Mindfulness to Well Being

 

The world has become a turnover, we practice our schedule’s whilst we stay indoors, that has become the new normal. On a daily routine, you might fold the laundry while keeping one eye on your kid and the other on the television. You might jot down the plan for the next day while listening to the radio or while having lunch. Finally, the weekend arrives and you alleviate with a gripping book or a fascinating Netflix show. Always being in a rush to complete tasks, do you often find yourself losing connection with the present moment? Do you have a habit of slipping off to the past or what future would be like? Did you notice your favorite tree has shed leaves or how forsythia blooms along your route to work? Mindfulness is the practice of focusing attention to the present moment – well, let’s explore that. Shall we?

The culture of mindfulness dates back to Buddhism. This technique helps to mold your thoughts from your current preoccupations so that you perceive a larger perspective on life. Let us look at the benefits of mindfulness.

·        Mindfulness and Physical Health – Mindfulness helps treat heart diseases, lower’s blood pressure, reduces chronic pain, improves sleep, alleviate gastrointestinal difficulties.

·        Mindfulness and Mental Health – Mindfulness meditation is the secret to a long and happy life. It has treated depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, anxiety disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder etc.

·        Mindfulness and Well Being – When you focus on the now, you are less likely to get caught up in worries about the future or regrets over the past. You deal with adverse events more affectively. Extensively focusing on present activities, does boost self-esteem and creates promising connection with self. This technique has been brought into mainstream medicine. It brings positive psychological symptoms and other changes in health, attitudes and behaviors. 

Practicing mindfulness involves staying alert, focused relaxation by consciously paying attention to thoughts and sensations without any judgement. This will allow your crisp mind to refocus on the present moment. Let’s explore some mindfulness techniques.

1.     Basic mindfulness meditation:

·        Sit quietly, focus on your natural breathing or on a ‘mantra’ that you repeat on loop.

·        Allow your thoughts to be passengers, they will come, stay for a while and then leave.

·        Focus on your breathing or mantra whilst your thoughts pass by.  

2.   Focus on body sensations:

·        Notice the subtle body sensations such as tingling, fear, restlessness, without judgement.

·        Notice each part of your body for such sensations from head to toe.

·        Don’t lose on your focus on breathing or mantra whilst you notice these sensations.

3.     Focus on sensory:

·        Notice the sights, smells, sounds, tastes and touch, around you.

·        Name them silently accordingly ‘sight’, ‘smell’, ‘taste’ or ‘touch’, without any judgement and let them go.

·        Don’t lose on your focus on breathing or mantra whilst you notice these sensory. 

4.     Focus on emotions:

·        Notice the emotions that erupt or have been there since a very long time, without any judgement.

·        Begin a steady and relaxed manner of naming the emotions silently like joy, anger, frustration, without any judgment and consider them as passengers. Let them go.

·        Don’t lose on your focus on breathing or mantra whilst you notice these sensory. 

5.     Focus on urge surfing:

·        Notice your cravings for any addiction or behaviors and consider them passengers. Let them go.

·        Notice how you feel as your cravings enter your body. Replace your desires with your knowledge, in order to let it recede.

·        Don’t lose on your focus on breathing or mantra whilst you notice these sensory. 

The effects of mindfulness meditation tends to be dose related; the more you do, better the results. It takes both time and patience to utterly surrender to the peacefulness within. The only goal of mindfulness is to stop giving the authority to your thoughts and emotions. Just remember that in a world where people, including you are a part of rhythmic routine, it is important to take a moment to just breathe and live in the moment. Let go of the past and worry about the future when it onsets.