Mindfulness

Mindfulness is being kind, open, and curious about our mental state and the state of our surroundings.

The mind is our body’s most significant resource, so taking care of it is important. Mindfulness is an effective and low-cost way to deal with stress. Practicing mindfulness helps improve psychological as well as physical health. The physical benefits include lowering blood pressure and heart rate, better oxygen utilization, carbon dioxide elimination, and increased melatonin. The psychological benefits include reduction of stress and decreased anxiety and depression. Mindfulness practice also improves executive functioning and concentration skills.

 Mindfulness is the ability to become aware and pay attention, and it’s a skill that anyone can improve. As little as two minutes a day of dedicated practice has been shown to lower resting heart rate and blood pressure. 

One misunderstanding about mindfulness is that all thought needs to stop. In fact, people experience all kinds of thoughts while practicing mindfulness. The key is to recognize when your mind wanders, and bring your awareness back to the present.

Choosing an activity and practicing it mindfully is a way to start practicing mindfulness. A simple task can help quieten the compulsive activity of the mind. Examples of such activities can be knitting, coloring, painting, drawing, running, and folding clothes. The advantage of these repetitive activities is that you can bring your awareness back to the activity when your mind wanders. 

Meditation is a practice that uses techniques of mindfulness exercises. So, you can take your mindfulness practice further by practicing meditation. It is a way to give mindfulness practice a scheduled time in your day. The practice of meditation is an umbrella term for mindfulness techniques and has the following distinctive features

• A defined technique to calm the mind

• Being aware of the intrinsic and extrinsic surroundings without analyzing them

• Practicing a self-regulated state of mind

• Using a focus or anchor for attention

There are two main categories of meditation practices, traditional belief-based (spiritual) meditations and those that have been developed specifically for use in clinical settings (phenomenological). 

The five major religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (and many others)  practice forms of meditation that involve some kind of prayer or chanting. In western culture, the secular meditation practice has been embraced which helps a person practice meditation without following any particular religion. This is the one preferred in clinical settings. Whether a person chooses to meditate for religious or non-religious reasons, all types of meditation help a person become kind, compassionate, grateful, loving, and accepting towards oneself and others. 

There is no one meditation method that is proven to be the best, and individual preference can be the deciding factor. Here are a few kinds of meditations to choose from:

• Visualization: conjuring a mental image and using it as a focus for attention

• Body scan: This technique is designed to sync body and mind by performing a mental scan, from the top of the head to the end of your toes

• Breath: Using breath to focus attention, anchor the mind, and maintain awareness

• Mantra: Using a word, syllable, or phrase to focus attention and using it to bring in positive energy.

• Vipassana: This focuses on insight into the true nature of reality; impermanence, non-self

• Loving-kindness: focusing on an image of a person; bringing positive energy to yourself and then as a ripple effect to that other person

• Transcendental refers to a specific practice designed to quiet the mind and induce a state of calm and peace. It involves the use of mantras and is best taught by a certified Transcendental Meditation practitioner.

• Sound bath: a provider trained in sound bath musical techniques will use one or several instruments to create soothing, overlapping vibrations to lead you deeper into a state of contemplation or relaxation, shutting off your body’s fight-or-flight reflex.

Any of these meditations can be guided by a teacher in-person/online or via an app on your phone. Choosing guided meditation can be a good way to begin. Headspace, Ten Percent Happier Meditation, Calm, and Insight Timer are a few smartphone apps that anyone can try. Similarly, youtube offers guided meditation sessions by well-known meditation teachers. 

Practicing meditation can be hard in the beginning. In meditation, it does not help to fixate on the benefits or judge one’s performance. Just find a place to sit, lie down, or stand and be still.