Imagine what it would feel like to fully focus on a moment
without reaching into the phantom future or stewing in the concrete past. How
would the moment change without negative judgments or fearful possibilities
hovering over it? Mindfulness reveal the present and it’s a great tool for
mental wellness.
When mindfulness was first introduced to me, I was
resistant. I remember sitting in class, building up the mental brick wall to
the intangible exercises that sounded far too much like meditation. “This hippy
stuff won’t work,” I thought skeptically.
In the present, my skepticism has softened into acceptance.
The concept of mindfulness as a healthy practice has seeped into my pores
through osmosis. It surrounded me until one day I found the brick wall keeping
it out completely dissolved.
Mindfulness broke down my resistance because, well, it
works! Once it’s learned, it can’t be unlearned. I’ve taken it in and utilized
it on my own without even intending to as I’ve brought it to my therapeutic
work. Unwittingly, I find myself loving the practice the more I preach it.
Enough of me gushing! Let me explain what mindfulness is,
what it does, and how you can use it for your benefit.
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the practice of being in the moment, fully
present, without judgment. It is closely connected in meditation and a
necessary part of it some might say. However, meditation isn’t needed to use
mindfulness. Mindfulness can act all its own to provide an array of benefits to
many areas of living—this article will just be focusing on mental health.
What does mindfulness do?
It reduces stress—When
aware in the moment, we are able to recognize what is happening in mind and
body before it overcomes us. Mindfulness can give a fighting chance against
stress. Consider this, if you notice your thoughts are negative and rapid along
with tense shoulders, you have the power to attend to your thoughts and work to
relax your tensing muscles. Bringing the buildup of stress to a halt.
The research backs this up—
researchers found in 2007 that
mindfulness reduced overall levels of stress in graduate students studying
clinical psychology. As a bonus, they found a reduction in ruminating on
thoughts and, as we will explore more below, the participants were better able
to regulate emotions (Shapiro et al., 2007).
It improves emotional
regulation—Think of a time when you didn’t recognize how you were feeling
until it disrupted the day, others began to notice the change, or, at worst, it
was misdirected to cause emotional harm to self or others. Using mindfulness
promotes awareness of emotional experience which can increase reaction time to
said emotions for management. The sooner the emotions are recognized, the
sooner their impact can be managed and reduced; emotional regulation.
Improved emotional regulation with use of mindfulness was
specifically studied by Hill and Updegraff in 2011.
Results of this study
showed with mindfulness practice, emotional regulation was improved and this
included reduced emotional reactivity and less rapid switching between emotions
(Hill & Updegraff, 2011). Mindfulness practice enhanced the ability to
control emotions rather than letter emotions be in control.
It can help treat
anxiety and depression symptoms—Anxiety and depression can both be related
to stress and emotional deregulation. We know mindfulness helps with both of
these. Additionally, anxiety sends the mind into the future, fearing what may
come to pass, and depression send the mind into the past, lamenting missed
chances and what no longer is. If mindfulness works to bring the mind into the
present then it cannot also occupy the past and future.
In the research, mindfulness is kept in the context of
therapy, called mindfulness based therapy, to help treat anxiety and
depression.
One meta-analysis study by Boston University researchers looked at
39 studies that focused on mindfulness based therapy treating these disorders. They
found that mindfulness based therapy was an effective treatment for anxiety and
depression across these many research results (Hofman et al., 2010).
It does…so much more—I
suspect we are just starting to understand what mindfulness can do for mental
health and the research will only grow. In addition to the above, Jeena Cho
presented more information on mindfulness in a
Forbes article that included
benefits such as increased body satisfaction, lower distractedness, and overall
better cognition (2016). In personal and clinical experience, I find
mindfulness improves focus, time management, and motivation. Such a vast array
of payback for an easy and enjoyable practice!
Ready to learn to use mindfulness? Let’s get started…
How is mindfulness practiced?
As you know now, it can be used alongside meditation, but
that’s not the only way to use it. I’d like to start you off with two of my
go-to exercises for beginning mindfulness practice. These are separate from
meditation and easy to do.
Mindful Breathing:
Find a quiet space to sit comfortably and close your eyes or
soften them to focus on one spot. Start at five minutes and increase your time
to 10 or 15 as you progress. You can set an alarm to manage time.
Once in your space, understand that the goal of mindful
breathing is to focus on your breath and the sensations related to it. As you breathe,
you can notice the air in and out of your lungs lifting and dropping the chest,
stomach and/or shoulders. Feel the air temperature in and out and the sensation
of air entering your throat.
