Michelle Wong is a friend from the University of California, San Diego.
Is your mind full of your to-do list, responsibilities, struggles, worries, and concerns? One way to help calm that overworking mind of yours is to cultivate a sense of mindfulness and try meditating. Mindfulness involves focusing your attention on the present moment in a nonjudgmental manner. This means having direct awareness and acceptance of your senses, thoughts, and feelings. Past memories and future worries take a backseat in mindfulness and all that matters is the right now. As difficult as it might sound, we all have the capacity to do this! Mindfulness allows you to take a step back and assess your surroundings…instead of jumping into autopilot mode and possibly spiraling into counterproductive negative thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and physical symptoms. In fact, research has shown that mindfulness can reduce stress and emotional reactivity as well as improve well-being and behavioral regulation.1
So how exactly do you practice mindfulness? You can be mindful by simply pressing pause and taking a deep abdominal breath before reading a stressful work email. Or you can make a little time in your day to engage in mindful meditation. It can be as brief as a couple minutes or as long as you need to feel recharged and ready to take on the world again. Mindfulness is something we can incorporate into our lives everyday. It does not matter how much you practice it as long as you are not applying pressure upon yourself regarding how often or how well you are performing it. Allow mindfulness to foster self-discovery, healing, and self-compassion within yourself. Gain greater clarity and enhance your quality of life by simply making some time for yourself. Whether you are a novice to meditation, an expert, or somewhere in-between, I challenge you to take a moment and practice mindful meditation right this second. And if you are not sure where to start, check out this 5 minute guided breathing meditation…
https://soundcloud.com/mindfulmagazine/5-minute-breathing-meditation
References
- Keng S, Smoski MJ, Robins CJ. Effects of Mindfulness on Psychological Health: A Review of Empirical Studies. Clin Psychol Rev. 2011;31(6):1041-1056. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3679190.
