Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a practice that involves being fully engaged in whatever is going on around you. “It is simply the act of paying attention to whatever you are experiencing, as you experience it”

The Benefits of Mindfulness

Practising mindfulness helps you:

• to be fully present, here and now
• to experience unpleasant thoughts and feelings safely
• to become aware of what you’re avoiding
• to become more connected to yourself, to others and to the world around you
• to increase self-awareness
• to become less disturbed by and less reactive to unpleasant experiences
• to learn the distinction between you and your thoughts
• to have more direct contact with the world, rather than living through your thoughts
• to learn that everything changes; that thoughts and feelings come and go like the weather
• to have more balance, less emotional volatility
• to experience more calm and peacefulness
• to develop self-acceptance and self-compassion

Benefits of Mindfulness in Life and Work 

The practise of mindfulness enables you to:

• improve focus and concentration
• increase self-awareness
• reduce the impact and influence of stressful thoughts and feelings
• facilitate better relationships 
• catch self-defeating behaviours, and substitute more effective ones
• become aware of self-defeating thought processes, and 'let them go'

All of this boils down to 3 major benefits: improved performance, reduced stress, and greater  satisfaction in work and life.

How to do it:

Here is a mindfulness meditation technique for beginners:

1. Find a quiet and comfortable place. Sit in a chair or on the floor with your head, neck and back straight but not stiff.

2. Try to put aside all thoughts of the past and the future and stay in the present.

3. Become aware of your breath, focusing on the sensation of air moving in and out of your body as you breathe. Feel your belly rise and fall, the air enter your nostrils and leave your mouth. Pay attention to the way each breath changes and is different.

4. Watch every thought come and go, whether it be a worry, fear, anxiety or hope. When thoughts come up in your mind, don't ignore or suppress them but simply note them, remain calm and use your breathing as an anchor.

5. If you find yourself getting carried away in your thoughts, observe where your mind went off to, without judging, and simply return to your breathing.

Remember not to be hard on yourself if this happens.

6. As the time comes to a close, sit for a minute or two, becoming aware of where you are. Get up gradually.