the present moment without judging what I’m paying attention to”. Some other examples of intentions can involve reducing stress, lead a calmer life, raise the awareness of your feelings and so on.
5. Focus on your breath. Become aware of your breathing. Follow a couple of deep breaths all the way in and all the way out. Either focus your eyes softly on a particular spot or let them close. If it helps, think to yourself ”inhale…” as you breathe in and ”exhale…” as you breathe out. When your mind starts to wander, gently bring it back to your breath. Practice for a couple of minutes as you start out and add more time to your meditation practice as you get into the habit.
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Everyday Exercises
Combine your meditation practice with one of the following everyday mindfulness exercises and they will help you become more aware in the present moment. As you get comfortable with one of the exercises you can add the next one and so on.
Preferably start each one of the exercises by following three deep breaths in and out while paying attention to how each breath feels in your body. Also, remember to clarify your intention before you begin.
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- Morning exercise – Waking up
Use your newly awoken state to create a conscious start to your day.
Suggestion of intention: ”My intention is to wake up to this day.”
1. Connect to your breathing as your waking up.
2. Pay attention to possible sounds inside and outside of the room.
3. Note the quality of the light or dark inside and outside of the room.
4. If you want you can try to put a smile on you lips and see what happens. ?
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- Daytime exercise – Starting your computer
Turning your computer on can be your trigger to start your working day from a state of calm.
Suggestion of intention: ”My intention is to learn to work from a place of calm and stillness.”
1. Connect to your breathing.
2. Turn on the computer.
3. Count how many breaths you can follow in and out before the computer is ready.
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- Evening exercise – Doing laundry, washing dishes & cleaning
Intention suggestion: My intention is to become calm and peaceful in my everyday tasks. This may take some practice but ultimately, if it becomes habit, every moment can be a time for mindfulness.
1. Try dishwashing, cleaning and doing laundry a little bit slower than you usually do.
2. Try focusing your entire attention on what you’re doing and be aware of your body movements.
3. Pay attention to when your mind wanders.
4. Go back to what you’re doing and become aware of your body movements.
5. Repeat if necessary.
6. Pay attention to possible after-effects.
As you can see, mindfulness can be practiced on anything so let these three exercises be an inspiration for you to develop more of your own.
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What’s Next?
1. Start building the habit of mindfulness into your life and tell us in the comments how you’re going to commit to it.
2. Think of two friends that could benefit from mindfulness practice and email this article to them.
3. Smile, breathe and go slowly ?
Completing these daily routines can really improve your ability to be in the moment, rather than somewhere else. We all lead busy lives, yet the mind needs calm and clarity. Use mindfulness to improve your day to day living – Enjoy your life 🙂
Please try the Guided Sleep Meditation as that can also empower your mind.
“If it’s out of your hands, it deserves freedom from your mind too”
Please do get in touch if you would like to know more. Or please visit NHS Hypnotherapy
