Mindfulness

Mindfulness is way of engaging life fully in the present. It is a friendly, curious awareness that helps us relate to ourselves and others with compassion. It does not mean accepting everything or spacing out. Rather, it is a state of focus and intention. It is one of the ingredients that makes therapy work, and a successful part of stress reduction.

Mindfulness can be woven into daily life, but a good place to start is with a brief daily practice. The directions are simple:

1) Sit or lie down quietly for 20-30 minutes, once or twice a day. Begin by drawing your focus to your breath or another physical sensation. You can also choose a visual object to focus on. Whatever you choose, rest your focus there and allow yourself to take it in as fully as you can. Paint a picture of it in your mind, or think of yourself as a writer describing as scene.

2) As you focus in this way, other thoughts, emotions and sensations may come into awareness. Allow these to come and go; the idea is to observe them without trying to change them or block them out. Take a full look at them, just as you did with your breath.

If that is too formal, there are many activities that naturally bring about a mindful state. Think about a time when you were fully engaged in the present moment, without judgment, worry, or self-consciousness. Maybe it was walking in the woods, playing sports or music, talking with friends, or reading a good book. Add more of that into your life, and try to expand that mindful state to other activities.

The key to mindfulness is practice. Just as therapy doesn’t work in one visit, the benefits of mindfulness grow with repetition. You might find yourself bringing this approach into your everyday life, and times that once were frustrating can become opportunities for mindful practice.

Mindfulness has a number of health benefits. It improves depression, ADHD, anxiety, and sleep. It reduces medical symptoms like chronic pain, fibromylagia, irritable bowel syndrome, psoriasis (skin eruptions), and high blood pressure; and has brought about mild improvements in the immune function of people with cancer.