Mindfulness

Mindfulness

Our every day lives can be stressful, hectic and demanding, we are all guilty at some point of neglecting the present moment, allowing our brains to run like some bizarre computer program, remembering last week, last year, things to do tomorrow, next week, next year, etc. Suddenly the day has gone, the weekend has gone, the year has flown. Although it may seem necessary for our brains and minds to behave in this way, it is mindless behaviour, we are not fully in the moment controlling our own thoughts.

Mindfulness meditation is a gentle but very powerful exercise that can help bring you into the present moment and promote increased calm and well being. The practise of mindfulness will, over time, help you feel in total control of your thoughts and of your life.

A Simple Mindfulness Meditation Exercise to Try

As with any meditation session, firstly sit in a relaxed and comfortable position, close your eyes and begin focusing on your breathing, to ease yourself into a meditative state.

Once you feel yourself becoming calm and relaxed from focusing on your breathing then you can move on to focusing on your own body, one part at a time. This is often called Yoga Nidra. Begin by concentrating and focusing first of all on the left foot, then move up the body slowly, left ankle, left calf, left knee, left thigh, left hip and so on until you have focused on every part on the left side of your body. Then begin with the right foot and start the process again for your right side, focusing all your attention on the parts of the right side of your body.

Once you have completed this tour of your own body, slowly open your eyes and increase your mindfulness from you to you and your surroundings.
To do this, focus on any object in the room; it does not have to be anything special: a book on the coffee table, a chair, a cushion, anything. Try to maintain your focus on the object for about twenty seconds, observing it's colour, shape, etc. then move on to any other object. Repeat this several times, remaining focused on the object, your own self in the room and breathing deeply.

By using this mindfulness meditation you are increasing awareness both of yourself and your surroundings, in a very gentle and easy way.

You may find that when you start this meditation that it is difficult to stay focused, this is because we are used to have multiple thought processes running at once through our minds and focusing on one thing can be far more difficult than it sounds!