Mindfulness

Mindfulness plays a big role in Positive Psychology. If we learn to stay present at the current moment, we experience positive effects on our overall well being. Meditation and other practices help us to live our daily life mindfully, to become aware of ourselves and our surroundings. It gives us tools to find peace within ourselves and to savour the small moments in life.

This section will give you information about health benefits of practicing mindfulness. It will give you the information you need to build your own tools for your personal practice. Furthermore, you can read about different ways on HOW to practice mindfulness, specifically mindful eating and meditation. You will find your answers to your questions and also tips for the beginning of your journey.

Health benefits of mindfulness

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a method that employs mindfulness meditation to alleviate suffering associated with physical and psychiatric disorders. The program is based upon a procedure to develop enhanced awareness of moment-to-moment experience in mental processes. The approach assumes that greater awareness will provide more perception, reduce negative affect and improve vitality and coping.

Improvements were consistently seen across a spectrum of standardized mental health measures including psychological dimensions of quality of life scales, depression, anxiety, coping style and other affective dimensions of disability. Likewise, similar benefits were also found for health parameters of physical well-being, such as medical symptoms and sensory pain.

Some of the interesting physical benefits one can receive from practising mindfulness can be gained

as easy as just practising mindfulness for a few minutes a day.

When you induce a state of relaxation, which can be achieved through mindfulness, another kind of meditation, or other activities, the benefits can include:
Higher brain functioning;
Increased immune function;
Lowered blood pressure and heart rate;
Increased awareness;
Increased attention and focus;
Increased clarity in thinking and perception;
Lowered anxiety levels;
Experience of being calm and internally still;
Experience of feeling connected.

Start your practice

You might be curious on how the actual practice of mindfulness would look like.

This is why we thought of giving you a few examples on how you can implement mindfulness in your daily life.

To start right now, click here!

Drinking tea mindfully

If you like to drink tea, you might love to experience this exercise next time. Listen to the sounds of the water as you pour it into the cup. Observe the steam. Notice any smells that are released from the tea bag. Sit down somewhere comfortable. Feel the warmth of the cup. Notice the weight of the cup. When you take the first sip, be aware of the flavors and the warmth of the tea on your tongue and the back of your throat. Notice the tea inside you, traveling down towards your stomach. Be grateful that you made time for yourself.

Cleaning mindfully

This can be a good practice to enhance your enjoyment and give you a feeling of mastery when you complete the task of cleaning.

If you are washing the dishes, notice the liquid on your hands. Smell the soap. Feel the dishes and listen to the water. Notice any feelings, thoughts and emotions arising as you finish the task and everything is clean.
Vacuuming: Observe your breath for a few minutes. Turn the vacuum on and begin vacuuming. Feel the contact of the vacuum with your hands and listen to the sound it makes. Become aware of all the sensations in your body as you vacuum the area. Notice your thoughts and feelings as you finish the activity.

Stretching mindfully

Stand in an upright position and follow every breath you take. Don’t try to control it. Close your eyes gently. Then you can raise your arms slowly to the sky and feel the stretch in your back. Bring the arms back down again to your sides. Repeat this a few times. Notice how your body feels.

Here are a few tips on how to culitvate awareness, focus, and relaxation during your daily actvities.

Notice your thoughts and state of mind while you are on your phone. How do you feel? Calm? Anxious? Whatever you are feeling, try to breathe consciously while you approach that emotion.
Wash your face in the morning while noticing the refreshing sensations of water touching your skin. Afterwards brush your teeth while focussing on each tooth.
Holding eye contact while talking to someone. Listen mindfully to what the person is saying and think through response.
On the way to school or workplace, look around at your environment. What information is coming through your senses? Do you notice the wind on your skin? The smell of the rain? Or maybe the laugh of someone walking by?

When you engage in these daily mindfulness activities, you’ll cultivate awareness of the present moment from time to time, more and more. As your practice deepens, you might find yourself more engaged with everyday life. This experience deepens your enjoyment and connection of your life.

Meditation

Mindfulness, as you know by now, can be a practice of following the breath or of observing whatever is arising in your present moment experience. So mindfulness itself is one of many types of meditation. Furthermore, mindfulness is a skill involved in all types of meditation and which can be practiced in many daily life activities as listed above. Now you can inform yourself on HOW to start you meditation practice.

Mindfulness: List

Ask yourself why and how you want to meditate

Keep in mind that no single style of meditation is superior to the others. Different styles work for different people. From our experience, we prefer different techniques at different times. Get to know which technique works best for you, experiment. It might help you to think about what you seek from meditation first. Stress relief? Emotional healing? Spiritual growth? The more you think about this, the more motivation you might experience.
The most important thing you need for meditation is an open, curious mind. You should have realistic expectations and patience with what can be a subtle and long-term process.

Choose your pose

In the beginning it is best to meditate on a cushion or on the floor, as this is the most stable meditation posture. With practice, it will feel more natural, but if you find it too difficult, you can also meditate on a stool or chair. You can also meditate lying down on the couch or on a yoga mat. As long as you feel comfortable, stable and have straight back, you can try out different postures.

