What is Mindfulness Meditation and its benefits?
What is Mindfulness Meditation?
Mindfulness meditation is using your ‘complete mind’ to do meditation. You focus your mind on the present moment without any judgment. You do not overthink and not actively think, but rather, during this mindfulness meditation, you are just passively observing what is presently happening around you. However, it is a misconception that mindful meditation is only thinking about the present, it involves much more of our senses. Let us take an example. Suppose you have made a tasty dish with full mindfulness, and you fill your plate and walk towards the dining table. As you walk, you trip over an object, the plate slips out of your hand, and the dish spills all over the floor. You are now angry because you did everything mindfully, but the results were not perfect. But you realize that if you follow mindfulness, you should not be angry. You have to remember that this is only the first step of mindfulness. Every action or Karma has a reaction. When you mindfully prepared the dish, the dish turned out perfect. Then when you did not step carefully, you tripped, and the dish was lost. So one of the first things you have to consider is that you can do something well, but the results are not in your hands.
Mindfulness Meditation Explained
When you learn Mindfulness Meditation, you learn the skill of being in the present moment. Your mind may wander off to past memories or jump to future planning, but you have to bring it back gently to the present moment. You can do this by focusing on your breath. Doing this will give a space for your mind to settle and stay. Mindfulness meditation involves training your mind to pay attention to the present or the now. This will enable you to accept your thoughts, feelings and sensations without any judgment.
Consistent and regular practice of mindfulness meditation will help you to:
- Slow down your wayward, racing thoughts.
- Let go of negative thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
- Relieve stress by soothing your mind and body.
The only preparations you need to practice mindfulness meditation is to:
- Find a peaceful, interruption-free spot to sit.
- Free time.
- And a non-judgmental mindset.
There is no need for extra props like candles, essential oils or specific mantras.
Mindfulness practice in your daily life
Did you know you can have your daily dose of meditation while going about your busy life? Yes! Even if you don’t have any ‘alone’ time, and even if you have nowhere quiet to sit, you can do mindfulness meditation.
Exercising
Eastern cultures have perfected the art of mindful exercising. Be it yoga or tai chi, the movements are done while paying attention to their breath and body alignments.
Eating
The Japanese have the art of eating mindfully down pat. When one eats, one should sit down, eat with family or friends, chew slowly and pay attention to the different flavors, aromas and textures of food.
Cooking
While going about your cooking, pay attention to the different colors, textures, sizes and smells of the food you are cooking. Be mindful when you are peeling, cutting or kneading. When a dish is being cooked, be aware of the temperatures, the steam, aromas wafting from that dish.
Doing dishes
Who said doing dishes was a daunting chore? Be mindful of the temperature of the water, the bubbles forming on your hands, the sound of cutlery and crockery hitting the sink, and the weight and texture of each dish as you wash and rinse it.
Folding laundry
Feel the texture and color, and note the type of fabric you are folding. Smell the fresh laundry. Count the number of breaths it takes to fold each piece of laundry.
Brushing teeth
Hear the rhythmic sound your toothbrush makes against your teeth. Smell and taste the toothpaste. Is it tart, sweet or minty? Count the number of strokes as you brush.
Commuting
Long commutes to work are the bane of the modern workforce. You can turn it into a positive one by making it a time to mindfully meditate. There are a myriad of sights, sounds and smells to register. Be aware of them, check them out and be aware of your present circumstances.
Different types of breathing meditation.
The main aim of Mindfulness meditation is to help you to attain a state of alert, focused, and relaxed state of mind. A state where you are consciously aware of your thoughts and feelings, but without any judgment.
1. Breathing meditation:
As soon as you start to have negative thoughts, take a deep breath and close your eyes. Pay attention to your breath as it moves in and out of your body. Focus on the expansion and contraction of your chest and abdomen as they move with each breath. Accept this movement and find joy in it.
This type of meditation is also known as Mindful Breathing and is a very basic technique. Through this, you get intimate with the rhythm and flow of your breathing. Whenever you feel anxiety, stress or depression, focusing on your breathing serves as a safe anchor for your thoughts.
When you start this type of breathing meditation, you may find your mind wandering and being distracted. Gently pull your attention back to your breathing.
