Meditation

There are many definitions of meditation. Meditation is a training of oneself by increasing your awareness and focus leading to a better and healthier self. The goal of meditation is to heighten the state of awareness of a person and their focus.

Meditation has been practiced by many cultures all over the world for years such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Christian and even Islam. They have their own way of practicing meditation which they often relate with their religion. While meditation was first used for religious practices, many of the people now practice it independently and away from any spiritual or religious relief. Meditation became their psychotherapy that helps calm their body and mind.

5 Ways Meditation Makes Us Happy

People, by nature, are in constant pursuit of happiness. Who would want to be happy? Let’s see how meditation might contribute to this pursuit:

1. Good Night’s Sleep

Meditation and mindfulness helps a person sleep better. It serves as a relaxation exercise that gives the body the peace and quiet that it needs bringing inner healing. When done a few minutes prior to sleeping, meditation helps reduce insomnia and sleeping problems giving you a good night’s sleep. The longer you sleep throughout the night, the more energy you’ll have in the morning which will lead to a more productive day. Happiness is not only gained through material things, as simple as a good night’s sleep will increase your happy hormone.

2. Better Memory

Meditation and mindfulness involve the mind in practicing it. One study found that people who are practicing mindfulness meditation performed better on memory task. There were also signs that their hippocampus, the part of brain responsible for learning and memory, was proven to have increased in volume too. Another study also found that meditation improves short-term memory and focus. A good working memory is one secret in to achieving a successful career as it makes a person optimistic and confident.

3. Develops your Creativity

Mindfulness meditation is a great training in improving a person’s creativity. Since meditation works with the mind, it has known effects on the brain by reducing its reactivity, increasing resiliency and makes your neocortex work so much better. Meditation has a long-lasting effect on human’s cognition abilities which makes it possible for us to conceive even better ideas. Everyday creative endeavors make way for a positive mood and happier day.

4. Healthier Body

Although meditation mainly affects the mind, it has certain effects on the body too. Meditation has many health benefits such as relieving anxiety, pain, and depression. It also improves the body’s sympathetic nervous system by increasing the heart rate, blood pressure and breathing within normal levels in times of stressful situations. A healthier body leads to a healthier outlook in life.

5. Greater Happiness

They say that meditation and mindfulness is one of the secrets to achieving happiness. Practicing meditation was proven to help people get in to know their feelings and over time increase their level of happiness too. They become more optimistic in life and feels good about themselves. Meditation increases the happiness chemicals of the brain such as endorphins and serotonin while reducing the negativities.

Happiness Meditation

You don’t need to work so hard to achieve happiness. Happiness does not need to be expensive. Let meditation lead your way towards happiness. We prepared a happiness meditation just for you way.

1. Get comfortable by sitting on a chair or mat, wherever you prefer, then close your eyes. Be aware of your breathing pattern. Breathe slowly and deeply. Let your breathing relax your body and remove all the tension when exhaling.

2. Find your way to a stillness, a quiet place where you can focus on your being. Relax your body and let your mind be in a calm state. Welcome peace in your body and mind.

3. Recall an experience that is memorable for you. It might be something happy or not. Welcome the image of that experience on your mind. Try to remember even the simplest detail. While doing so, try to recall what was happening during that time. Where were you? Are you alone or with other people? What different sounds did you hear? What were you feeling in that exact moment? Let these sensations and emotions overwhelm your body and mind. Breathe in all of these experience and feelings.

Try to do this exercise every day or a few times a week. Practicing this will improve your state of mind and will bring you more happiness in life.

Is Mindfulness a Religion?

Many defined mindfulness as the state of awareness on one’s thoughts, physical sensations and environment. Mindfulness brings a person’s focus on the present moment and paying more attention to its purpose while disregarding possible distractions around you. Being in a state of mindfulness is being present available in the world. It is a fundamental human capacity that enables us to be in “a way of being in the world”.

When we hear the term “mindfulness”, we often relate it with practices of religion that involves meditating in the mountains or going on a retreat at a temple. Little did we know that simply focus on breathing or taking a silent walk in a park is mindfulness too. Cultivating this purposeful awareness allows us to be more present in the lives of the people important for us as we are giving them our attention which is considered as one of the most loving gifts that we can offer.

