Mindfulness encourages you to pay attention to your thoughts, your actions and your body.
Mindfulness is an ancient practice that is about being completely aware of what’s happening in the present—of all that’s going on inside and all that’s happening around you.
Mindfulness means not living your life on “autopilot.” Instead, you experience life as it unfolds moment to moment, good and bad, and without judgment or preconceived notions.
“Many of us go through our lives without really being present in the moment,” says Dr. Margaret Chesney of the University of California, San Francisco.
Dr. Chesney’s studies suggest that mindfulness practices may help people manage stress, cope better with serious illness and reduce anxiety and depression. Many people who practice mindfulness report an increased ability to relax, a greater enthusiasm for life and improved self-esteem.
One National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported study found a link between mindfulness meditation and measurable changes in the brain regions involved in memory, learning and emotion. Another NIH-funded researcher reported that mindfulness practices may reduce anxiety and hostility among urban youth and lead to reduced stress, fewer fights and better relationships.
A major benefit of mindfulness is that it encourages you to pay attention to your thoughts, your actions and your body. For example, studies have shown that mindfulness can help people achieve and maintain a healthy weight. “It is so common for people to watch TV and eat snack food out of the box without really attending to how much they are eating,” says Chesney. “With mindful eating, you eat when you’re hungry, focus on each bite, enjoy your food more and stop when you’re full.”
Finding time for mindfulness in our culture, however, can be a challenge. We tend to place great value on how much we can do at once and how fast. Still, being more mindful is within anyone’s reach.
You can practice mindfulness throughout the day, even while answering e-mails, sitting in traffic or waiting in line. All you have to do is become more aware—of your breath, of your feet on the ground, of your fingers typing, of the people and voices around you.
Source: Harrison Wein, Ph.D., Mindfulness Matters, Can Living in the Moment Improve Your Health?, National Institutes of Health News in Health, January 2012. https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2012/01/mindfulness-matters