2. Walking meditation:
This technique teaches you to focus on the movement of walking. Find a quiet place, 10 to 20 feet in length. Start walking slowly, keeping your attention on the swing of your legs and arms. Focus on how they subtly help you to maintain balance. Once you reach the end, turn around and start walking again. All the time, make yourself aware of your sensations as you walk, turn and walk again. Note how you lift one foot up, move it forward, and put it down. Feel the heel as it touches base and the rolling of the foot. Become aware of how your body weight shifts in alignment with your feet.
During this type of meditation, keep your pace slow and steady and walk in either a straight line or a circle.
This is also known as Mindful Walk. It is helpful for those people who find solace in movement. It helps you to enhance your body awareness, along with your thoughts and surroundings. It can be practiced indoors but is best practiced in nature. It is helpful for those with a sedentary lifestyle. It boosts circulation, along with increasing energy levels.
3. Body scanning meditation:
Lie on your back with your legs straight and your arms at your sides, with palms up. Focus your attention on each part of your body. From your head to toe or in reverse from toe to head. Become aware of any sensations you have in that body part or any feelings you have associated with it. This is a gradual process and helps your brain to tune into your body.
Doing this type of meditation is a great way to release body aches and pains in your body, even those aches and pains you are not aware of. The goal of such scanning is not to relieve pain but how to manage the pain. This is a powerful technique of mindful meditation to train the mind to be more accepting and more aware of sensory perceptions. Body scan meditation can be done either lying down on a mat or in a sitting posture.
4. 5 Senses Meditation:
Sound, sight, taste, touch and smell are the 5 senses through which we perceive our surroundings. 5 senses mindfulness meditation exercise is a simple one where you experience everything around and inside you through them. It is a necessary part of our survival kit. However, in our day-to-day life, we use all these senses at once. In 5 senses mindful meditation, you are taught to pay attention to one sense at a time. You have to isolate a sense and experience the sensation coming through it. For example, take the sense of smell. Sit with your eyes closed and let your sense of smell seek out different odors around you. You don’t have to detect any particular smell, rather, you have to be conscious of different smells without judging them. Spend 3 to 4 minutes with one sense and then move on to the next sense.
Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation
Stress Reliever:
In today’s stressful world, the skill of mindful meditation is a handy skill to have. Regular and consistent practice of mindful meditation relieves stress, anxiety and depression. It calms the mind and does away with psychological and emotional exhaustion. It helps to reduce the risk of stress-related diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and neurological disorders. It increases energy levels in the body and is invigorating.
Concentration Booster:
Mindfulness is the exercise to train your mind to stay in the present moment and to focus on the activity at hand. With so many things racing through our minds, it can be a challenge to focus on one task and do it efficiently. Meditation has been known to center our minds so that we can get the task that needs to be done.
Get proper sleep:
Cure insomnia and get optimum sleep through the regular practice of mindful meditation. Lack of sleep leads to anxiety and stress, a precursor for various life-threatening diseases. Practicing mindfulness meditation increases the production of sleep hormones, melatonin and serotonin. These are the regulators of the sleep-wake cycle of our bodies. At the same time, cortisol or stress hormone, is reduced.
More self-aware:
It boosts the power to monitor our thoughts and feelings, which comprise our inner world. As you get a stronger understanding of yourself, you can strive to be your best self. Mindfulness meditation trains your mind to spot the subtle yet crucial signals that are sent out by your brain. You watch your thoughts as they form and control them rather than being swept away by their intensity. As your outer self is but a mirror of your inner self, this technique helps you to become the best you.
Let go of bad habits:
Mindfulness meditation has been known to help in rehabilitating those suffering from addictions. Through this meditation, those addicted to smoking or drinking can become aware of their actions at the moment leading to the breaking of the cycle.
Increases pain tolerance:
Mindfulness meditation is very helpful for those suffering from the issue of chronic pain. It helps one to cope with chronic pain by stimulating those areas of the brain that process pain. It boosts pain tolerance and lessens pain-induced stress.
Conclusion
It is to be remembered while practicing mindfulness meditation that consistency is the key to training your monkey mind. Beginners of this practice often feel uneasy, sleepy, bored or distracted as they struggle initially with their wayward thoughts. But mindfulness meditation has great benefits. It helps to build resilience and awareness in practitioners and helps them to calmly handle the ups and downs of life and lead healthier and happier lives.