Mindfulness Meditation

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Wikipedia defines mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one's attention to the present-moment experience without evaluation, a skill one develops through meditation or other training.   

Mindfulness is a gentle, kind and compassionate moment-to-moment awareness of your thoughts, feelings, body sensations, and the surrounding people & environment.

Mindfulness involves paying attention to our thoughts and feelings without judgement or labelling them as “right” or “wrong” in a given moment. When we practice mindfulness, we remain in the present moment rather than looking back at our past, or imagining the future. When we dwell on past events, you may feel depressed and when we think too much about the future, you may start to feel anxious.

• Awareness 
• Attention 
• Acceptance

The Cleveland Clinic defines meditation as a practice that involves focusing or clearing your mind using a combination of mental and physical techniques. 

There’s no right or wrong way to meditate. That’s because meditation is simply a practice of bringing your awareness to a single focus. There are a few common processes that happen during several forms of meditation.

• Body-centered meditation. Also called self-scanning, this involves focusing on the physical sensations you can feel throughout your body, usually your breath flowing through your nostrils or in & out of your lungs.

• Contemplation meditation. This usually involves concentrating on a question or some kind of contradiction without letting your mind wander.

• Emotion-centered meditation. This kind of meditation has you focus on a specific emotion. For example, focusing on how to be kind to others or on what makes you happy in your life.

• Mantra meditation. This kind of meditation involves repeating (either aloud or in your head) a specific phrase, affirmation, or sound.

• Meditation with movement. This type of meditation can involve focusing on breathing, holding your breath or performing specific body movements. It can also involve walking while focusing on what you observe around you.

• Visual-based meditation. This kind of meditation involves focusing on something you can see (either with your eyes or by concentrating on a mental image). A candle, a picture of a loved one, or even a crystal can be used as a focal point to your meditation.

• Self-control 
• Objectivity
• Affect tolerance,
• Enhanced flexibility
• Equanimity
• Improved concentration
• Mental clarity
• Relatability to self and others with kindness, acceptance & compassion
• Improved sleep
• Adopt healthier habits such as eating better and exercising regularly
• Start and stick with goals
• Greater awareness of emotions, and body sensations
• Reduced rumination 
• Stress reduction
• Cognitive flexibility
• Improved relationships
•  Mindfulness may also treat heart disease, lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, improve sleep, and alleviate gastrointestinal difficulties. 

• Take some deep breaths. Breathe in through your nose for a count of 4, hold for a count of 1 and then exhale through the mouth for a count of 5. Repeat often.

• Take a walk. Pay attention to your breath and what you can see and hear around you. If thoughts and worries arise in your mind, take note of them but then return to attention to your breath and surroundings.

• Practice mindful eating. Pay attention to how every bite tastes, the foods textures, flavours, smell. A good habit to begin is to lay your utensils down on the table and just savour the moment of chewing each bite.  You can pick up the utensils again once you have finished with each bite. And listen to your body's signals of when it is full.

• Do a body scan. Sitting or laying quietly, bring your attention to how each part of your body is feeling. You can start at the top of your head and slowing scan through each area until you have reached your toes. Take note of any sensations  you may be feeling throughout the scan, such as hot, cold, pain, tingling, etc.