Mindfulness - Be. Here. Now.

Mindfulness, which has become a very popular buzzword, is the psychological process of bringing one’s attention to experiences occurring in the present moment, through meditation or other training.  If done properly, it can help improve your health, restore emotional balance, increase your resilience to stress, slow the aging process, improve your concentration, and create better sleeping and eating habits.  Once you create a mindfulness habit, you’ll start to see your stress level reduced and your happiness level increased.  And one of the best things about the practice of mindfulness is that you don’t have to have any special knowledge or skill to do it.  Just your mind.  And by allowing ourselves to stay in the present, we stop focusing on the past which can bring up feeling of regret or longing, as well as the anxiety that comes from focusing on the future and all the unknowns, and we are able to fully enjoy what is happening right now.  We start to feel more alive because we are actually living our life in the moment it’s happening and putting our focus into the present.

The practice of mindfulness has grown so much that there are multiple way to practice it these days, many of which are very easy to incorporate into your everyday life.  One of the easiest to start with is a mindfulness app.  These usually contain guided session focusing on different categories to pull your focus into the present and take you step by step through the process.  Another way is to become aware of your breathing.  This is a very simple trick that can be done anywhere and anytime.  Thought clouds are another mindfulness technique.  It involves stepping away from your thoughts and seeing them from a distance without giving them traction to turn negative.  Meal times can be another easy mindful activity by using all of our senses while you eat and slowing way down during your meal.  Finally, yoga is a great way to incorporate mindfulness and exercise as it allows you to use breathing techniques, body awareness, and to be focused on the present. 

There are so many opportunities to practice mindfulness in your everyday life that can help strengthen our mind, body, and spirit. No matter what you do to practice mindfulness, remember that it will get easier with time and you will start seeing all the benefits being fully present has to offer.