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Mindfulness is one of those terms that is thrown about a lot, but what does it mean exactly? Well because it can be interpreted in so many ways, there isn’t one hard and fast rule to being mindful, it’s all relative and context is king. It’s more about taking a holistic approach to our everyday behavior, our mindset, and how we interact with the world around us. Society teaches us to practice our academic intelligence from a young age – to study, to learn, to build our careers – which is great, but mindfulness is more of a personal approach, focusing on emotional intelligence and our own personal growth.
The interpretation of mindfulness is massively subjective because everyone will benefit from being mindful in their own ways, but easy examples of the practice are simple breathing techniques and a meditation-like routine for 5-10 minutes per day, helping to clear the mind and create a sense of purposeful thinking. And if that’s not your cup of tea then that’s fine because there’s a whole range of mindful exercises – from yoga to Pilates, swimming and outdoor activities. You’ve got to pick the ones that focus on a mind-body link, that requires focus, concentration and strong use of your breath connection.
Here are some of the reasons why mindfulness can be so effective in our daily lives:
Being mindful and more aware of the things that may affect us can help to improve emotion regulation, giving us a better grasp on handling stress and keeping our moods more stable. This is where the emotional intelligence part comes in and it’s a good one to practice.
A more mindful approach will give you a better level of perspective, giving you more time to breathe, more time to focus, avoiding those anxiety-ridden moments or rash emotive responses. Well, we can try at least.
Consistent mindfulness practice will create healthy behaviors over time, particularly when it comes to our health – like getting regular health checks, keeping yourself physically active, and eating healthily. It sounds simple, but being mindful can lead to a generally healthier lifestyle.
Regular mindfulness practice can make you more resilient, in your ability to recover from setbacks and adapt well to change. It’s all about training the way our brain responds to the changes or setbacks in life and the way we choose to recalibrate and recover from the curve balls that life throws our way.
In a society of information overload, there are plenty of reasons to feel a sense of anxiety creep in, but taking a more mindful approach can help to put the more trivial things into perspective, allowing us to think about their impact and release any related tension or stress. Sometimes it’s just about taking a step back.
Even eating mindfully is an important quality – simply eating slowly and tasting the individual flavors of the food. With our hectic schedules, so many of us run from one thing to the next, grabbing a bite on the go, but that’s not a healthy way to eat, and slowing it down a notch wouldn’t hurt anyone, and it will probably benefit your digestive system too!
Our minds wander, a LOT. With constant scrolling and notifications popping up left, right and center, mindfulness trains our brains to go to that place of calm and focus, also helping to maintain a decent attention span – something that many of us lack these days!