The origins of Mindfulness can be traced back to Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and Stoicism which are known religious traditions for some. We often associate the words “Mindfulness” and “meditation” to these religions since most of them practices deep breathing exercises which is a common practice in mindfulness.

We can say that every spiritual tradition practices mindful contemplation and silence where on has a direct awareness through praying and meditating. The way they meditate is full of compassion and awareness. We cannot say that mindfulness is a religion and also all religion is practicing mindfulness.

Mindfulness and Religion

Is mindfulness a religion? the answer is NO. You could achieve mindfulness by practicing it spiritually if you chose to, but you may also practice is just as a part of your daily stress relieving routine. One cannot force you to associate mindfulness with spiritual practice as no one can claim that mindfulness is of their own. 

Mindful Breathing

Most religion practices mindful breathing as a part of their spiritual journey. Mindful breathing is a basic yet powerful mindfulness meditation practice. It simply brings a person’s focus and attention to the way you are breathing and feel its natural rhythm and flow. The breathing process has a great influence on how deep and great your relaxation will be. It can be done by standing or sitting down anywhere you want to. Here are the steps for mindful breathing:

1. Focus on your breathing. Breathe in and out slowly. One breathing cycle should last for at least 6 seconds. Take your time while breathing.
2. Breathe in through your nose then release the air through your mouth. Let the air effortlessly move in and out of your lungs.
3. Let go of your thoughts and whatever it is that might be bothering you. Focus your attention on the task on hand.
4. Watching your breathe can help you focus more. It brings a sense of awareness and it fills your body with it.
5. Feel the awareness all over your body and release the energy to the world.

Mindfulness

According to the American Psychological Association (2012), it is “a moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experience without judgement. In this sense, mindfulness is a state and not a trait.” Mindfulness brings focus on a person’s experience through being aware of one’s thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations when practicing it. It helps a person be one with the inner self and it brings peace in our chaotic lives.

We know that the goal of mindfulness is not only to make a person relax, but also to divert a person’s attention away from the stress and unpleasant thoughts that can be truly overwhelming sometimes. Mindfulness helps stimulate the emotional, mental and physical processes in our body.

Awareness and Acceptance

With the popularity of mindfulness practice in social media, many people seem to practice it. But people may not be doing it the right way. Mindfulness has two main components: Awareness and Acceptance. In order for you to truly be able to successfully practice mindfulness you need to consider these two. Awareness involves being aware and monitoring your experiences while acceptance means that you should be able to monitor your experience openly and without prior judgement. Implementing these two components are needed to better understand the practice of being mindful and get its benefits.

Study shows that people who practice mindfulness without the attitude of acceptance are not successful with it and has undesirable outcomes. People who paid attention to their experiences with a judgmental attitude has the poorest emotional outcomes. Research shows that they have high levels of depression, anxiety and even, emotional instability than those who practice it with proper awareness and non-judgmental attitude.

From this, we can surmise that without these two components, one can expect that mindfulness can lead to unwanted outcomes which can contribute in the development of emotional instability of a person.  

Unwanted effects of Mindfulness

As much as there are many benefits of proper practice of meditation and mindfulness, there are also factors that can cause unwanted effects which we cannot prevent. Here are some of the unwanted effects of Mindfulness:

It may stimulate negative thinking

A lot of people have this misconception that meditation promotes positive thinking, it isn’t always the case. Studies shows that some of those who practiced meditation experienced negative emotions such as delusions, paranoia, and having irrational thoughts. They also reported that they are unable to control themselves and has a remarkable change in their executive function as well.

People who are not in a good place and practice meditation are prone to stimulating these negative thoughts that is harmful than beneficial. It may trigger so many unwanted emotions that can even aggravate the emotional lability a person is experiencing. Mindfulness has different effects on people.

Meditation can also trigger emotions and memories that has long been suppressed. This can lead to the appearance of negative emotions and can be hard to handle for some people. There were reports that some participants were able to re-live their previous traumatic experiences or have flashbacks when meditating.

Sensory perception may be altered

Since mindfulness makes use of the senses to further improve awareness, it can alter these sensations too. A study found out that participants who meditated were able to experience increased sensitivity to light and noise, hallucinations, illusions and visions that weren’t there.

Some people also have this wrong thinking that they will have visions – like seeing the white light or flying like a free spirit – when meditating. This is a wrong reason to meditate as it can cause frustration and unproductivity once it can’t be achieved.

