Mindfulness can be applied to all aspects of your life. It will allow you to get in touch with your thoughts, and your bodily sensations.
Are you interested in becoming more mindful? You are, but you don’t exactly know the meaning of mindfulness, or how to do it? Here are some recommendations on how to become more mindful:
Meaning of Mindfulness1
There are so many variations when defining mindfulness. We will briefly cover two broad definitions.
- The Buddhist definition refers to a lucid awareness of the present moment.
- The Western definition includes an additional feature, which is the awareness of the present moment, and a non-judgemental acceptance.
What does this mean? If you decide to mindfully eat a raisin, and you have adopted the:
- Western approach: you will focus on the sensory features of that raisin, without judging it. How does it smell? look? feel? What does it sound like in your mouth? How does it taste?
- Buddhist approach: You would also observe your reaction to these sensory features of the raisin.
Buddhist Approach1,2
1. Your practice would include breathing, sitting, eating meditation, body scanning, and stretching.
2. You would engage in intensive and daily meditation practices.
3. Your meditation practice would focus on specific internal and external thoughts and sensations that are present in your body.
4. You would try to maintain your meditative awareness all day, rather than solely during your formal practice
What is the purpose of this approach? Long-term spiritual development.
Western Approach1,2
1. Western psychological approach to mindfulness includes psychoeducation (i.e. education to those seeking mental health services), group discussion, and individual support.
2. Often used to treat stress, depression, eating disorders, and address eating regulation for individuals without eating disorders.
3. Practice incorporates many aspects of Buddhist practice (see examples above). There is lots of cherry picking from the Buddhist approach in the Western approach.
What is the purpose of this approach?
- Improve ability to cope with negative emotions
- Being more attentive to novelty
- Being more open-minded to change your judgements and perceptions.
Formal Meditation1
Formal meditation practice is the bread and butter of mindfulness training.
- Placed at a designated time in your day, in which you stop, sit, and meditate.
- Different types of meditation practices, such as Transcendental Meditation, Breathing Meditation, Guided Meditation, and many more.
- The more you meditate within a formal setting, the more benefits you will draw from the practice.
How to? If you are doing a breathing meditation, you would bring your attention to your breath for a set amount of time.
Informal mindfulness practice
Informal mindfulness practice are mini meditations throughout the day, within daily activities.
- Examples are pausing to really taste your meal, noticing sounds as you walk to work, or feeling the water on you skin in the pool or in the shower.
- This is much more accessible and might be easier to integrate than formal sessions.
- The benefits of irregular and brief mini meditations can be minor.
How to? Become more aware of sensations you experience as you are gardening, walking to school, having dinner, etc. There are so many opportunities!
Understanding the Benefits to Mindfulness2
You will not gain much from not knowing why you want to be mindful or being forced to do meditation by someone else. Understanding the benefits of mindfulness and why you really want to do it can be very helpful.
- Mindfulness allows you to tolerate and observe negative thoughts without over-engaging, avoiding, or suppressing them.
- Formal meditation practice is associated with higher levels of mindfulness, self-compassion, and overall well-being. Formal practice has also been found to decrease rumination, thought suppression, fear of emotions, and difficulties with emotional regulation.
- Informal mindfulness practice (a little bit all day) has been positively associated with higher levels of life satisfaction, agreeableness, conscientiousness, self-esteem, sense of autonomy, and positive affect.
Main message: Mindfulness is about being open-minded and curious. Meditation sessions that are not pleasant might also occur and this is normal!
Warning: People facing mental health challenges such as depression, severe anxiety, or psychosis should look for professional advice before taking part in meditation practices or long silent retreats3.
To do
- Write down the benefits of mindfulness and the ones that will really impact your life.
- Hang this list somewhere visible in your home to remind you why you want to be more mindful, and to motivate you to stop and be mindful throughout your day.
- Write down the goal of your mindfulness practice: Are you looking for long term spiritual development, or are you looking to alleviate your stress?
- Choose the approach and type of mindfulness (formal, informal) that suits your life, and that is aligned to your goals.
