Practicing Mindfulness

Recently, you may have heard of people using mindfulness inlife to help them get through the day. The concept and practice of mindfulness has been growing rapidly in many different health circles. What is it about mindfulness that is making it a rising health trend among individuals? How can you get started practicing mindfulness and reap the rewards it brings to people? Here we will talk about the benefits of mindfulness and how starting to be mindful can actually be a lot easier than it seems.

What Does It Do?

Excerpts from Mindful.org

“Mindfulness is the energy that helps us recognize the conditions of happiness that are already present in our lives. You don’t have to wait ten years to experience this happiness. It is present in every moment of your daily life.”

“Mindfulness is when you are truly there, mind and body together. You breathe in and out mindfully, you bring your mind back to your body, and you are there.”

These statements encapsulates what mindfulness truly means to some people. Being present in the here and now is the overarching goal of mindfulness. Being mindful can help you gain new perspectives about yourself, analyze situations without harsh judgement, reduce stress, improve concentration, and possibly even improve sleep. There are many other advantages to practicing mindfulness and is a lot more simple to start than some people may think.

How Do I Start?

You can start practicing being mindful wherever and whenever you like. Although, if you are just starting out practicing mindfulness, it may be easier to begin at home or in a place where it is quiet and comfortable.

• First thing you want to do is be sitting in a comfortable position in your comfortable and quiet area.
• Set a timer for anywhere between five to ten minutes. A five to ten minute timer is a good starting time if you are just starting out with your practice.
• Next you want to start paying attention to your breath. This is the key to practicing mindfulness and meditation. Mindfulness is a form of meditation. Notice your breath and keep coming back to it when your mind may start to wander
• Take note of when your mind is wandering to other topics or subjects that are not allowing you to focus on your breath.
• Don’t judge yourself. This can be the most difficult task when practicing mindfulness. If you are new at practicing mindfulness than it can be difficult to stay completely focused on your breath for the duration of the time you have set and that is just fine.

Reflect on how you felt about your time practicing and know that it is a work in progress and always will be. Mindfulness is a great tool to have to decompress from a stressful day or event or just to improve overall quality of life. Keep practicing and soon you will be able to implement the same feelings and attitudes during your practice into your everyday life.