MINDFULNESS: ONE LIFE HACK THAT WILL TREMENDOUSLY IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE.
The Art of Mindfulness
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the act of being present in the moment. This means that you are being aware of what's happening inside of you and what is happening outside of you without forming opinions about this awareness; this includes your bodily sensations, current thoughts, feelings and what you are perceiving in your surroundings i.e what you are seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and feeling. When you completely focus and immerse yourself in a particular activity while not judging the feelings and thoughts that arise from it, you are being mindful and this can be accomplished in the most basic ways, in the comfort of your home e.g while you are cleaning the dishes, walking, breathing, eating, cooking etc.
Take an instance that you are cooking, you can use your 5 senses to experience this activity. Place the groceries on the table and notice their different colors, slice them into pieces and notice their shapes and sizes, smell the different aromas they emit as you fry them in a pan. Using these 5 senses grounds you in the present moment and promotes relaxation. In addition to this, there are more structured ways that can help you to activate the art of mindfulness in your life, a mindfulness instructor can guide you on the process of going on about it.
Myths about mindfulness debunked
Myth 1. Mindfulness should not be practised by Christians.
Mindfulness has its roots deeply embedded in the Buddhist religion because it is one of the most significant teachings and principles of Buddhism, but it is not confined to it. As a matter of fact, from ancient times, different cultures practised mindfulness, however, they had different ways in how they termed or defined it. Mindfulness originated in the ancient Eastern and Buddhist philosophy. It was only brought to the West in the 1970's by Jon Kabbat- Zinn who scientifically used it on his patients as a technique known as the "Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction" (MBSR) which has yielded successful outcomes over the years. Mindfulness is beneficial for people of all spiritual traditions. Regina Trammel, a social work professor at the Azusa Pacific University and an author of 'A Counselor's guide to Christian Mindfulness', emphasises on a concept known as the 'Christ centered meditation'; she defines mindfulness as the awareness of the present moment and being still. She says that many Christians remain skeptical of the practice due to its association with its Buddhism roots. She insists that the main difference between secular/Buddhist mindfulness practice and a christian one is that in the latter, as they engage in mindfulness practices, they know that they have a relationship with their Savior Christ Jesus who is active in their lives through scripture and the Holy Spirit.
Myth 2. Mindfulness is about switching off one's mind and escaping reality.
Contrary to popular belief, mindfulness is not about turning off one's thoughts completely or emptying one's mind as such a concept is nearly impossible. In mindfulness, you allow thoughts to come and go without analyzing it and altering it. Mindfulness is about being aware of the moment you are in, this makes you become more engaged with the present moment and helps you gain consciousness.
Why is it important to practise mindfulness?
Research has shown that practising this technique for 20 minutes everyday reduces stress by an average of 11%, that may not seem significant, but realizing the host of benefits that it presents such as an improved immune system, mood stabilization, pain reduction, anxiety reduction, improved clarity and attention, increased feelings of happiness, you can see that investing 20 minutes of your time everyday can have significant effects in your life.
Studies have shown that the benefits of mindfulness are felt immediately or after a short time, you don't have to be adept in it for you to start feeling its effects. A landmark study led by Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital found that it took as little as 8 weeks for patients to claim decreased depression and anxiety, greater calmness and improved cognitive processes.
How is mindfulness beneficial?
1. Develops self awareness.
Mindfulness helps in developing one's awareness of themselves. Through mindfulness, you will be aware of your thought patterns, feelings and behaviors therefore helping you discover your strengths and weaknesses and areas in yourself that you need to challenge to be able to achieve harmony within yourself and with others. This builds one's emotional intelligence because one will be aware of their own feelings and thoughts which will enable one to be sensitive to other people's emotions.
2. Relieves stress and anxiety.
When you are being mindful, you are essentially being present in the moment, neither are you worrying about what is to come in the future nor are you ruminating over past events. You are only focusing on what is happening around you and within you thus helping to soothe feelings of anxiety and stress.
3. Decreases depression.
Research has shown that combining therapy with mindfulness techniques, was not only effective in reducing symptoms of depression but also preventing relapses and are as effective as antidepressant medications.