Can cause lack of motivation

Who doesn’t procrastinate? I think everyone does. I bet you’ve done it more than once in a month. Unfortunately, there are studies that supports the fact that meditation can actually aggravate your lack of motivation. It can actually cause you to lose interest in activities that has been previously enjoyable for you.

Physical side effects

Aside from its effect emotionally, mindfulness has some unwanted effects on our body too. Some of the symptoms identified were pressure, involuntary movements of the body, headache, fatigue, body weakness, digestion problems, and dizziness.

Feel Lost

Everyone goes through being or feeling lost in their lives more than once. But this is an unexpected effect of mindfulness. Mindfulness can potentially cause you to negatively look at yourself and if you are already in this state, it can make it even worse. Meditation not only bring awareness of the positives but also the negative aspects of your life. It now depends on the person on how it will allow itself to be affected.

Sleeping Problems

There are a number of reasons why people are having difficulty in sleeping. It may be psychological for some, while the others may have an undiagnosed condition leading to inability to sleep. Let us give you the top 5 causes of sleeping problems:

1. Insomnia

This is a popular term for people who are having difficulty getting any sleep or even staying asleep. There are numerous reasons on why you develop insomnia. This includes poor sleep hygiene, sleep-related breathing disorders, medical condition, disrupted sleep-wake schedule, hormonal changes, limb movement during sleep and circadian rhythm disorders.

The common symptoms of insomnia seen on people are difficulty sleeping even if one is super tired, can’t get enough sleep to even feel well-rested and refreshed and lastly, experiencing restlessness and exhaustion even after sleeping. People with insomnia found themselves unable to concentrate on their work, feels tired and very irritable. They also found their life affected by it.

2. Sleep Apnea

Have you ever heard of “Sleep Apnea”? People with this disorder often complains of loud snore and choking sensation when sleeping that causes them to wake up. Sleep apnea is a disorder that involves blocking of the airway at night depriving the body from oxygen leading to nighttime awakening. Other symptoms of sleep apnea are, feeling of extreme sleepiness during the day, lack energy in general, suffer from headaches and also feels tired and irritable. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you may need to consult with your doctor.

3. Narcolepsy

Ever found yourself asleep anytime and anywhere? You may have narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is a disorder that causes a person to fall asleep anytime and anywhere regardless of what is currently happening around him or her. Some may even find themselves sleeping while eating. Narcoleptic patients are unable to regulate their sleep-wake cycle.

The symptoms of Narcolepsy are the following:

• Falls asleep without warning
• Drowsy during the day
• May experience sleep paralysis
• Some experiences Cataplexy or temporary loss of muscle control that suddenly makes you feel weak and collapse.
• Hallucinations
• Insomnia and disturbed nighttime sleep

4. Restless Legs Syndrome

Restless leg syndrome is a condition that causes an uncontrollable urge to move your legs, usually because of an uncomfortable sensation. It often happens in the evening or nighttime hours when you’re sitting or lying down. IT causes an unpleasant aching, tingling, burning sensation on your legs and can sometimes felt in other body parts.

5. REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

In this disorder, causes a person to act out their dreams while sleeping. Most people have muscle paralysis while sleeping and dreaming which may not be happening to you. This condition is very serious, and you should have someone with you when sleeping. Patients with this disorder are often treated with medications and it is important to prevent injury while sleeping.

Good Sleeping Habits

An average adult is required to sleep for at least 7 to 9 hours a day to be able to rest properly and have the energy to get through the day. If you are having difficulty in sleeping and want to improve your sleep, try to establish these healthy sleeping habits:

• Create a routine and have a consistent sleep schedule.
• Set a bedtime that is early enough for you to get at least 7 hours of sleep.
• Don’t go to bed unless you are already sleepy
• If you can’t find yourself sleeping after 20 minutes, get out of bed.
• Use the bed only for sleep and sex and not for using your phone or watching TV.
• Limit exposure to white light at night and you may consider putting ambient lights.
• Don’t eat a large meal at dinner. If you get hungry at midnight, only eat light snacks.
• Exercise regularly and maintain a healthy diet.
• Avoid consuming caffeine or alcohol prior to bedtime.
• Reduce your fluid intake to stop you from going out of bed to pee.

