The Mind on Mindfulness
mindfulness - the act of paying attention, on purpose, to all elements of our experience with an attitude of open acceptance, non-judgement and compassion
Every moment is a fresh beginning
T.S. Eliot
Mindfulness is an ancient practice, so it shouldn’t be surprising that it has been around longer than the recent interest soared a couple of decades ago. Below, in the research section you’ll find all the things that mindfulness has been found to help, including depression, anxiety, fear and stress.
Mindfulness incorporated with meditation is a great way to get your mind (and your brain) from obsessing over things, ruminating and also thinking of those worst-case-scenarios, which of course promotes a sense of wellness in your life. We all have those moments in which we panic (even if but for a minute), or we feel overwhelmed and stressed or even just exhausted from the 101 tasks we’ve planned for the day, or we keep thinking about that deadline that’s approaching. Mindful meditation has really helped me create a perspective space - one in which I can take a step back and really see how I want to react to the situation. We can all create this space, this power to choose what to do and how to act. It is this space, these moments before our mind goes into overdrive and we panic or stress things out of proportion.
Any kind of training that we do has its own benefits, if it’s weight training or aerobic exercise, boxing or yoga - all are beneficial, but each has a unique mechanism and contribution (to mind and body). You will also see the affects on mind and body at different rates.
Body-Scan and RAIN Meditation
Both what are called the body-scan and also rain meditation might be rather helpful after you’ve gotten the hang of 15-20 minute meditation sessions daily as they are quite specific.
The body-scan allows you to become very aware of your body, its rhythm and responses to your environment (on the outside and the inside). You become more aware of how you feel as you sit on your mat or your chair, if you feel the air around you, if you start to feel an ache, or if you feel your mindful breathing has calmed you down - these are all sensations you will become insightful of, noting change with ease. Our neural interaction in the brain regions which are associated with present-moment awareness and bodily attention increases. As our neural regions become stronger the more we practice and the more we become in-tune with the present moment, we are also able to control our bodies and our minds in new ways.
RAIN (recognise, allow, investigate, nurture) meditation is a great way to calm down in a heated moment, or the moment in which you realise a situation might escalate out of hand.
It is also the type of meditation you will be able to do on your feet, so to speak, once you become more familiar with meditating in general and how it helps you when out and about. RAIN meditation allows you to come into contact with the sides of you which are not always so pretty, the sides to you which you don’t want to necessarily unleash - and when you do, even if it feels good in the moment, you might regret. It’s really all about allowing our negative emotions and our fears to become our greatest teachers.
As you become more and more able to create that time for yourself to meditate and hence also the time between action and reaction, which is vital in certain situations, you will also be able to eliminate fearful associations. This is also the way in which mindfulness alleviates anxiety - through exposure therapy. One has to be exposed to that which one fears or is anxious of, which is also what happens when facing one’s anger. You come to experience the present moment with an open, curious and non-reactive mindset, which in many ways creates balance. This mindset is that which allows us to become more adaptive (than reactive) to anxiety or stress provoking stimuli. Mindfulness meditation thus becomes a mode of emotional regulation, breaking the panic habit.
Research
In medical studies on depression from Harvard Medical to School to Massachusetts General Hospital’s ‘Depression Clinical and Research Program’, doctors and scientists have found the need for alternative therapy rather than relying on antidepressant medication - as the latter doesn’t work for everyone.
So they continue to explore the benefits of mindfulness-based meditation.
Mindfulness has been known to help conditions which are both physical and mental, including irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, psoriasis, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
It is beautiful in many ways to recognise the strength of practice, the strength of will that really and truly arises from within each and every one of us. It takes patience, determination, practice and a certain will - elements that are all within us, if only we had some discipline to help us along the way … and voila! You’re half-way there.
It really is, all in the mind.
P.S. Most importantly I think that it makes sense to go into mindfulness and meditation just for the sake of mindfulness and meditation - and not because of their benefits. You have to in many ways give yourself a chance and give it a chance too. Just go in easy, don’t expect anything from yourself, from the mindfulness, the meditation or both, and simply become more open to pausing and appreciating life around and within you.
Details
Check out: Centre for Mindfulness and Compassion; Mindfulness Research Collaborative; Rice University course, an Introduction to the Foundations of Mindfulness;
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction