Why Practice Mindfulness

Why is everyone always recommending mindfulness? What value does it have? How can it help us?

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is any activity that involves maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens.

Mindfulness also involves acceptance, meaning that we pay attention to our thoughts and feelings without judging them—without believing, for instance, that there’s a “right” or “wrong” way to think or feel in each moment. When we practice mindfulness, our thoughts tune into what we are sensing in the present moment, rather than rehashing the past or imagining the future.

How Does Being Present and Non-Judgmental Help Us?

The practice of mindfulness allows the opportunity to be in the moment and let go of our past and future. There is a saying that depression involves focusing on things we wish were different from our past and anxiety is worrying about our future. Practicing mindfulness gives us a break from these thoughts and allows for calm and inspiration to emerge.

Mindfulness also enhances our ability to focus and concentrate. In our world of constant scrolling and 30-second videos our attention spans are shrinking. Mindfulness allows us to train our brains to not need constant stimulation.

Do We Have to Sit Still to Be Mindful?

One misconception people have about mindfulness is that they think that the only way to be mindful is to sit quietly with their legs crossed in meditation. This is untrue. We can be mindful in any or all our daily activities. Being present while you wash the dishes, vacuum the house, or drive to work is all practicing mindfulness. As simple as this sounds, it is not easy. Our minds want to drift off into our life stories. Our only job in mindfulness is to bring ourselves back to our task at hand. What a gift to focus on the task in front of you (even if it is folding laundry)! Think how many breaks you can give your brain in a day if you choose to approach your tasks mindfully.

Are There Any Down Sides to Mindfulness?

One caveat about mindfulness: it does not always ‘feel Zen’. Sometimes we struggle with settling our minds. Sometimes we feel too much emotion. The practice involves noticing and non-judgment. Noticing our thoughts is different than being pulled into our thoughts. We can observe what we are thinking without trying to solve the presenting problem at that moment. We can observe our thought patterns, noticing which ones repeat most often. Observation offers information about what your mind wants to focus on. You are not required to do anything about the thoughts in those mindful moments. Simply notice. Do not judge. We can get caught up in the narrative we tell ourselves about our stories: why we think certain things, why certain things have happened, judging ourselves over how we have handled events in our lives. Mindfulness provides opportunities to separate ourselves from our stories and watch them as if they were on a screen. You are not required to solve anything in moments of mindfulness.

What is the Big Secret of Mindfulness?

The secret that reveals itself over time practicing mindfulness is that all the problem-solving you think you are doing when your mind is busy is not really putting you any further ahead. The space you create with mindfulness is the key to solving your life issues, even if you aren’t working on them in those mindful moments. Mindfulness creates space so that your brain isn’t locked into the stories you are telling yourself. As a result, your mind can invite creativity to the problem-solving table. Inspiration can bubble up because you aren’t trying to dictate the outcome. This is where true problem-solving occurs.

How Do I Begin to Practice Mindfulness?

I encourage you to invite spaces into your day for mindfulness. It is a practice; therefore, it requires persistence to reap benefits. However, mindfulness does not require a huge daily time commitment to experience improvement. Choose one, two or three times of 10 minutes each day to step out of your routine and be in the moment. The goal is not to accomplish anything other than creating space to notice what is happening right then. Is your mind busy? Are you tense? Are you relaxed? What do you notice is happening around you? What is your body doing? Notice. And don’t judge. Ten minutes isn’t so long that it cuts into other activities in your day; so, there is no need to feel guilty for taking the time. If you feel guilt, however, notice it and let it go. At the beginning and end of your ten minutes, notice how you feel. See if there are any differences. Once again, this takes practice over time. Some days will feel better. Other days you might not notice any difference. The big change comes from the practice, repeatedly, regardless of how you feel.

I’m excited to hear what you find. Let me know how it goes. Namaste.