Meditation for Sleeping

Meditation is a simple practice and can be done anytime and anywhere. It can range from about 5 minutes to hours depending on how long you are willing to give your time to meditation. Here’s a basic step of meditation that can help you sleep:

• Remove all distractions from your room, including your phone.
• Lie down in a comfortable position.
• Focus on your breathing. Inhale for 10 counts, then hold your breath for 10 counts. Exhale for 10 counts. Repeat for about five times.
• Inhale and tense your body. Pause, relax, and exhale. Repeat five times.
• Notice your breath and body. If a body part feels tight, consciously relax it.
• When a thought comes up, slowly return your focus to just your breathing.

Can Meditation Replace Sleep?

A study in 2010 assessed the relationship between meditation and its ability to improve psychomotor vigilance task and may even alter the sleeping needs of a person. They were able to assess novice meditators who completed at least 40 minutes of meditation vs long term meditators. They were able to see a short-term improvement in the reaction time performance and it was also found that there is a reduction in sleep need equal to the time spent in meditation.

Meditation, as supported by science, can lessen the amount required for sleeping according to the number of hours you spent meditating. We cannot totally say that meditation can replace sleep as the two has different meanings and purpose in life. Sleep is the way of the body to relax and restart again prior to a start of the new day while meditation is done to remove the stressors in your life and lets your focus on yourself by practicing awareness.

In conclusion, practicing meditation is helpful in reducing the amount of sleep needed but is not a replacement for sleeping. It is still best to follow a natural solution by meditating every day, sleeping regularly at your bedtime and letting your circadian rhythm reset themselves naturally.

Mindful Breathing

This one of the essential parts of relaxation. The breathing has a great influence on how deep and great your relaxation will be. It can be done by standing or sitting down anywhere you want to. Here are the steps for mindful breathing:

1. Focus on your breathing. Breathe in and out slowly. One breathing cycle should last for at least 6 seconds. Take your time while breathing.
2. Breathe in through your nose then release the air through your mouth. Let the air effortlessly move in and out of your lungs.
3. Let go of your thoughts and whatever it is that might be bothering you. Focus your attention on the task on hand.
4. Watching your breathe can help you focus more. It brings a sense of awareness and it fills your body with it.
5. Feel the awareness all over your body and release the energy to the world.

Mindful Observation

The name itself defines this exercise. Feeling and observing the simple elements of your environment is also an act of relaxation. It is designed to connect us with the environment, especially nature, and attract its energy.

1. Scan your environment and choose one natural object for you to focus on. This can be a blooming flower or a tree that has falling leaves.
2. Focus on this object for a minute or two while relaxing. Watch every element of it and how nature is such a wonderful thing.
3. Allow yourself to be consumed by everything that you are seeing on the object and even its presence.
4. Feel its energy and allow it to overwhelm your body.

Mindful Listening

The ear is one of the most sensitive organs and is responsible for our sense of hearing. This exercise helps make use of our send of hearing and listed to sounds and music in a non-judgmental way. Sounds and music has its way of relieving the past which may often be sad or unbearable for some. In this exercise, we will ignore the turmoil in our head and focus on some neutral music that will enhance your awareness.

1. It helps if you close your eyes and wear earphones.
2. Pick a song randomly and listen to it as if it’s the first time you heard it. Allow yourself to get lost in the music and let your mind dance along its rhythm.
3. Fell deeper into it and listen to each of the sound that accompanies the music. Feel the energy and awareness as you intertwine your mind with the music in your ears.

Mindful Seeing

The eyes affect the way we see and visualize things. It is a great factor in attaining the relaxation and awareness that we want.  The eyes becomes a window to something more powerful.

1. Look for a space at your home where the window is overlooking the scenery outside.
2. Look at the birds flying, the clouds moving or just the grass dancing with the breeze of the air. Focus on how it looks and its contour of it. See the scene as if it’s the first time you saw it.
3. Observe the wonders of the scenery and do not be distracted. Pull yourself away from the thoughts that might be bothering you and bring yourself back to the state of mindfulness.

Tactile Exercise

This exercise can be done anywhere and does not require long amount of time. You just need to feel your body.

1. Pinch your arm or leg (not too much) or use a tip of a ballpen or cotton and stick it on your leg or arms.
2. Pay attention on the different sensation that will run through your body.
3. Absorb the emotions that you felt as you are applying pressure.
4. Allow this awareness to deal with the discomfort and the emotions that is caused by the unwanted sensation.

