What is Mindfulness? All You Need To Know To Get Started.

A manager learning to practice mindfulness in the evening after a difficult work day.

You may have heard of mindfulness and its numerous wonderful benefits - everything from reducing stress and negative emotions, to increasing productivity, attention span, and happiness, according to solid scientific research. 

Mindfulness is a very practical skill that can help us to get out of crazy headless-chicken mode, to suffer less, enjoy life a thousand times more, regulate our nervous systems, wellness and relationships. It’s profoundly simple but deep practice that can rewire every aspect of your mind and being.

But what exactly is mindfulness? And, how can you learn to practice it and reap its many benefits?

Here’s all you need to know to get started.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is defined as purposefully paying attention to the present moment and in a particular way, with kindness, non-judgement and curiosity. It’s the pure quality of nonjudgemental, open awareness and being in the now.

When we are fully engaged with the present moment, not wrapped in judgement, not traveling in the past and future but rooted in the now, just aware of our thoughts, body sensations, feelings and reactions without getting caught upon them, we are enter a deep state of mindfulness, a place for our minds and hearts to relax, recharge and unwind.

It’s important to highlight that mindfulness is not a religious or dogmatic practice and it can be practiced by people with diverse languages, cultural beliefs, religion, etc. 

Can Mindfulness Solve All Our Problems?

Mindfulness is not a magical solution that eliminates stress or other negative experiences and challenges. But what it can do really well is help us to become more aware of when  we get triggered and begin to sense how unpleasant thoughts and emotions arise and learn to have more choices in how to meet those moments. With mindfulness as an ally, we have a greater chance of responding calmly and empathetically when faced with stress or challenges, instead of reacting and being completely out of control. We will still have moments of confusion, or struggles with focus, creativity or relationships. But we could learn to overcome those challenges in new ways and better take care of ourselves at the same time, creating new and exciting possibilities for our lives.

Of course, practicing mindfulness does not mean we never get angry — rather it allows us to be more thoughtful in how we want to respond, whether that's calmly and empathetically or perhaps, occasionally with measured anger.

Try A Little Mindfulness Practice Now

Mindfulness Vs Meditation 

It’s very helpful to learn to distinguish between mindfulness and meditation, as many people find that confusing.

On the one hand, mindfulness can be a type of meditation. On the other hand meditation can be a type of mindfulness practice. Let’s explain that. 

In some ways, mindfulness is bigger than meditation. It’s a state of being and a way of living life and there are different ways in which we can practice mindfulness. Mindfulness meditation is one of the formal ways to practice and cultivate mindfulness, but there are also others - like mindful walking or stretching, or eating. 

At the same time, there are many other forms of meditation that are not specifically mindfulness-oriented. Meditation is understood as a family of mind training techniques, and mindfulness is one of those techniques, like kundalini meditation, or chakra meditations, etc. Different meditation types can have very different goals and provide a range fo experiences. 

So, it’s important when attending courses, classes and learning to know why and what you are signing up for.

Mindfulness meditation is one of the core and most effective ways for learning, deepening and growing mindfulness.

How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work

Mindfulness meditation doesn’t only change our mindset and perspective, it can dramatically change the shape of our brains, impact our hormones. 

• Just 8 weeks can rewire the brain towards more positive thoughts and emotions.

• A few mindful breaths we can turn off the fight or flight (stress response) system in the body and trigger the relaxation response. 

• The amygdala, which regulates how we feel stress, fear, and anxiety, decreases in size.

• We move from high-frequency brain waves to a lower frequency, which activates (and, potentially even more importantly, deactivates) certain areas of the brain that are related to the regulation of fight or flight.

• Neurological connections to the medial prefrontal cortex, or the “me center,” decrease and diminish traits such as fear, stress, and anxiety. 

• Meditation can build new pathways to the parts of the brain responsible for traits like focus and decision-making.

• Mindfulness meditation can actually change the shape of the brain as well, a process known as neuroplasticity. 

• Meditation can increase our general happiness level line, which is the level of our happiness when we are in a neutral - neither bad nor good state. 

• The gray area of the brain responsible for emotional regulation, planning, and problem-solving — as well as the cortical thickness — responsible for learning and memory — both increase with regular meditation practice.

Formal Vs Informal Mindfulness 

Formal

A formal practice means we purposefully pause and take time to practice. Formal practices include guided and unguided types meditation, breathing exercises, body scans, mindful movement, mindful walking, and mindful eating, mindfully talking and more. Through these practices we build the muscles for present-moment-awareness, compassion and more.

Informal

An informal practice happens naturally in the midst of our busy working days and lives. For example, when we take a deep breath before talking to a colleague, when we notice what we need and how we feel in the present moment, when we pay attention towhat we see, smell or hear, when we let ourselves notice the taste of our lunch, the sounds of rain or rays of sunshine outside, the feeling of the clothes on our skin, or seeing the smiles and eyes of the people around us. Informal practice takes our what we learn on our cushions and helps us to bring it to life more vividly, until actually most of our lives and moments are filled with mindfulness.

How Mindful Are You 

Curious how many times a day you are in a mindful or mindfulness state? There’s actually a 15-item questionnaire researchers use to measure mindfulness called the Mindful Attention Awareness Score (MAAS), that you can take to see where you stand — the higher the score, the greater your ability to be mindful. You can download it here and check your score. 

The work of any mindfulness practice is to bring our attention to the present moment. 

Types of Mindfulness Meditations

1. Breathing meditation

Probably the most common form of meditation, in this technique we uses the breath for our major anchor and focus. Wherever you are sitting right now, just focus your attention on the breath wherever you sense the breath in the body - specifically the rise and fall of the chest or around the nostrils - and just observe these movements. When thoughts arise, bring the attention back.

2. Body Scan & Mindful Movement:

With the boidy scan and mindful movement, we use the body as an anchor. In the body scan you scan your body from head to toe and being aware of any discomfort, sensations, or aches that exist (which could be indicators of stress and anxiety), whereas in the mindufl movement practice, the anchor that we pay attention to is the body in movement, stillness and transitions.

3. Noting:

In this mindfulness technique in which you “note” or recognize a particular thought or feeling when you become distracted during meditation. The practice of noting helps to create space and learn more about our habits, tendencies, and conditioning.

4. Loving Kindness:

In this practice, instead of focusing on the breath, we focus on directing well-wishes and goodwill to ourselves and others. This helps us to let go of unhappy feelings we may be experiencing, to cultivate positivity and 

5. Compassion:

As the name implies, in compassion-based practices, we focus the attention on the breathing.

6. Visualization:

This technique uses visualization, to focus on a person or something more abstract, to hold attention. The idea here is that the familiar image will help create and maintain a relaxed focus.

7. Open Awareness:

Rather than focusing on the breath or a visualization, this technique involves letting the mind rest; thoughts may enter, but instead of distracting you and pulling you away from the present moment, they simply leave.

8. Reflection:

For this technique, ask yourself a question, for example, “What are you most grateful for?” (Note that asking yourself a question using the second person — you — will discourage the intellectual mind from trying to answer it rationally.) Be aware of the feelings, not the thoughts, that arise when you focus on the question. Here is a video with more instruction on how to use the reflection meditation technique.

Which Type of Mindfulness Practice is Best for You?

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