Miracles of Mindfulness and Meditation
Uncategorized“Many people are alive, but do not touch the miracle of being alive”~Thich Nhat Hanh
The practice of mindfulness and meditation has been around for thousands of years. Historically, the arrival of mindfulness to the United States is attributed to Jon Kabat-Zinn, the creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic. Mindfulness is now a commonly used term that you will hear in many households. It is estimated that well over 2 million American adults engage in mindfulness practices (AMRA, 2017). One the one hand, I think that number is wonderful. On the other hand, I think we can do so much better than a measly 2 million when you compare it to the overall population of 328 million. It baffles me, quite frankly. After all of the research that proves the many benefits of mindfulness, why in the world are more people NOT practicing?
Let’s take a moment here to discuss some common beliefs, or what I consider to be excuses created out of fear of our conditioned self, of meditation and mindfulness:
- “Meditation is too hard. I can’t calm my mind”
- “It takes years to truly benefit from it”
- “I don’t have time to meditate”
So now that we have identified the common excuses of avoiding mindfulness and meditation, let’s take a look at the truth of the matter:
- “Meditation is too hard. I can’t calm my mind”. Meditation and mindfulness take practice, just like any other skill in this world. Mindfulness is about bringing awareness to your thoughts, not stopping or avoiding them. I remember when I was just starting out in the practice of mindfulness and meditation. I am filled with gratitude for all of my mentors. One moment stands out in my early days…We had just completed a 4 minute guided meditation and were encouraged to express our experience. When it was my turn, I stated with frustration “I just can’t do this. My mind is all over the place. I suck at this”. My wonderfully compassionate mentor replied “Were you aware of your mind wandering?”, and when I replied with a “yes”, she reassured me “then you are practicing mindfulness”.
- “It takes years to truly benefit from it”. You can begin seeing significant benefits within a few weeks. The most noticeable change is a calmer, more stable mind. Studies also show an increase in positive emotions after just five short weeks. Just 8 weeks of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), was found to increase cortical thickness in the hippocampus, which governs learning and memory, and in certain areas of the brain that play roles in emotion regulation and self-referential processing. There were also decreases in brain cell volume in the amygdala, which is responsible for fear, anxiety, and stress. That is two short months, not years my friends.
- “I don’t have time to meditate”. You literally need only 5 minutes per day to sit in meditation. It is true that the ideal amount of time is 10 minutes consistently throughout the week will do wonders, and 5 minutes is better than nothing. When I started, it was a miracle for me to be able to sit for 3 minutes at a time. The encouragement is to start exactly where you are, and build from there. As for mindfulness, the beauty is that you can do this at any moment, any time throughout the day. You don’t even have to sit still for mindfulness. You just have to increase your awareness of both internal and external experiences. You can do this while walking, talking, eating, and sitting. It’s A-mazing!
So, here are some simple steps you can take TODAY to increase your mindfulness skills:
- Observe your breathing. There are a variety of techniques to assist you with focusing on your breath and calming your nervous system. One technique is square breathing, which includes breathing in for the count of 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4, and repeat. Another technique is to breathing for 4, hold for 3, exhale for 7, hold for 3, and repeat. And even if this is too overwhelming or frustrating to begin with, just take a minute several times throughout the day to notice the rise and fall of your chest. It is amazing to notice how often we are either holding our breath, or engaging in shallow breathing.
- Take a walk using all of your senses. I never realized how much I time I spent in my head until I actually looked up while I was walking down a hall at work and saw a beautiful flower bush out the window in from of me. I think an important part of that experience to mention is that I was at that job for over a year when I noticed that flower bush. Next time you step outside of your office/house/car, take a mindful walk to your destination. Touch the things you are walking past. Look closely at the objects you are passing by. Take a deep breath and smell the air. Feel the air against your skin. Heck, I have even had people, on their own accord, taste a leaf or flower, and one that actually licked a rock! You don’t have to go that far-unless you want to.
- Observe your thoughts. Sit for 3 short minutes to observe your thoughts. Be aware of allowing your thoughts to come and go like a leaf down a rushing stream. Observe your thoughts without judgment. Do not hold onto any of the thoughts. Just allow them to come, and to go. When you notice them racing, or notice yourself following one thought ‘down the rabbit hole’, simply notice it without judgment and bring your attention back to your breath, so you can re-settle on observing your thoughts. That is it! That is all you have to do. And only for 3 minutes!
You may be wondering “what’s the big deal about all of this mindfulness and meditation stuff?”. Well…let me tell you about some of the benefits!
- alleviation of stress, which improves mood and physical health
- enhances your ability to deal with illness
- decreases depressive symptoms
- increases resilience
- boosts working memory
- increased focus
- increased joy
- relationship satisfaction
- better quality of life
- reduced rumination
So my friends, I challenge you. I challenge you to take just a few moments out of your day to be more happy, joyous, and serene. If you don’t want any of the benefits listed above, then keep moving on with your life and forget you ever read this…chalk it up to a few minutes of your life wasted.
If you want to live out your best life, then start on your mindfulness and meditation practice today! Do not hesitate any longer! No more excuses! Try it for a week straight and let me know how it goes!
Much love, LJ