Dear yogi friend

I wanted to take a moment to explore the word mindfulness.

Most of us will have come across the term, some of us will have gone to a class or two, some even may have adopted it as a practice alongside their yoga, but what does it mean and how can we incorporate it into our lives?

Jon Kabat-Zinn who is often cited as the originator of the mindfulness movement says, “Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; On purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally”. It’s the psychological process of bringing our attention to the experience occurring in the present moment. Rick Hanson, who wrote “The practical neuroscience of Buddha’s brain” adds, “Attention is like a spotlight and what it illuminates streams into the mind and shapes your brain. So developing greater control over attention is the single most powerful way to reshape the brain and thus the mind”.

It can be formal or informal. Informal Mindfulness is when we choose to pay attention on purpose to what is happening in the current moment while doing our daily activities. It could be a modest thing like focusing on the sensation of the soles of your feet touching the ground while you’re upright. It can be practised while eating a meal, walking to work or washing the dishes. For example, practising mindfulness when eating means not just being aware that you are eating but being with the whole experience –  the taste, the texture of the food and how it changes, how you chew, how hot the food is or isn’t, how your hunger dissipates too, what emotions or thoughts come up and how they change. Formal mindfulness is more intensive and is when we set aside a period where we are mindful of what we are experiencing, feeling or thinking about – like a meditation. It helps us explore our internal world at a deeper level and with regular practise can help bring deeper insights into our mind. Just watching without getting caught in the outcome while doing a certain job can help bring us serenity.

A helpful way to start being mindful is to find something to use as an anchor, that we can come back to when the mind starts wandering. Sound, our bodily sensations and our breath are easy anchors to use.

Sound
The task of listening to different sounds can be made into a mindfulness practice. Start by listening to sounds with your eyes closed and let any sound come in. When we listen without judging or labelling them, listening can be very relaxing. As we listen we may find that we unconsciously start labelling which is not a problem, but try to notice yourself labelling them and gently bring your mind back to listening to sounds.

Breath
Feel the breath as it enters your nostrils, moves down your throat, into your chest and the movement of your stomach as you breathe. You can start by just focusing on the in breath , then expand your attention by observing your pause between breaths. If we get distracted, we simply observe the thoughts or feelings, but gently bring yourself back to observing the breath.

Body sensations
We can start by observing the different sensations in the body. It can be anything like tingling sensations, our heartbeat, cold hands or tension somewhere. Even if it’s uncomfortable, try to notice it, how does it move, how does it change?

How to incorporate mindfulness in yoga
The meaning of yoga is to unite the body and mind. When we coordinate movement with the breath, paying attention to the sensations in the body as we move, completely feeling the experience in that moment without any judgment or expectations, respecting our boundaries with self-compassion and kindness, yoga becomes a mindful exercise in itself and it becomes a meditative practice. When the mind does wander, we can always use the breath as the anchor to bring ourselves back to the present moment.

The benefits of mindfulness
There are a wide variety of benefits to mindfulness practice. Research has shown it can help us regulate our emotions, reduce stress, lower judgmental attitudes, improve memory and focus and even reshape our brain structures. Researchers have found that meditation increases the gray matter- the part of the brain that holds the actual brain cells, in brain regions that handle attention, compassion and empathy. It also helps a variety of medical conditions, strengthens the immune system and improves physiological functioning. Psychologists studying the effects of mindfulness meditation found that the participants showed significant improvement in their critical cognitive skills after only four days of 20 minutes training each day.

Whether you choose to practise mindfulness informally or formally, it can contribute to our physical and mental wellbeing throughout our lives.

Summer term ends on Weds 31 July.

With Warmest Namaste:)