Sense of Smell Exercise

All five senses of the body have its way of transferring these sensations to the brain. Try smelling something strong like coffee beans or perfume. Allow yourself to savor the scent that you smell and feel the sensation as it goes through your nose.

Melting Exercise

This exercise is best done with breathing exercise, mindful seeing and mindful observation. This takes a lot of practice and focus but once you are able to do it. It will be an amazing state of mindfulness.

1. Pick your favorite place at home and take a seat.
2. Relax on your seat and allow yourself to melt into your surroundings softly.
3. Feel them as if you are one with everything that you see.

 Full Sensory Awareness Exercise

Stop. Breathe. Absorb. Overwhelm your body by using all your senses and let them fill you in. Let yourself be over-stimulated by these sensations and allow it to keep you in this state for quite a while. What are you feeling? How are you feeling?

Silence Exercise

Are you bothered by the things happening around you? Take a break for a minute. Spend a few minutes in complete silence. Deafening your ear from the hustle and bustle around you. This is very useful at work when you are so stressed and need some time for yourself. You might use an earplug if you are having a hard time focusing.

The “Me” Exercise

Have you ever tried focusing on yourself? Like, you alone and does not care about anything else? Become more aware of yourself by sitting down on your favorite space and talking to yourself. Start the sentences by saying “I”. Be self-centered as much as possible and feel the emotions as it overwhelms your body.

Challenge Your Belief Exercise

People are unique in their own way and so as their backgrounds. We are born in a culture where beliefs are passed down by our parents or grandparents where we tend to believe it and make it a part of us. Have you ever tried questioning these beliefs? Challenge yourself by disagreeing or questioning a belief that you believe in so much. Take it as an exercise and see how it makes you feel and how much it clears or gives your thought a benefit of the doubt.

The Mindful Plot Exercise

Are you a fan of movies? Has it ever occurred to you that when you are so engrossed in the movie that you can’t get over the plot you are already practicing mindfulness? Watch a movie you know that has a deep plot and let yourself get lost in the movie. Feel the different emotions that you have felt during the time you are watching.

Undivided Attention Exercise

Look at your surroundings. Think of a thing that you’ve never done before. Something that piques your interest. Take your time and gather your strength and motivation to start it. How does it feel to be doing something that you’ve never done before? Feel the emotions and sensations as it takes over your body. Give the activity your undivided attention and focus your energy in to finishing the task at hand.

Candle Staring Exercise

Have you ever tried looking at the flames of the candle after you lit it? Did you know it can also be used as a way of meditating? Get your favorite scented candle or whatever candle you have and focus your eyes on the dancing flame in front of you. Give it your full focus for about 10 minutes. Do it in between breaks from studying. When you feel like your mind is drifting away, pull it back and bring it to the candle flame again. Let your body relax and feel your body as you are watching it.

Walking Meditation

Find a time on your busy day to do a little walking. It may be the rooftop of your office or the nearby park. Anywhere that you can spend some time walking alone and undisturbed by anything. Give it at least 10 to 15 minutes of your time or more, if you can. It is much better if the place has fewer distractions so that you can put your focus on your walking. Feel every sensation as you alternately use your feet to walk. Focus on your breathing and bring your attention to every part of your body.

Eating Meditation

This one is something people rarely hear about. Everyday we satiate our hunger by feeding ourselves. Did you know that with a little practice, you can even do meditation while eating? If you find a time to eat alone, by yourself, bring your focus on what you are eating and how the taste, texture and smell of it makes you feel. You don’t need to do this until you finish your meal. A few bites are enough.

Mindful Break

Checking our cellphone every morning has become an unbreakable habit for everyone. We do it even between tasks. Take this challenge and try to break this habit of yours. Taking a break from this kind of habits is also a form of meditation. You are turning yourself away from the vices that you had. Notice how not holding on to your usual gadget will make you feel. Give it your undivided attention and focus on yourself.

Mindful Brushing

Everyday we do things out of habit. Like after waking up in the morning, you take a shower and go to work. Even brushing your teeth is part of it and we don’t really give it much thought when we are doing it. These things are performed automatically by our body that we rarely notice it. One day, try to focus on brushing your teeth after you shower. Enjoy the experience and notice how the brush runs through your teeth and even what the toothpaste really tastes like. Let your body use its senses and absorb the energy that it has emitted.

