What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a special way of paying attention on the present moment. When you're mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad, and when you notice your mind is ruminating on the past or worrying about the future, you bring your attention back to the present moment. Mindfulness means living in the moment and really experiencing the here-and-now, enjoying the moment.
Why learn Mindfulness?
Mindfulness has been shown to improve coping with everyday life aswell as helping people to cope during tough times. Mindfulness now has a body of research evidence that has shown that mindfulness has both physical and mental health benefits:
Helps you be more aware of yourself, your body and the environment
Helps to slow down your thoughts
Slows down your nervous system
Helps you to concentrate
Helps you relax
Help to relieve stress
Help to improve sleep
Help manage depression and/or anxiety
Help you to be less angry or moody
Improve memory
Help you learn more easily
Help you to solve problems more easily
Help you to manage difficult emotions
Improve your breathing
Reduce your heart rate
Improve your circulation
Improve your immunity, or
Help you to cope with pain.
Mindfulness is something that everyone can develop, and it’s something that everyone can try. It’s been practiced for thousands of years, with origins in Eastern philosophy, and over the past 40 years, it has been taken up in western societies. People can increase their mindfulness in everyday life, through activities like meditation and yoga, or even by simply paying more attention during regular activities like walking, enjoying a meal or something as basic as brushing your teeth.