HEALTH MATTERS

Practicing mindfulness is a simple way to improve & keep check on your health & wellbeing. Mindfulness has been practiced in its present form for over 40 years but it's roots are found in the ancient eastern wisdom of Buddhism, Shintoism & Taoism. Our modern Mindfulness theory comes from two main sources:-

1)      American professor Jon Kabat-Zinn who developed the MBSR (Mindfulness based stress reduction) programme for people experiencing stress & anxiety. Kabat-Zinn describes Mindfulness as 'The awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment & non judgementally'

2)      British clinical psychologist Mark Williams et al developed the MBCT (Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy) programme for people with depression & other mental health conditions. Williams describes Mindfulness as 'knowing directly what is going on inside & outside of ourselves moment by moment'

Both MBSR & MBCT are comprehensive 8-week programmes which are worth considering attending if you identify with some of the areas in this article. It may be that you would just like to learn a few simple mindfulness techniques to practice & see if they help.

Mindfulness practice aims to improve your self awareness, learning how your mind, body & breath are affected by things such as stress & anxiety, low mood, overwhelm, overstimulation, tiredness etc. By improving our self awareness we become kinder, more understanding & more compassionate with ourselves. An added bonus is finding we are kinder to others as well. There are many other benefits of regular Mindfulness practice such as increased feelings of positivity, self esteem & confidence, more clarity, focus & calm.

You may be aware of a saying (thought to be by Lao Tzu) that if our thoughts are too focused in the past it can lead to depression, too much in the future can lead to anxiety but time spent in the present brings peace.

I found mindfulness practice relatively easy to fit into my daily life once I'd identified times that worked for me. On waking I write down some thoughts & focus on my breath for a few minutes. While waiting for the kettle to boil I take a few mindful steps around the kitchen island focusing on the cool floor beneath my feet or on how my feet, knees & hips move! I mindfully eat a couple of meals a week at the table & at bedtime I stop for a minute to practice gratitude & acknowledge an achievement however small that I made that day. I specialise in practicing Mindfulness in nature & mindful creativity which I complete a technique from every day for 20 minutes.

Mindfulness can be as simple as choosing to be consciously aware rather than being on automatic pilot. It's easy to be on automatic pilot when many parts of our daily lives consist of tasks that we complete again & again. We can become more consciously aware by making some simple changes. Have a think of what daily tasks you do automatically, maybe jot a few of them down. Maybe you listed 'brushing your teeth' try using a different tasting toothpaste. If it's 'having a cup of tea' try a different tea or add honey & so on! Change things up a bit.

Mindfulness is about taking regular pauses in our day to check in with ourselves to listen to our mind, body & breath & to ground ourselves in the moment. 

I will offer some helpful techniques in a later edition.  For now thank you for reading, and please contact me

Part 2

HEALTH MATTERS

I have previously introduced mindfulness as a simple way to improve & keep check on your health & wellbeing. Here I will share a couple of helpful techniques.

Breathing Techniques

Breathing techniques are a good place to start. Here are a couple to try:

1)      For one minute just focus on your breath travelling in & out of your body, & see what you noticed.

2)      You can extend this for another minute but this time if you notice your mind & focus wandering away just gently focus it back again. I often find it helpful to say to myself "All I need to be doing right now is focus on my breath". This is often known as training the puppy! 

Stop and Observe

Another useful technique to introduce mindful moments into your life is to regularly STOP :-

Slow Down, stop what you're doing

Take a breath

Observe - how is my mind & my body?

Proceed - All OK? Then I'm good to go!

Apart from regular breathing techniques I like to complete a body scan at least once a week. This involves sitting or lying down, I prefer to focus on my head first & work my way down to finish with my toes. I focus my thoughts on how my forehead feels, then my eyes, my jaw, my neck. my shoulders & so on.  I then start the process again only this time I focus on the areas that felt tired, tense or painful. Completing a gentle stretch or sending a healing breath to that area.

If you would like to read more about mindfulness Jon Kabat-Zinn has a book titled 'Full Catastrophe Living'. Mark Williams book 'Mindfulness, finding peace in a frantic world' is a practical workbook including a CD of practical meditations including mindful eating, a body scan & several breathing techniques.

I hope you have found this article interesting. You are welcome to contact me through my website Www.fromacornstooaks.co.uk if you would like more information. I can offer both 1:1's & small group sessions, with a range of Mindfulness programmes.