When we find ourselves ruminating about the past or the future, it can be helpful to practice mindfulness to bring our focus back to the present, but what does being mindful actually mean? Mindfulness is a mental state in which you concentrate on the present moment with openness and curiosity and without judgment or distraction.1 Mindfulness is known to have various benefits, from decreasing stress and sadness to increasing focus and happiness.2 It can also lead to a sense of calm, improved concentration and increased productivity, as well as better health and sleep.3
Mindfulness can also be incorporated into meditation practices, known as mindfulness meditation or formal mindfulness. This is where you sit, often with your eyes closed, and direct your attention to one thing, usually either your breathing or the sensations experienced within your body.3 Mindfulness without the meditation aspect is more of an informal practice, and it is cultivated through the sustained awareness of our thoughts, emotions, and sensations in the body and the surrounding environment in each moment.4 This moment-by-moment awareness can be during any activity, such as brushing your teeth, washing the dishes or eating a meal.
Bringing a mindful awareness into anything and everything you do can benefit your everyday life, work, relationships and overall wellbeing. The benefits of mindfulness are vast, and they can include lowering stress levels, enhancing relationships, managing mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety, aiding with weight loss, assisting with chronic pain, improving the quality of life of those who are living with cancer, increasing one’s sense of wellbeing, improving one’s emotional resilience, and reducing insomnia.1,4
The more you practice mindfulness, the easier it gets. Whenever you think about the past or worry about the future, you can practice mindfulness to help bring your attention back to the present moment. Here are some techniques to get you started on your mindfulness journey:1,2
Focus your attention: Similar to mindfulness meditation, this technique uses the breath as a focal point to ground the mind and maintain awareness.
Do a body scan: This technique involves scanning the body from head to toe and being aware of any present sensations, emotions, thoughts or aches.
Practice loving-kindness: This technique helps us to let go of unhappy feelings by focusing on the image of different people, whether we know them or not or like them or not, and directing kindness to ourselves first and then to others in a type of ripple effect.
Eat mindfully: This technique involves focusing on your meal when you’re eating rather than watching TV or reading simultaneously. You may also find that you enjoy your food more if you focus on how the food looks, tastes, and smells.
Check-in with yourself: This technique brings you into the present moment by asking, ‘What’s going on with me right now?’ You can then recognise your thoughts and feelings, such as ‘That’s a sad feeling,’ and then let them go.
Do a breathing exercise: This technique focuses on your breathing, specifically how air passes in and out of your nose and how your abdomen rises and falls with each breath.
Use visualisation: This technique uses visualisation to focus on someone or something to hold your attention; the idea is that a familiar image will help you to create and sustain a relaxed focus.
Engage in skillful compassion: Similar to the loving-kindness technique, this one involves thinking about someone you know or love and focusing on the sensations that come from the heart. This technique is thought to be helpful in opening our hearts and minds for the benefit of others, which then creates a sense of joy within our own minds.
Use reflection: In this technique, we ask ourselves a simple question, such as ‘What are you most thankful for?’ and then direct our attention to the emotions that we feel rather than the ensuing thoughts.
Practice resting awareness: In this technique, you let the mind rest rather than have it focus on an image or the breath. Thoughts may enter your mind, but instead of distracting you from the present moment, they simply leave.
If you’re interested in engaging in mindfulness or mindfulness meditation but don’t know how or where to start, the following apps and websites might be helpful to get started:
If you are experiencing mental health challenges, consider reaching out to Teladoc Health for a mental health assessment. If you would like to book a consultation but are unsure if you can access Teladoc Health services, submit a form here, and a Member Engagement Coordinator will respond shortly.
References:
1. Mindfulness – Mental health and wellbeing | healthdirect
2. https://www.headspace.com/mindfulness/mindfulness-101
3. https://www.smilingmind.com.au/mindfulness
4. http://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Mindfulness-in-everday-life-fact-sheet.pdf
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