During the time you’re practicing this focus your mind may
wander. Acknowledge the stray thoughts, let them go, do not judge them or
yourself, and calmly return to the breath. This exercise makes minimal demands
while allowing for training in basic principles of mindfulness.
Due to its minimal nature, mindful breathing may be
difficult to start with for people who need active focus. For this, I use the
body scan exercise with elements of progressive muscle relaxation. This
provides a moving focus while operating on the same principles.
Body Scan:
Find a comfortable seating position or lay flat with eyes
closed or softened. The focus will start at the breath as in the mindful
breathing exercise. Once focused, bring attention gradually to each food, calf,
and thigh, the core, the chest and back, the shoulders, each arm and hand, the
neck, and the head/face, moving up as though doing a scan of the body.
Examine each area for sensations such as temperature,
internal feeling, external feeling, muscle tension, and so on. Once completed
in the area of focus, let go of anything no serving you such as tension or judgment.
It helps me to imagine it flowing out in light wisps; use any visualization you’d
like. At the end you should feel muscles relaxed and return to your breathing
before exiting the exercise.
After either the body scan or mindful breathing is
completed, notice any thoughts that were difficult to let go of or sensations
you didn’t recognize before starting. Consider if your temperature, posture,
heart rate, or breathing changed. You may want to keep a journal of this process
to see progress.
Once you feel you’ve made enough progress to feel
comfortable in using mindfulness, you can use more advanced exercises as well.
There are so many great resources for mindfulness exercises across the web and supported in mobile apps.
Mindful Eating:
This exercise turns a mundane, daily, sometimes thoughtless
activity into an opportunity for awareness. It’s often recommended using a food
that is small, textured, and aromatic to do this practice, such as a raisin.
However, mindful eating can be done with any food you choose to eat.
Your goal will be to focus fully on eating without
distracting thoughts or judgment. Take time to examine the food, each bite of
it, with all senses. Feel the weight of the utensil in your hand, the temperature
of the food, and the texture as you chew. Smell from the plate and from your
utensil. See the colors, consistency, and arrangement of it. Hear the sounds of
scraping, chewing, and swallowing. Of course, take time to slowly taste and
savor each bite.
Three 3’s Grounding
Exercise:
Mindfulness grounding exercises are helpful for a quick
reset when the day gets overwhelming. While some use the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise, I prefer to use three 3’s because it’s easier to
remember when focus is off. You can do this in any setting (that is safe to do
so) by taking a moment to be aware. Start with finding three things you can
feel such as the ground under your feet and examine each. Move on to three
things you can hear like the tick of a clock and move through each slowly.
Finally, attend to three things you can see and really take in the features of
what you look at. Once completed, breath once to reset and bring your focus
back to the present renewed.
Be consistent—These
exercises are at their best when used consistently. Daily practice may not be
necessary but regular practice makes it easier to use them naturally in daily
life. It’s tempting to only use these when struggling, but practice when you’re
doing well can increase effectiveness when stress is higher. Use mindfulness
intentionally and consistently because practice makes…nothing is perfect…really
good!
This information and the exercises are only the beginning.
There’s a whole world of mindfulness techniques, tips, and technology available
to advance and supplement your practice. Check out the the sources cited
for more information on mindfulness and mental health.
Sources Cited
Cho, Jeena. “6 Scientifically Proven Benefits Of Mindfulness
And Meditation.” Forbes, Forbes
Magazine, 14 July 2016,
www.forbes.com/sites/jeenacho/2016/07/14/10-scientifically-proven-benefits-of-mindfulness-and-meditation/#626ff6e163ce.
Hill, Christina L.M., and Updegraff, John A. “Mindfulness and
Its Relationship to Emotional Regulation.” PubMed,
vol. 12, no. 1, Dec. 2011, pp. 81–90. ResearchGate,
doi:10.1037/a0026355
Hofmann, Stefan G, et al. “The Effect of Mindfulness-Based
Therapy on Anxiety and Depression: A Meta-Analytic Review.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, vol. 78, no. 2, 2010, pp. 169–183. SemanticScholar, doi: 10.1037/a0018555.
Shapiro, Shauna L., et al. “Teaching Self-Care to
Caregivers: Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on the Mental Health
of Therapists in Training.”
Training and
Education in Professional Psychology, vol. 1, no. 2, 2007, pp. 105–115.,
doi:10.1037/1931-3918.1.2.105.
