It’s easy to stop noticing the world around us.
We can wind up living in our heads – caught up in our thoughts, spending far too much time
worrying about the future or regretting the past.
The question is this: “How can we make our minds STOP?
How can we stop the chatter — and maintain present moment awareness?
How can we tame our minds?
Mindfulness could be the answer — the first step toward finding your happy place.
Read on and you’ll discover what mindfulness is, how easy it is to practice, and how it can help you de-stress.
If you suffer from high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, or insomnia,
mindfulness may be the self-help tool you’ve been looking for.
Get into the “mindfulness zone” today, starting with the mindful breath practices, featured in this blog.
What is Mindfulness?
Diana Winston of UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center, says mindfulness is “paying attention to present moment experience with open curiosity.” Becoming more aware of the present moment can help us enjoy the world around us more and understand ourselves better. We can begin to experience the world in a new way — without any judgements.
Another important part of mindfulness is connecting with our bodies and the five sensations they experience. This means giving full attention to the sights, sounds, touch, smell, and tastes of the present moment.
Why Mindfulness?
Mindfulness reduces anxiety, boosts immunity, improves relationships, and can even prolong life. At the same time it improves concentration and gives us more energy.
When we’re mindful, we become the eternal witness of our minds,
gaining insight and awareness by observing our own minds.
Without mindfulness, we may be unaware that the red light has appeared on the dashboard —
that changes need to be made.
Unfortunately, with age, many humans move from mindfulness to mindlessness. It’s easy to go through the day on autopilot — unaware of what the body-mind is doing.
Is your breath too shallow? Your neck under strain?
Mindfulness Made Easy
Mindfulness is easy to learn. Anyone can do it — and the more you do it the easier it gets. Start with this mindful breath practice: the Let Go Breath
It’s yoga for your mind.
As with any new skill, it becomes a little easier each time.
Set aside any judgments or expectations about how your mindfulness practice is developing.
The core practice is to simply relax, breathe and wake up to the awareness of what is happening in the present moment.
Summary
In this blog, you learned what mindfulness is,
how easy it is to practice, and how it can help you find your happy place — inner peacefulness.
You experienced a mindful breath practice, the Let Go Breath, to boost calmness and alertness.
Remember: the goal is for mindfulness to become a way of life. When every action becomes mindful, we bring awareness, calmness and caring into everything we do. We become OK with what is.
Over time you’ll notice that your mind wanders less. You’ll be able to control it more as you realize that when it does wander you can bring it back.
You will find more joy in the present — the birds singing, the smell the flowers, and the colors of the leaves. You may even start to notice subtle smiles and looks from people all around you. Welcome to inner peace. You found your happy place.
More?
Healing Mantras for Anxiety: Now available on the DailyOM.
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