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Hello dear blog readers! The practice of mindfulness has been gaining more and more popularity lately, and for good reason. Only a conscious person is able to live qualitatively, make choices and bear responsibility for them. She understands the meaning of her destiny, makes fewer mistakes, as she knows how to appropriate the experience gained and «does not step on the same rake.» Accordingly, it becomes developed, smart and interesting to others.
What influences mindfulness
Body
Health is improved, and some chronic diseases recede. This happens because you begin to notice not only the pain and discomfort associated with some kind of illness, but also exactly at what moments the symptoms appear, which will later help to form conclusions about why you need this ailment, and what it is. gives you. For example, back pain can appear when your body needs rest, but you ignore yourself and continue to work, which is why it takes care of itself by “putting” you to bed. You seem to suffer, but at the same time you restore strength.
The figure improves and the process of digestion improves. In everyday life, a person often does not keep track of what exactly he eats and for what. Someone “eats” unpleasant experiences, and someone does not pay attention to the fact that there is more fast food in the diet than it should be, and that in general, they eat “automatically”, without feeling the taste. And when it begins to distinguish between hunger and the desire to simply get enough of something, due to, say, anxiety, then the weight begins to stabilize, a feeling of satisfaction from the process and the taste of the products returns.
Psychology
- The psyche becomes more stable due to the fact that the impact of stress is significantly reduced. Yes, as strange as it sounds, mindfulness acts like a natural antidepressant. The fact is that the level of endorphins (hormones of joy) rises, as a person begins to relate to life without illusions, experiencing less and less negative emotions.
- The cognitive processes of the psyche improve, that is, memory, attention, imagination, thinking, etc. And as a result of these improvements, the quality of a person’s life changes, he becomes more efficient, successful and developed.
- The individual becomes more capable of learning and empathy as sensitivity increases and she begins to track her emotions. The reason is the gray matter, the density of which changes.
- Satisfaction with relationships appears, which causes closeness, warmth and comfort in them. Fantasies, illusions and unrealistic demands disappear, people learn to accept each other as they are, and this makes life much easier and gives you the opportunity to relax so as not to play and not try to live up to someone’s expectations.
- Reducing the level of anxiety has a positive effect on the baby during fetal development, as well as on future parents who more vividly feel their motherhood and fatherhood, experiencing joy and satisfaction from this.
- Helps children develop fully and build healthy relationships with others. Thanks to awareness, they anticipate the consequences of their actions, which is why there are practically no problems with behavior.
Aspects of Mindfulness
- Values - identify and write down the beliefs and areas of your life that matter to you. Mark the norms and rules that guide and rely on in various situations.
- Reality. Track reality, learn to perceive the world around you as it is, and not as you want to see it.
- Speech. Be careful what you say, and also how much your speech is in line with the truth. Learn to carefully comprehend the words, as well as understand what kind of motive is behind them.
- Movement. If you read the article on non-verbal communication, then you know that the body does not know how to lie, and it is easy to “calculate” the true feelings of a person from it. So why not learn to understand yourself through body language?
- Actions. Before you do something, it is important to think about the consequences of your actions, and how some actions will affect you and others.
Mindfulness Development Methods
1. Meditation
Start practicing meditation, because during meditation a person notices himself, his feelings, thoughts. There are a large number of various stimuli around us, which is not always possible to pay attention deep into ourselves and think, what is happening to me at the moment? But spiritual practices are just aimed at this process, which is why in the end there is peace, satisfaction and joy.
Meditation should become one of the main components of your life, and take at least 7 minutes a day, in which case you will become more balanced and achieve a sense of harmony and balance. If you don’t know what to do, check out this article.
2. Body position
Be mindful of posture and physical sensations throughout the day. Usually we “turn on” only at those moments when it becomes uncomfortable, painful, a leg or arm is numb, but you should track almost all your movements, this will help not only to better understand yourself, but also change the state and well-being along with mood.
So right now, sit on a chair or sofa, close your eyes and feel how your legs are positioned? How do you even sit? On the edge of the chair, as if you were going to run away, or on the whole seat, leaning against the back? Are your legs dangling and dangling, or are you standing firmly on the floor?
This indicates your stability, and if you have positioned your body comfortably, it means that you feel quite confident and stable, if not, then try to sit differently until you notice that it has really become comfortable. A clenched jaw and clenched hands speak of aggression, tension. When you try to relax, you will notice how you become calmer.
In general, by learning to pay attention to the body, you will “read” yourself like an open book.
3. Breath
Concentrate on your breath. You do not need to change it, adjust it, etc. Be an outside observer of how you inhale and exhale, what happens to the body, which muscles tense or relax in the process. It can be difficult, but make every effort not to control the breath, but to really contemplate it. Here it is, and it is.
4. Scents
Concentrate on the smells that come to you. For example, in a public place or in transport, in a variety of different aromas, try to isolate one and determine where it comes from and what reminds you of what emotions and thoughts evokes in you.
5. Food
The process of eating food can also include developmental moments. Try to slow down during dinner (most often there is no time limit for it, as in lunch or in the morning), consider the product that you are going to eat, close your eyes and put it in your mouth, trying to catch the whole gamut of sensations, its taste and aroma. It is important to be as focused as if you are trying something for the first time.
6. Walking
When you walk, try to feel how the foot touches the ground, what happens to your hands at this moment, how you breathe, how the other leg rises … In general, turn an ordinary walk into observing yourself and your gait.
Recommendations
1. Since it will be unusual to perform the above techniques at first, you will periodically forget about them. Therefore, in order to develop a downright habit of being aware of what is happening to you, set an alarm clock that will remind you at least once an hour that it is time to do the exercises.
2. Paste stickers — reminders throughout the house, with questions such as: “What am I hearing now?”, “What am I feeling?”, “What position am I in?”, “What is happening around me, is there?”, «What do I feel now?» etc. You can also simply indicate short recommendations: “Breathe”, “Notice the legs, arms, torso, etc.”, “Suspend the mental flow”, and so on.
3. If you spend little time at home and often go on business trips, then make small cards out of cardboard with the above phrases. You can easily carry them with you, periodically taking out one from the pocket of your trousers or jacket.
4. Create anchors, that is, «attach» the memory of doing the exercises to any feelings or actions. This is one of the NLP techniques, learn more from the article here. Each person unconsciously creates these anchors, for example, leaving the house, most of us ask ourselves: “Did I turn off the gas and iron?”. Isn’t it true? So come up with situations in which you will immediately turn on your consciousness in order to understand what is happening to you. Let’s say every time you take a mini-break at work, listen to the sensations in your body when you wash your hands – focus on the thoughts that “circle” in your head when you go outside – pay attention to the smell that you experience…
5. Be sure to read the article “How to learn to live here and now: consciously and in this moment?”. Since it most accurately reflects the essence of today’s topic, among other things, it indicates interesting methods that will help you to be real and alive, that is, to treat feelings, thoughts without judgment, accept yourself as you are and notice reality.
Conclusion
And that’s all for today, dear readers! Follow the recommendations, and you will notice that time does not fly as fast as it seems, and that every minute has become more intense and of high quality, and you are more conscious, healthier and happier! Good luck and accomplishments!