Raisin Meditation

Find a place where you are comfortable with. Make sure that it is quiet and has no distractions. Remove every distraction that you could possibly have around you. Lastly, have a box of raisins in hand as this will be the main ingredient of this mindfulness exercise.

1. Take a piece of a raisin and place it on the palm of your hand. Look at it for a moment as if you never knew what it was and it is the first time you will eat it. Touch it using the tip of your thumb and finger and feel its texture. Let the sensation flow through your body.
2. Now, look at the raisin carefully and be attentive to its details. Notice how the edges of the raisin look and how it casts a shadow on your palm.
3. Bring the raisin towards your nose and smell it. How does it smell? Is it good? Let your nose smell every inch of it and welcome the different scents.
4. Lastly, slowly take the raisin and put it on your tongue. Let it linger on there for a while and let the taste fill your taste buds. It is normal to find yourself salivating while you are doing this. Then slowly chew the raisin and feel how it bursts in your mouth.
5. Focus on chewing and feel the different textures that it has.  Before swallowing, notice how you are feeling right now and how the raisin affects you. Let it overwhelm your body and welcome it completely.
6. Once you are ready, swallow the raisin and observe any feelings, reactions, thoughts and emotions that you felt during the whole process. Bring this full awareness and take some time to sit and reminisce the sensations all over again.

What is Grounding?

Grounding is also called “Earthing” as it is a form of meditation that involves doing activities that reconnect you with the earth. It is basically based on physics where the energy or electrical charges from the earth can positively affect your body. Grounding is a practice that helps you from break apart from the negativities caused by your memories, flashbacks and unwanted emotions.

Benefits of Grounding

• Pain Reduction

Recent studies show that earthing or grounding meditation can help in pain reduction and mood improvement. A group of massage therapist alternated use of grounding and seen significant changes in their pain scale. Another study shows decreased level of white blood cell counts and creatinine kinases which demonstrated reduced muscle damage and pain.

• Immune System Defense

A research suggested that the earth is a living matrix which is held together by electrical conduction. This electricity is said to improve or restore the natural defenses of a person by grounding.

• Better Sleep

A study about patients who are having sleep disturbances, muscle and joint pain were subjected to grounding outside their bedroom window. Most of the patients who practiced grounding shows symptomatic improvement and significant relief from their co-morbidities. There was also remarkable improvement in their sleep quality.

• Less Stress

Grounding is a way to help stabilize strong emotions especially when a person is stressed or having anxiety attacks. Practicing it helps redirect one’s attention away from the stressor and focus on reconnecting with the environment that gives you so much energy.

• Protection

Earthing helps to protect the body against potentially health disturbing environmental electromagnetic fields. Exposure to EMFs have increased with the revolution of technology such as our cellphones and appliances that we used on our everyday life.

Types of Grounding or Earthing

Earth Walker

Be it on the beach or on a grass field, we often feel the urge of running or walking barefoot and feeling the breeze of the air on our skin. Allowing these elements to come in contact with you helps connect you with the environment.

Lying on the Ground

I bet the last time you laid on the ground and just watch the sky is during your childhood. When you enjoy little picnics in the park or at the beach with your family. You may have your own family now or not, but you may consider doing this. Just bring your own mat or linen and practice your yoga or just enjoy the view with your family

Sea Babe

If you are a fan of the beach, river, wave or any kind of water form this one is definitely for you. Swimming is not only a sport, but it is also a form of grounding that helps you relax. Water has a way of comforting one’s soul. Feel the cool and soft water as it brushes through your skin.

References:

https://greatist.com/grow/grounding#benefits

https://www.healthline.com/health/grounding#types

The Meaning of ‘Mindfulness’

Mindfulness was practiced by our ancestors even before it became popular. Various religions and traditions in the different parts of the world were unknowingly doing this concept of Mindfulness. The most recognized of which is from the perspective of Buddhism and Hindu. These two were the inspiration to the yoga, meditation and other activities that we practice today.

According to the American Psychological Association (2012), it is “a moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experience without judgement. In this sense, mindfulness is a state and not a trait.” It focuses on a person’s experience on thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations that makes a person become more aware of the present by giving more attention to oneself. This newfound self-awareness helps us get to know our inner self more and be somehow be at peace.