Where should I meditate

As it might feel strange in the beginning to meditate, it is crucial to find a place where you feel safe to close your eyes and be able to look inside yourself. A good place is somewhere quiet in your home where you will ideally not be disturbed. If it is possible for you, choose a place free from distractions, uncluttered, tidy, and clean. You might want to dedicate a special corner of your room where you will always meditate. This helps to build a habit and becomes a trigger for the mind to calm down and relax.

When should I meditate

When you start meditating, you want to ask yourself what time of the day is best for you to practice. These are a few examples:

right after waking up in the morning
before lunch (practicing with a full stomach might not be as comfortable as your body might feel sleepy)
when you arrive home after school/work
before dinner
before going to sleep

Think about your answer and maybe you want to try different times a day to decide whichever time is easiest for you. If you can't manage to set aside 20 minutes for your practice, try breaking it up into two sets of ten minutes a day. Nevertheless, it’s pretty much up to you when and where you meditate and how often, as long as you try to establish a daily practice. Keep in mind that it is best to always meditate around the same time every day, as this helps to make it a habit. You don’t need to burn incense, chant "ohm“ or wear special clothes. The most important thing is to get started and give it a go.

Tips for your practice

Remember that meditation is a special time that you set aside for yourself, rather than a task to cross off your to-do list. Set an alarm on your phone to remind yourself everyday of practice.
Create an inspiring place to meditate and use a good cushion or your favorite stool.
Be grateful to yourself each time you choose to meditate.
Don’t overanalyze your sessions.
Find a meditation partner. Maybe your best friend or a family member with whom you can exchange your experiences with.
Explore different methods.
Be patient with yourself. Don’t hurry, and don’t expect too much too soon.

You will notice as you improve your skills of awareness, attention, and letting go, meditation can enhance your emotional and psychological well-being, laying the foundation for a happier, more balanced life. You can access a deeper state of relaxation and awareness, explore who you truly are, and what you deeply want.

To practice mindfulness, you need to participate in an activity with total awareness. In the case of mindful eating, it’s important to eat with all your attention rather than on “automatic pilot” or while you’re reading, looking at your phone, watching TV, daydreaming, or planning what you’re doing later. When your attention strays, gently bring it back to your food and the experience of cooking, serving, and eating.

Try practicing mindful eating for short, five-minute periods at first and gradually build up from there. And remember: you can begin mindful eating when you’re making your shopping list or browsing the menu at a restaurant. Carefully assess each item you add to your list or choose from the menu.

Mindful eating

Start by taking a few deep breaths and considering the health value of each different piece of food. While nutrition experts continually debate exactly which foods are “healthy” and which are not, the best rule of thumb is to eat food that is as close as possible to the way nature made it.
Employ all your senses while you’re shopping, cooking, serving, and eating your food. How do different foods look, smell, and feel as you chop? How do they sound as they’re being cooked? How do they taste as you eat?
Be curious and make observations about yourself, as well as the food you’re about to eat. Notice how you’re sitting, sit with good posture but remain relaxed. Acknowledge your surroundings but learn to tune them out. Focusing on what’s going on around you may distract from your process of eating and take away from the experience.
Tune into your hunger: How hungry are you? You want to come to the table when you’re hungry, but not ravenous after skipping meals. Know what your intentions are in eating this specific meal. Are you eating because you’re actually hungry or is it that you’re bored, need a distraction, or think it’s what you should be doing?
With the food in front of you, take a moment to appreciate it and any people you are sharing the meal with. Before eating, pay attention to the textures, shapes, colors and smells of the food. What reactions do you have to the food, and how do the smells make you feel?
Take a bite, and notice how it feels in your mouth. How would you describe the texture now? Try to identify all the ingredients, all the different flavors. Chew thoroughly and notice how you chew and what that feels like.
Focus on how your experience shifts moment to moment. Do you feel yourself getting full? Are you satisfied? Take your time, stay present and don’t rush the experience.
Put your utensils down between bites. Take time to consider how hungry you feel, listen to your stomach, not your plate. Know when you’re full and stop eating.
Give gratitude and reflect on where this food came from, the plants or animals involved, and all the people it took to transport the food and bring it onto your plate. Being more mindful about the origins of our food can help us all make wiser and more sustainable choices

Continue to eat slowly as you talk with your dining companions, paying close attention to your body’s signals of fullness. If eating alone, try to stay present to the experience of consuming the meal.”

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How to practice mindful eating

Mindfulness meditation for beginners

Back To Basics Guided Meditation: For beginners & returning meditation

To listen; click here

Mindfulness meditation for anyone anywhere

5 minute meditation you can do anywhere

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Meditation to start your day

7 minute meditation to start your day

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Meditation for Positive Energy

10 minute morning guided meditation for Positive Energy

To listen; click here

Meditation for learning

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Meditation to end your day with

Guided meditation to end your day with

To listen; click here

Help your anxiety

Meditation for anxiety.

To listen; click here

Calm your anxiety

10 minute meditation for anxiety

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Meditation to reduce stress & anxiety

Meditation For Stress & Anxiety Relief 10 Minutes of Heaven

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Loving kindness meditation

Meditation befrieding, loving kindnesss

To listen; click here

Links to Practice Meditation

Meditate daily for one week. Try to take time for at least 10 minutes a day. You can choose between the guided meditations below.
If you have other links or want to try other guided meditations, you can do that as well.