Today, we’re kicking off a new self-help programme, Mindful Mondays. This week we’re providing some background and next week, we’ll start looking at some exercises.
What is it?
Mindfulness is about living fully in the moment. Noticing things like your breathing, your stomach gurgling, your feet hitting the ground as you walk. These are all sensation-based things which take is out of the hectic thought patterns that bother us in daily life.
It takes practice
It seems easy to be mindful, on the surface at least. However, succeeding in this task is much more difficult. Practice is required, but it is a skill in which most of us can achieve a level of success. If you think mindfulness isn’t working, I encourage you to completely immerse yourself in it, and persist.
A recognised form of therapy
Mindfulness is recognised by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) as an effective form of therapy for stress. When practiced regularly, it can also help with anxiety, depression, chronic pain, increasing happiness, focus and memory.
A little task for you
We’re going to start slow here and focus on building ability to stay focused first. So, set a timer for 1 minute. Take a deep breath and just notice your bodily sensations.
Do an inventory of your senses. Start with what you can see. Some people then find it easier to close their eyes (if it’s safe to do so) as this blocks out that sensory input, so that you can focus on another sense. Next, notice what you can hear, and notice how loud, or quiet the noises are. Then notice what you can smell. Notice how strong (or feint) the smells are. Next, focus on touch. What can you feel? Notice the temperature of the room, how the surface feels beneath your feet, or supporting your back.
When the timer ends, have a stretch and get on with your day.
