Mindfulness basics + free advice from a licensed psychologist

Mindfulness involves bringing one’s attention to the internal and external experiences occurring in the present moment. The ability to direct attention in this way can be developed through the practice of meditation or other techniques, teaching intentional self-regulation of attention from moment-to-moment. During these moments, you take note of your body’s sensations, your senses (the sights, sounds and smells around you), and any motions, cravings and urges.

Key principles of mindfulness

The key principles of mindfulness are as follows:

Set aside some time
You don’t need a meditation cushion or bench, or any sort of special equipment to access your mindfulness skills—but you do need to set aside some time and space.
Observe the present moment as it is
The aim of mindfulness is not quieting the mind, or attempting to achieve a state of eternal calm. The goal is simple: we’re aiming to pay attention to the present moment, without judgment.
Let your judgments roll by
When we notice judgments arise during our practice, we can make a mental note of them, and let them pass.
Return to observing the present moment as it is
Our minds often get carried away in thought. That’s why mindfulness is the practice of returning, again and again, to the present moment.
Be kind to your wandering mind
Don’t judge yourself for whatever thoughts crop up, just practice recognizing when your mind has wandered off, and gently bring it back.

This meditation focuses on the breath, not because there is anything special about it, but because the physical sensation of breathing is always there and you can use it as an anchor to the present moment. Throughout the practice you may find yourself caught up in thoughts, emotions, sounds—wherever your mind goes, simply come back again to the next breath.

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How does mindfulness help

Mindfulness is an emotionally non-reactive state which can enrich our lives. It challenges the idea that we are defective when we are not happy and that we should always control our thoughts and feelings. Mindfulness helps to awaken us to the patterns of the mind rather than emptying the mind. It helps you to be in touch with your way of ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’. This focus and attention must be done with purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally.

Mindfulness is available to us in every moment, whether through meditations and body scans, or mindful moment practices like taking time to pause and breathe when the phone rings instead of rushing to answer it. Mindfulness has been shown to help with diverse conditions like chronic pain, heart disease, anxiety, psoriasis, sleep problems and mental health issues.

Origin of mindfulness

Until recently, mindfulness has been a relatively unfamiliar concept in much of our culture, perhaps because of its origins in Buddhism. The founder of modern day mindfulness is Jon Kabat-Zinn, who created mindfulness-based stress reduction (MCSR) in the late 1970s. MBCT is clinically approved in the UK by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as a treatment of choice for recurrent depression.

In addition, evidence suggests that this approach shows promise in reducing symptom-associated distress, increasing feelings of self-efficacy, and reducing psychiatric hospitalizations for individuals with psychotic disorders. There was an initial reluctance to apply mindfulness training to those suffering from severe and enduring mental health problems such as schizophrenia. This stemmed in part from some dramatic but isolated case studies reporting psychosis following attendance at meditation retreats and ashrams. Evidence has demonstrated that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy approaches are applicable for those with psychosis, although modifications are necessary. Specifically, the modifications include shorter duration of the exercises. Feedback from participants indicated a preference for the body-based practices—such as mindful stretching and mindful walking.

Benefits of mindfulness

Of course, when we meditate it doesn’t help to fixate on the benefits, but rather just to do the practice. That being said, there are plenty of benefits. The bulk of the research has focused on its application to chronic illness. Here are five reasons to practice mindfulness.

Understand your pain. Pain is a fact of life, but it doesn’t have to rule you. Mindfulness can help you reshape your relationship with mental and physical pain.
Connect better. Ever find yourself staring blankly at a friend, lover, child, and you’ve no idea what they’re saying? Mindfulness helps you give them your full attention.
Lower stress. There’s lots of evidence these days that excess stress causes lots of illnesses and makes other illnesses worse. Mindfulness decreases stress.
Focus your mind. It can be frustrating to have our mind stray off what we’re doing and be pulled in six directions. Meditation nurtures our innate ability to focus.
Reduce brain chatter. The nattering, chattering voice in our head seems never to leave us alone. Isn’t it time we gave it a little break?

By training our brains in mindfulness and related practices, we can build new neural pathways and networks in the brain, boosting concentration, flexibility, and awareness.