Mindfulness is a pause button in our chaotic lives. It helps suspend our judgement about the world and focus our energy in discovering the wonders of the mind.

Goal of Mindfulness

During a state of mindfulness, the body and mind to be in full alert while in a focused relaxation. The goal of it is to divert all the attention to the sensations of the body and also frees the mind from unpleasant thoughts. It clears away the biases that the world and the person have. Aside from this, Mindfulness also stimulates the emotional, mental and physical process in the body.

Things to know about Mindfulness

Mindfulness is not new. Our ancestors were practicing it already even before it was introduced. You may not have noticed that you’ve been practicing mindfulness every day in your life. A simple silence a minute a day helps you relax and clear your mind. This is, in a way, a practice of mindfulness. By doing this you are relaxing your mind, heightening your senses and your state of mind.

Mindfulness is not only in the mind. Aside from being a mind concept, Mindfulness can be incorporated in your daily activities too. Mindfulness can be done during yoga practice and meditations on your free time. Spare a minute or two and keeps your day going.

Mindfulness is versatile. Everyone can practice mindfulness. No matter what job you have it can always find a way to be involved in your life. Its versatility makes it accessible to everyone who wants to learn even with little much time in their hands. In between breaks at work, you can close your eyes and spend some time to clear your mind. 

Mindfulness has numerous benefits. Numerous studies and researches have agreed that practicing mindfulness is helpful in maintaining a person’s physical and mental well-being.  It even boosts the immune system and lessens the chances of a person from acquiring infection. Mindfulness is a cheap trick that improves your health without making you spend your money.

Mindfulness helps build relationships. It improves our communication with other people and helps understand them more. The practice of mindfulness shifts the negative behaviors that affects your relationships to a more positive one. This lessens the possible conflicts and even helps build a deeper relationship with other people.

Mindfulness has a great role in the field of psychology. Mindfulness is not only a concept nor a state of being more aware of oneself. It can also be integrated to treatments and it has proven its efficiency in treating patients.

Last but not the least, mindfulness has a big impact on a person’s mental health. It has different ways of improving mental health: Mindfulness-based therapies and intervention and everyday practice of mindfulness was proven to be effective a person’s mental health.  Mindfulness-based therapies and intervention, mindfulness is incorporated in activities to somehow decrease a patient’s symptoms or prevent a relapse from occurring.  

A Minute of Mindfulness

1. Seat. You can choose whatever chair you want. If you want to be more comfortable, look for a chair that is stable, study with a good back support and cushion. This will make you more comfortable during the meditation.
2. Minimize distractions. Make sure that your room is well-lighted, with good ventilation and as much as possible, with minimal noise. This will decrease stimulus that can make your mind wander while meditating.
3. Straighten your back. A straight back is important for your head and shoulders to relax comfortable and not be strained. Aside from that, straightening your back also keeps the natural curvature of your spine and maintains your good body posture.
4. Let your upper arms rest on your legs. Make it parallel to your upper body.This lessens the stiffness of your upper body and helps loose the muscles.
5. Watch out for your legs. Don’t let your legs dangle a lot if you are sitting down on a chair. Make sure that your feet are flat on the ground. When sitting on the floor, cross your legs.
6. Close your eyes. You or may not do this but if makes you focus more then you may do so.
7. Relax. Relax your body and mind and put all of your attention to the sensations in your body.
8. Breathe in, breathe out. Proper breathing during meditation is important as it is one of the ways to help you focus better. Draw your attention on your body as you inhale, feel the air coming through your nose and while exhaling, through your mouth.
9. Set yourself free. Try to live in the moment by accepting and discerning attention to you what you are doing. This is the best part of meditation as it detaches yourself from the worries of the world and bring you to your own where you can relax and be yourself more.
10. Slowly open your eyes. Once you are done with your meditation, slowly open your eyes. Feel the changes on your emotions and your body. Take a moment to notice the minimal sounds that you hear around you. Do this every day and you will notice that you are much happier and calm than ever.

References:

https://blogs.psychcentral.com/mindfulness/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/mindfulness

Mindfulness and its Benefits

• MINDFULNESS HELPS YOU SLEEP

Did you ever had a hard time sleeping at night? Your mind keeps on repeating your thoughts and memories multiple times preventing you from having a good night sleep. It was found that mindfulness can improve your sleeping difficulties somehow. It creates a mental space where sleep is welcomed, and your everyday thoughts is interrupted.

