Monday, November 3, 2014

What Is Mindfulness and Why You Should Be Practicing It.

Practicing mindfulness is, most definitely, something to strive toward achieving if you live in this society. 

With all the stresses we deal with day-to-day (from family, work, uni, reading things in the news about wars, diseases), and convenient distractions that are available at a touch of a button/mouse from our phones/laptops, it has become much too easy to go through a day, and not be aware of your own thoughts and feelings, and responses/reactions to things.

The aim of mindfulness is this: to be in the now


The importance of practicing mindfulness 

By being in the "now", you are more conscious of all aspects of yourself, thus, able to better deal with situations, both past and present, as well as plan ahead. 
By being able to do so, you are in control of:

  •  your emotions (for the "I have no idea why I reacted that way" moments), 
  • your eating (for the over eaters), 
  • your concentration (less getting "lost in thought"), 
  • your attention to detail (less running on autopilot). 
There are so many benefits for yourself, and others around you. 

I, myself, am guilty of getting lost in thought, and having difficulty remembering certain details of my routine because I'm stuck on autopilot. 
During my train rides to school, work, or just heading out with friends, one thing I always aim to do is to NOT look at my phone. Even though those rides are, for the most part, pretty uneventful, I am more aware of the small things. The trees beginning to bloom, a book someone's reading, how I'm feeling emotionally and mentally, my breathing. Before bed, I also do a bit of stretching and yoga. 

I find that the basics of yoga, are very helpful in practicing mindfulness, and that, by focusing on how my body is feeling in response to the yoga practice, I feel that I am more in tune with myself. By focusing on my breathing during yoga, I find myself feeling like I am more in tune with the universe. 


There are several different ways you can practice mindfulness, however, and I found a great site that has mp3 & pdf files to help you practice! 

Visit LivingWell to learn more.


I hope you enjoy reading about what you find, and let me know what other ways you practice mindfulness.

Love and light to you all,
Michelle




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