The wellness fad is everlasting and relentless. I personally find it difficult to check all the boxes: Fitbit. Crossfit. Yoga (with the cutest new yoga clothes… open loose back, or cute tie in the front). Raw diet. No sugar. No dairy. No gluten. Yes, Vitamix. Beachbody. Etc, Etc. I am not saying any or all of these are good or bad; in fact I haven’t tried any of them so it is not fair to speak to them. Actually, I take that back— when I was 8 months pregnant with my second son, and feeling extra large, I did order Beachbody with the intentions of starting it post partum. I did one work out and decided to sell it.

So, the Big Question- Is Mindfulness Just the Latest Fad?

The first time I heard the idea of mindfulness was in 2011. I was working as a psychiatric nurse, on a child and adolescent inpatient psychiatric unit. The clinical psychologist was running a DBT group on mindfulness. The point of the group was to teach the young patients how to mindfully eat. This included observing and looking at your food before you ate it (in this case it was a piece of candy), smelling the piece of candy, feeling the texture of the candy before putting it in your mouth and the feel while eating it, focusing on the taste of it, and noticing the sounds when chewing it. The point was to focus on being more Present and in the moment. The patients loved the group and mindfulness was implemented throughout their therapy.

The mindfulness movement has held on strong and for a lot of good reasons. I anticipate the idea of mindfulness sticking around for a long time; the long term positive outcomes of mindfulness are comparable to eating healthy, sleeping well, and exercising.

What is Mindfulness?

Simply, it is being attentive to the present or living in the moment. (Mindfulness is NOT going out to dinner with a friend, and each sitting on facebook/social media). Mindfulness is about not letting your mind run wild about the past or stressing about the future. Being mindful means accepting your current state, thoughts and feelings, without judgment. Being mindful can be surprisingly difficult! A lot of people correlate mindfulness with meditation. I actually find meditation to be a very difficult way to achieve mindfulness; this is likely because I am not skilled at meditation. I found when I tried to meditate and be present in the moment, my mind would start to wander (about dinner, my grocery list, did I take the clothes out of the dryer…) and I would become frustrated and anxious that I was failing at meditation and mindfulness. That being said, becoming mindful is a skill to be mastered. Once mastered, meditation can be a great way to practice mindfulness. We will talk about mindfulness techniques shorty.

How can Mindfulness Benefit you?

Research has shown that mindfulness leads to improved overall health and stress management [1]. Other studies have concluded that mindfulness is associated with reduced emotional reactivity and improved behavioral regulation [2]. Dr. Langer, a psychology professor at Harvard University, is known as the Mother of Mindfulness. Her research has concluded that increasing mindfulness correlated with an increase in health, happiness, and charisma [3]. Furthermore, increased mindfulness can positively effect ones career, as it leads to being more innovative, creative, and productive (not to mention, improvement in both memory and attention). Dr. Langer even found that seniors who were more mindful lived longer.

How Can I Learn and Practice Mindfulness?

Start by setting aside time each day to practice mindfulness; it can be as little as a few minutes each day. During those minutes sit and focus on being present, Not quieting/turning off your mind. Acknowledge when your mind runs wild, put those thoughts aside, and again focus on the present moment. That’s it! But trust me, it’s tough.

I started by using the App called HeadSpace. This not only teaches you about mindfulness, but provides guided mindfulness. The App is free, to begin. The maker of HeadSpace also has a great Audiobook that I’d recommend, The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness: How Mindfulness Can Change Your Life in Ten Minutes a Day

You can try this audiobook for free with Amazon.

If you’re looking for a great website about mindfulness and meditation check out:

Mindful.org

An assistant clinical professor of psychology, at Harvard University, also put together free, guided mindfulness meditations. Which you can find here:

http://www.mindfulness-solution.com

Or, if you’re looking for a good read and a way to implement mindfulness I’d recommend

Whatever your path, I’d recommend joining the bandwagon. The mindfulness pursuit is easy to implement, once learned, and can have many lifelong benefits.

I’d love to hear from you. If you have questions or feedback leave a comment below!

[1] Christopher, M. S., Rogers, B., Hunsinger, M., Colgan, D., Reiss, A. L., & Farwood, H. B. (2014). Distinguishing Mindful Process from Outcome in the Prediction of Global Health and Perceived Stress in a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program. Mindfulness, 6(4), 693-699. doi:10.1007/s12671-014-0305-3

[ 2] Keng, S., Smoski, M. J., & Robins, C. J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(6), 1041-1056. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2011.04.006

[3] The Langer Mindfulness Institute. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2018, from http://langermindfulnessinstitute.com/

Advertisements