Mindfulness, a life changing practice?
“We live in a world that is constantly accelerating, where occupation is our daily lot. It seems almost inevitable to be constantly multi-tasking.
Often, you fold the laundry while keeping an eye on the children and another on the television. You plan your day while listening to the radio, while going to work. Then, during your day, you plan your weekend. However, it often happens that, caught in this race against the clock where the “fast one last …” reigns king, you miss some basic information. You operate as an “autopilot” and deploy actions without always knowing how or why.
Have you noticed that you feel well rested or exhausted this morning? Did you notice that the forsythia was in bloom along your route? Have you heard your child’s poem in full and with care? “
Faced with this, in a perfect accounting with this active prospect, mindfulness allows to get out of the emergency, to open the possibilities, to get out of reactivity. This view could be summed up in a practice of deliberately focusing one’s attention on the present moment and accepting it without judgment as it stands.
Mindfulness is currently undergoing scientific review.
The results show that it contributes to a significant improvement in well-being and happiness.
BUDDHISM AND FULL CONSCIOUSNESS
Ancient roots for modern applications
The culture of mindfulness has roots in Buddhism.
Some exercises practiced are inspired directly from this practice. He takes up the themes as well as the posture by “withdrawing” his spiritual dimension.
In most religions, we find prayer forms or meditation techniques that help move your thoughts away from your usual concerns. They accompany you to an appreciation of the moment and a broader perspective on life.
Emeritus Professor Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder and former director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts, helped introduce the practice of mindfulness meditation into traditional medicine.
He has shown that mindfulness can make improvements on certain physical and psychological symptoms such as anxiety, chronic pain, depression.
The studies also highlighted positive changes in attitudes to difficulties and levels of self-care behaviors.
THE 3 KEYS OF THE FULL CONSCIOUSNESS: well-being, health, psychology
– Finding # 1: Mindfulness improves well-being
Increasing your attention span supports many attitudes that contribute to a rich and meaningful life.
By being aware, it is easier to savor the pleasures of life as they present themselves, it helps you to participate fully in activities, and creates a greater capacity to deal with adverse events.
Remember and see the almost simple logic of this sentence: “Life brings more to people who make the most of what life brings them” Russ Harris.
Focusing on the here and now, many people who practice mindfulness find that they are less likely to be caught in worries about the future or regret about the past. They are less concerned about questions about success and self-esteem, and they are more likely to form deep bonds with others.
– Finding # 2: Mindfulness improves physical health
Scientists have discovered that mindfulness techniques also help improve our physical health, as it:
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Help in reducing stress and its physical consequences
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Participate in treatment for heart disease
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Lowers blood pressure
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Reduces chronic pain
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Improve sleep
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Attenuates gastrointestinal difficulties
– Finding # 3: Mindfulness improves mental health
In recent years, psychotherapists have turned to mindfulness meditation. It appears as an important element in the treatment of a number of problems, including:
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The Depression
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Substance abuse
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Eating disorders
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Couple conflicts
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Anxiety disorders
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Obsessive compulsive disorder
Some experts believe that the practice helps people to accept their experience, including rather painful emotions. This promotes engagement and reduces aversive or avoidance-type reactions.
It has become increasingly common to combine mindfulness with a therapeutic approach, such as cognitive and behavioral therapy. This evolution makes sense, as both have a common goal: to help people change their positioning in the face of irrational, maladaptive, self-destructive thoughts.
MINDFULNESS: ACTIVE PRINCIPLES
– The Mindfulness Techniques
There is more than one way of practicing mindfulness, but the goal of any mindfulness technique is to achieve a state of alertness, of concentrated relaxation by deliberately paying attention to thoughts and sensations, without laying on these last some judgment. This allows the mind to refocus on the present moment.
All mindfulness techniques are a form of meditation “despiritualized.
– Classic meditation of mindfulness
At the level of the exercises, there are several focus objects that are present in us and available 24 hours a day (like breathing, thoughts, bodily sensations, …). They can serve as a training ground to enable us to practice mindfulness easily.
Below are some examples of points and places that can help you practice mindfulness.
1. Breathing:
“Sit quietly and focus on your natural breathing. Do not try to transform it and let it unfold as it unfolds 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is nothing to change, just to put your attention without judgment. Let the thoughts come and go like the waves by the sea. As soon as you notice them, return slowly and gently to your breathing. “
2. Body sensations
“Go through your body and notice some subtle bodily sensations such as itch or tingling and without judgment, observe them without changing anything. What’s going on in your body, what do you notice?
Then perform a body scan by reviewing each part of your body from head to toe. “
3. The senses
The goal here is to focus on images, sounds, smells, tastes, and elements of touch.
“Close your eyes and be aware of the sounds around you. First, the nearest and then farther and farther. Do not try to name or classify them, simply observe them as they are. As best as you can hold this posture each time your brain produces a thought, write it down and come back to listening to the sounds …. “.
4. Emotions
In this part, mindfulness will allow the development of our tolerance of emotions by allowing their presence without necessarily trying to solve them.
We will work to emit a stable and relaxed appellation of the emotions present inside all people such as: “joy”, “anger”, “frustration, …”
In this context, acceptance, different from resignation, will be central. It will also be emphasized that there are no positive or negative emotions. They all have a function. However, they can cause discomfort and are sometimes unsuited to the context.