4. Stabilizing mood
Mindfulness helps you to identify and manage your emotions. Managing your own emotions entails being aware of your emotions and taking necessary action to balance them e.g by being aware of negative thoughts and emotions you are experiencing, you are able to take action that may boost your mood, for instance, doing an activity that lightens you e.g going for a walk, listening to your favorite music, drawing, journalling etc. Moreover, mindfulness helps to build one's emotional and mental resilience hence one is able to navigate through life's challenges with ease.
5. Treating pain and bettering physical health.
Research suggests that mindfulness can ease symptoms of chronic illnesses. It has been associated with improvements in lower back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes, psoriasis and fibromyalgia. Physician Jon Kabbat used mindfulness techniques on his patients who suffered chronic pain and they testified that it helped them have a different relationship with their pain as some said that it diminished their pain. From this outcomes, we can conclusively say that mindfulness helps with pain perception and increases pain tolerance hence an efficacious way of treating pain.
6. Enhances clarity and attention.
Mindfulness enables you to see things clearly because the act in itself is being aware of your thoughts without imposing judgments on them. It also helps on improving one's focus over a long period of time. This can be beneficial for everyday tasks as it boosts one's concentration and enhances problem solving skills.
7. Increases feelings of happiness.
Mindfulness enables you to recognize conditions of happiness that are already present in the moment and this develops optimism. As you appreciate what is in front of you, you pay less attention to what isn't working out or what's upsetting you, this boosts one's levels of happiness.
How to go about mindfulness.
More structured mindfulness exercises
With structured mindfulness exercises, you require to make time for them e.g assigning 20 minutes in the mornings/evenings for it, and make sure that your surroundings are noise free to minimize potential distractions. There's no way to become a pro in it rather than practise it over a period of time. In the beginning, it might seem difficult to master the art of mindfulness but with practise over a long period of time, it becomes easier and effortless . They include:-
- Body scan meditation
- Breathing meditation
- Walking meditation
Simple everyday practices for mindfulness
These are simple ways of practising mindfulness which can be done anywhere and that do not require an instructor to help you go on about it. They include:-
1. Avoid multitasking - When you choose to perform an activity, focus on it without doing another task simultaneously e.g mindfully walking, mindfully cooking, mindfully eating. This conditions your mind to learn how to experience mindfulness.
2. Spend time outside in nature - This doesn't necessarily mean going into the jungle or forest, it can be as simple as taking a walk through local nature like on your way to school or work or gazing from a view point like a balcony. Spending time in a natural environment helps improve one's concentration, attention, memory and develops one's clarity.
3. Gratitude - Write down things you are grateful for and this can be as simple as a meal you enjoyed in that day or a stranger who smiled at you. Gratitude helps one to be present in the moment as this helps one not to dwell in the past and not worry about the future because one is enjoying being present in the moment.
4. Be intentional with taking care of yourself - Making wellness a priority is necessary because these activities make you feel good at the end because they nourish you and replenish your energy. They help you achieve mindfulness easily.
5.Turning off unnecessary notifications - In this digital age, we are constantly bombarded with pop up notifications that demand our attention from social media, text messages and emails and this can be very draining as it disrupts our focus and attention. Turning off unnecessary notifications and limiting screen time can be a great strategy to increase mindfulness in our lives.
6. Listening/ saying affirmations - This greatly helps with changing a negative mindset to a positive mindset because when repeatedly said, it goes directly goes into the subconscious mind which is responsible for our thoughts and actions. Saying at least 5 affirmations a day of what we want to see in our lives helps because it cultivates a healthy mindset which influences our behaviors positively.
Take out
It is good to take note that mindfulness is not a substitute for medical treatment. If you have any health issue with regards to your physical or mental health, it is advisable to seek a professional health advisor to receive the necessary treatments.
Research has shown that mindfulness meditation is effective for managing stress and stress related health conditions yet its reception in African communities, particularly, Christian communities continues to be a major challenge because of the lack of awareness of what it actually is. Furthermore, its links to Buddhism limits its inception in institutions as it is met with a lot of suspicion and prejudice. Nevertheless, with knowledge and understanding of what it entails, it can be informative and transformative because basically it is noticing how we think, feel and behave at the exact time that we are thinking, feeling and behaving. In simple terms, it is paying attention. Being aware of our thoughts and actions is paramount to positive behavioral change which leads to personal growth.
Article by,
Therapist Faith Chepkwony, a mindfulness teacher and enthusiast.
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