What is Mindfulness? What are its Benefits?

‘Mindfulness is a way of befriending ourselves and our experience’

                                                                                                   – Jon Kabbat-Zinn

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness. It’s a pretty straightforward word, yet a little confusing. There is so much literature being written on this topic, that it’s overwhelming. However, in simple words, mindfulness suggests that the mind and body are completely present in the ‘here & now. 

‘Mindfulness then is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not be overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.’  

Difference Between Awareness and Mindfulness-

Awareness and mindfulness may sound very similar, yet there are differences between the two. Mindfulness involves focusing on your own thoughts, feelings and bodily experiences without judgement. Whereas awareness involves focusing more on what’s happening around you and in your environment, while mindfulness involves being non-judgmental, awareness may or may not include judgment.

Benefits of Mindfulness:

The benefits of mindfulness are multifold. Mindfulness helps to:

• Decrease Depression
• Improve emotion regulation 
• Reduce stress and anxiety
• Improve Memory
• Improve cognition
• Strengthen relationships
• Improve physical health
• increase concentration and focus
• Form a deeper connection with yourself

Adapting Mindfulness In Everyday Life

In our hectic, stressful and fast-paced lives, it is naturally very difficult to incorporate mindfulness. However, the good thing about mindfulness is that it can be incorporated into your daily chores. 

Here are some different ways you can practice mindfulness in everyday life :

• Mindful Eating-

While eating, be mindful of what the food tastes like, notice how you swallow your food; and notice what the texture feels like. Eat slowly, and pay attention to chewing. Do not multitask, do not watch TV or play on your phone while eating. If you are fully present with the food, it’ll nourish your body better. 

• Mindful Interactions-

Mindful interactions are important, no matter who you’re interacting with. Interacting mindfully means giving that person your undivided attention and fully listening to what they have to say, instead of taking a train of your own thoughts into a parallel universe. 

You can become more mindful by paying attention to the way you’re feeling, listening carefully, and learning to respond to others more thoughtfully. This will enrich your relationships.

• Mindful Walking-

This is the practice of becoming aware of your surroundings and how your body and mind feel while walking. Mindful walking involves inhaling while placing one foot forward and exhaling while placing the other foot forward.

This can also help in removing pent-up energy inside the body that builds up because of stressful situations. Mindful walking is very effective and can be practised a few times a day.

Here we have written walking as an example but you can extend mindfulness to any other daily activity you perform, like bathing, washing utensils, arranging your cupboard, etc. Just remember to be fully present for the task. 

• Pause throughout the day-

While moving from one activity to another throughout the day, it can be quite difficult to be mindful. 

Hence, it is effective to pause throughout the day while doing activities and practice some small mindfulness-based exercises. For example, take 4-5 minutes between two activities and do deep belly breathing. This way, you can prepare yourself for the next task. 

Key Tip For Mindfulness Practice

It is a myth that if you’re practising mindfulness, no thought should enter your mind. We need to remember that it’s normal to have thoughts

Mindfulness is more about being welcoming, and accepting of those thoughts, but respectfully refusing to cater to them. 

For example, if a thought enters my mind, I will say to myself, “Right now I am trying to be mindful about the task at hand, so this thought is not a priority right now. I will entertain it later in the night.

Sources-

• How to Make Mindfulness Your Way of Life. (n.d.). Verywell Mind. Retrieved March 1, 2024, from https://www.verywellmind.com/mindfulness-exercises-for-everyday-life-3145187