Making Space for Mindfulness
We have so many demands on our attention, time, and energy so it’s as important as ever to give ourselves a little care every day. Mindfulness is a practice that I often recommend. It has numerous health benefits such as lowering our heart rate and blood pressure, and helping to anchor us in the present moment. When our body is more physiologically calm, our logical mind comes back online, and we can often think more calmly and creatively. For those who experience anxiety, or depression, mindfulness can be a practice to help us come back to the here and now, instead of being pulled into thoughts about the past, or worries about the future.
What is mindfulness?
One of my favorite definitions of mindfulness is:
“…paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally as the experience unfolds,” and in this way, we consciously make an effort at “cultivating moment-to-moment nonjudgmental awareness”.
~Jon Kabat-Zinn
A first step to mindfulness practice is allowing and encouraging ourselves to notice. We can begin to observe our experiences like noticing the breath, or noticing body sensations like temperature, the feel of our clothing, or the support of our chairs. We can notice our experience without judging it as good or bad. Many people will say, ‘My mind is always thinking, always going’. Of course it is! So natural and normal! During our mindfulness practice, we just bring the mind back to noticing and observing without negative judgement. This is an essential part of the practice.
How do we make space for mindfulness practice? Mindfulness can be practiced in so many different ways. It can be a seated, dedicated meditation practice, or practiced informally as you go about your day by adding a few minutes of intentional attention to whatever activity you are doing. We can practice paying attention completely to our experience of living in the present moment.
Ideas for practice
One common practice is mindful eating, where you fully pay attention to the experience of eating, including noticing the appearance, texture, and taste of the food. Another practice is mindful breathing, which invites use of the breath as an anchor for attention. Paying attention closely and consciously can be done while doing any activity like washing a cup, or brushing your teeth.
Another one of my favourites that can be done anywhere is sound mindfulness, where you take a moment to notice and listen to the sounds around you: What is catching your attention? Does the sound approach, or fade? Is it constant? Is there rhythm? Without even naming it, can you listen to the quality of the sounds as you experience them? Can you notice the absence of sound in the pauses between?
I invite you to try mindfulness for just a few minutes a day and notice what you notice.
Mindfulness is part of my therapeutic practice. If you would like to explore mindfulness more thoroughly with me, please don’t hesitate to let me know.
If you’d like to read more, here are a few more resources:
Mindfulness on Psychology Today
https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/basics/mindfulness
Raisin Meditation from Greater Good Science Center
https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/raisin_meditation
Mindful Breathing from Greater Good Science Center
https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/mindful_breathing
Mindfulness exercises from Anxiety Canada
https://www.anxietycanada.com/articles/mindfulness-exercises/
Can Mindfulness Help When You’re Depressed? Greater Good Science Center
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/can_mindfulness_help_when_youre_depressed
