Ultimate Guide to Mindfulness: What It Is, Benefits and How to Get Started

If you’re looking to reduce stress and anxiety in your life in order to feel more at peace and aware of your emotions, you’ve come to the right place! Living a mindful lifestyle comes with countless benefits, improving all areas of your life.

At its core, mindfulness is about being present and totally aware of what is happening, as it happens. It is about connecting to the world around you as well as the world inside. Let's have a look at what being mindful means, the proven benefits of the practice, and how you can get started yourself.

What is Mindfulness?

We achieve mindfulness by focusing our thoughts on the present moment, in the here and now. The goal of practicing mindfulness is to be totally in this moment. This is done through acknowledging not just our thoughts and feelings, but also the physical sensations in our body.

There are countless opportunities to incorporate mindfulness into your daily routine. For example: mindful communication, mindful walking, or mindful eating all provide you with the opportunity to be totally engaged with yourself and this period of time. 

When you are engaging in mindfulness, you are aware not only of your thoughts and feelings, but your internal dialogue, your beliefs, and your patterns.

It is important to notice these through a gentle lens, without negativity. There is no right or wrong way to feel at any given moment- mindfulness is not about criticizing ourselves in the moment, nor is it about reliving the past or future. We simply want to notice how we are feeling and what we are doing, right now. 

You may hear the term ‘mindfulness’ and immediately jump to meditation, but this is not the case. The two often go hand in hand, and while meditation is a great activity in the mindfulness practice, it is a small component of a much larger state of being. Meditation is a great addition to your daily mindfulness routine, as it allows you to further connect with yourself, your body, your mind, and the space you occupy. Meditation is an exploration of your mind in that current moment. When practiced mindfully you will experience benefits such as the reduction of stress and anxiety, better sleep, enhanced cognitive performance, and more.

What Mindfulness is Not

Mindfulness is Not Forcing Yourself to Think a Certain Way
Mindfulness is a way of living in the present moment. What it is not, is forcing yourself into a way of thinking and feeling that does not feel right for you. Much like meditation, there is not one single way to practice mindfulness, it is about repetition and experimentation, and finding what works best for you.
If you are judging yourself in your practice, you are not practicing mindfulness, as being mindful is not about judgment, and not about criticism, it is simply about being present in a way that feels best for you.

Mindfulness is Not a Lack of Thoughts
Meditation and mindfulness is not about clearing your thoughts. That is impossible anyway! It's more about becoming aware of our thoughts, our tendencies, and our autopilot reactions. So when thoughts come up, don't push them away, notice the thoughts that have come up for you, meet them with a sense of curiosity, and come back to your point of focus.

Mindfulness is Not Relaxation
Practicing mindfulness, and being present in your emotions can sometimes be uncomfortable. As thoughts come up about yourself and your life, you may learn things about yourself you didn’t know before, and these could be good or bad things.

Sometimes you will feel relaxed and at peace, but this is simply a side effect and not your main goal. Your goal is to be aware of your thoughts, beliefs, and feelings- both physical and mental. Therefore, if you’re having unpleasant thoughts, continue to acknowledge them and do not feel as though you’ve failed. 

Science Backed Benefits of Mindfulness

We can talk your ear off about the benefits of mindfulness all day long, but what’s our opinion without some evidence? There are countless scientifically proven benefits to practicing mindfulness in your daily life. Here are just a few:

Emotional Regulation
Science has suggested that mindful meditation promotes what is known as metacognitive awareness, which is the knowledge of your own thoughts and thinking process. Results from studies have shown those who practice mindful meditation saw decreased negative affect, fewer symptoms of depression, and less thought rumination. Study participants also noticed a better working memory and improved ability to sustain attention while competing tasks. 

Increased Response Flexibility
Research has also shown that mindfulness allows people to be less reactive. This is because of the increased ability to self regulate one's emotional responses through neurological control. Essentially, when you are able to notice your thoughts, feelings, and emotions, you have the opportunity to monitor them, and respond to situations calmly, and with more control- which has major benefits in conflict resolution.

Interpersonal Benefits

Scholars have addressed the impacts mindfulness has on interpersonal behaviour, or how one interacts with others. Within romantic relationships, those studies reported increased relationship satisfaction, an increased ability to identify and communicate emotions between partners, and a decrease in relationship conflict.

Mindfulness targets the area of the brain known as the prefrontal lobe. This means that the practice enhances self-insight, morality, intuition, and fear modulation. In addition to these benefits, the practice has also shown to have many health benefits including improved immune functioning. 

How to Get Started With a Mindfulness Practice

Mindfulness is a practice for anyone, at any time and any place. It may seem daunting at first, but I promise you will be so glad you started. Following are some tips for beginners, to help you find your footing.

1.Practice for a few minutes each day

The best way to start practicing mindfulness is through repetition. By taking a little bit of time every day to complete a task mindfully, you will become increasingly comfortable in your practice. As it gets easier, you can start to extend your practice for longer periods of time. Pick an activity such as walking, commuting, or even doing the dishes, and try to practice it mindfully. Think about the task, and your surroundings, engage all 5 senses to be fully present.

2.Check in with yourself

Throughout your day, take a minute to tune in with yourself. How are you feeling in this moment, what are you thinking, what do you hear? This is similar to meditating, but it only takes a minute or less. This allows you to keep track of how you’re doing between your more focused mindfulness practices.

3.Follow guided meditations

Mindful meditation is one of the best ways to practice mindfulness. It allows you to truly connect your mind, body, and soul with the world around you. Mediation may seem overwhelming at first, so we suggest following a guided meditation as you learn the practice. Having someone guiding you through the process is the best way to learn. Check out our own guided meditations here and get started with a free 7 day trial.

Final Thoughts

Being mindful, and practicing mindfulness is one of the best gifts you can give to yourself and those around you. By practicing mindfulness you will harness the ability to connect with your thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and the world around you. The hardest part is taking the first step. Be patient as you learn the process, and don’t give up- the results are so worth it. 

Sources

What are the benefits of Mindfulness? A Practice Review of Psychotherapy-Related Research