• MINDFULNESS REDUCES ANXIETY

There are many things that can make someone anxious some of it are related to mental health problems that might be a result of a major experience in someone’s life. Recent researches has shown that practicing mindfulness helps reduce someone’s anxiety by teaching them how to respond to better to the stress by being more aware of what is currently happening rather than acting instinctively without truly knowing the emotions and motives behind those decisions. Being more aware of oneself allows you to be more adaptive in difficult situations.

• MINDFULNESS REDUCES STRESS

Everyday stress is inevitable. Mindfulness helps alleviate some of your worries and negative feelings and tries to convert it into a positive feeling. Mindfulness leads to a greater perceptions of body awareness. It makes you aware of the state of your internal emotions. It also better controls your attention making it easier to focus on tasks rather than being distracted.

• MINDFULNESS MAY PREVENT AND TREAT DEPRESSION

Depression is one of the most common mental illness worldwide. Around 80% of people who were diagnosed with depression experiences relapse at some point in their lives. A therapy called mindfulness-based cognitive therapy or MBCT is a new approach found by researchers. It was proven to relatively prevent depression relapse as effective as medications. MBCT is an 8-week program that includes mindfulness exercises such as yoga, household chores and body awareness. People with depression are at risk of having negative thoughts, feelings and beliefs about themselves, MBCT increases their awareness of what’s truly happening around them, acknowledge it and respond in a different way  

• MINDFULNESS HELPS WEIGHT-LOSS GOALS

When people are stressed, they often result to stress or emotional eating. They tend to overeat as a result of having strong emotions and feelings. This is their way of coping with the conflicts, dulling their strong emotions temporarily. Mindful eating is a new technique which helps restore your relationship with food and eating. It involves using our senses while eating such as knowing how the food smell, taste, and how it restores our body after taking meals. Using this technique, we become aware of the internal cues of hunger and cease our desire to binge when emotionally challenged. Mindful eating can lead to weight loss and losing weight should serve as a determination.

• MINDFULNESS HELPS INCREASE BODY SATISFACTION

Body dissatisfaction is one of the sources of anxiety of many women. Negative conceptualization of a person about themselves can lead to negative body image, body dissatisfaction and in some extreme cases, it might even lead to body dysmorphic disorders. Mindfulness encourages a non-judgmental of self-awareness. It can counteract fixation with one’s appearance and reflection that can provoke negative thoughts. Mindfulness helps women relate to their criticisms about themselves and avoid fixating too much on their bodies.

• MINDFULNESS IMPROVES COGNITION AND ATTENTION

Mindfulness has a great impact on the processes of the brain. It helps control and direct the cognitive processes for working memory, planning, decision making, self-regulation cognitive inhibition and creative problem solving. Aside from enhancing a person’s cognitive function, mindfulness was found to improve higher-order level of thinking. The continuous focusing on breath while practicing mindfulness promotes attention switching or cognitive flexibility.

• MINDFULNESS HELPS MANAGE CHRONIC PAIN

Since the focus of mindfulness is all about the mind and the body. A daily dose of mindfulness practice can be helpful on people who are in chronic pain. There is an increasing evidence that mindfulness has a great impact on a person’s pain experience. Pain is associated to three major components: physical sensations, emotional response to these sensations and social effects due to the experience of pain. Mindfulness can put together these 3 components in harmony. It reduces the experience of pain without reducing its severity. It also shapes you to become fearless and to accept that pain will be present in your life but not suffering.

• MINDFULNESS IS GOOD FOR THE HEART

Heart disease is one of the leading of causes of death in the World. In the United States, it accounts for about 1 in 4 deaths yearly. In a research by scientist, people who are pre-hypertensive were treated with mindfulness meditation or any program that promotes muscle relaxation, in adjunct to their drug treatment. It was found that the inclusion of mindfulness can significantly decrease the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of those people who are at risk of having a heart disease. It also slows down the heart rate and correct its rhythm which led to a better health of not only heart but the whole body.

References:

https://www.anxiety.org/can-mindfulness-help-reduce-anxiety

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2015/03/cover-mindfulness

https://www.headspace.com/meditation/weight-loss

https://inkblotuoft.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/janice-to.pdf

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01037/full