Some Practical Benefits to Practicing Mindfulness

With the current around-the-clock work schedules and professional requirements, you might feel as though you're being pulled in a dozen different directions 24/7 -- and multitasking is the rule rather than the exception. Under these circumstances, taking time to be mindful is becoming more important than ever before.

Mindfulness is a meditation technique that increases your awareness of what is happening within you (your ideas, emotions and senses ) and about you (sights, sounds and scents ). It teaches you to notice your ideas (not turn them off), accept them and allow them to pass without judgment.

The advantages of mindfulness

As opposed to worrying about the future or past, mindfulness trains us to sit together with our expertise -- to be completely present in the moment. An increasing body of study indicates this can have significant physical and psychological health benefits. In actuality, the practice is emerging as a powerful tool for corporate executives, high-powered athletes and even elementary school kids.

Research affirm mindfulness Provides the following advantages:
Improved memory
Better focus
Reduced pressure
Reduced perception of pain
Improved immune function
Lower rates of melancholy
In addition to these health advantages, mindfulness stimulates areas of the brain which are associated with positive emotions and enables you accept and deal with the things you can't control like a catastrophic diagnosis, a debilitating injury or the passing of a loved one. And because the clinic helps reduce anxiety and nervousness, in addition, it improves overall health.

Sit comfortably in a chair or cross-legged on the ground and start breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. You can even count to five on the inhale, hold your breath for another count of five and then breathe out through your mouth to get a last count of five. You might feel the air moving through your nostrils or listen to the sounds you make as you're breathing. You may feel that your body sink into the seat or settle in the floor. During the practice, notice your thoughts, do not judge them or push them off. So, rather than labeling thoughts as bad or good, simply acknowledge them, then knowingly let them go. With time, you'll start to recognize potentially harmful thoughts until they take hold as opposed to becoming caught up in the wild, frequently untrue, stories they inspire. After you finish your practice -- whether it is 1 minute or 20 -- take a while to notice any differences in the way you feel. Can you feel more content? More energized? Can you feel less pain? More relaxed? Something else entirely? Regardless of what you are experiencing in the minutes after practice, being mindful of it might inform the rest of your day.
Mindfulness is something you can do anywhere at any time. Needless to say, regardless of the accessibility, staying current in the moment may also be mind-numbingly tricky.

The secret is to practice. Start small, with only a couple of minutes every day, and build from there. The objective is just to create more awareness in your everyday life, and when you become frustrated, to change your consciousness back to your breath.

With patience and time, you will learn how to accept what is true in the present time. You'll start to approach mindfulness meditation with curiosity and without judgement. And you will experience the benefits of being in the moment with your own experiences.