It seems that I hear about this “phenomenon” many times. It is idealised as an ideal state of mind and is portrayed as a way to cope with any stresses or problems in life. But what is Mindfulness and how can we incorporate it into our daily lives?

 With its roots in Buddhism, Mindfulness is defined as “the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something”; the idea is to take time out to be aware of all our thoughts and feelings without any judgement or thinking about our feelings. Just by accepting these feelings, we can become more attuned to our mind and can live in the moment, not worrying about the past or the future.

 In our world, full of distractions- social media, constantly buzzing phones and busy lives, be it at home, school or work lead to our minds constantly over thinking and worrying about everything. Even though online we may share our thoughts and feelings, it seems that it is more acceptable and “easier” to ignore, repress and bottle up very human emotions such as sadness and anger. It is taking time to think about our bodies and acknowledging our feelings that helps us accept who we are and to know ourselves more fully- perhaps putting things into perspective and giving us a new, better outlook on life.

Mindfulness can be practiced in many different ways and it is up to the person themselves to know what is right for them- meditation, taking scenic walks, painting, singing or just sitting listening to your heart beat and breathing can help you to exercise your Mindfulness. All these methods involve some kind of naturalistic or creative thing to focus on to stop yourself dwelling on things, rather to acknowledge, accept and move on. As our mind is an extension of our physical being, it is good to focus on your body to then strengthen your mind. Yoga is a great example of strengthening both mind, body and soul with a form of Mindfulness.

Mindfulness has been proved to have many benefits, one key one is to accept and be more compassionate towards ourselves so we can improve our self-esteem and even learn to become more compassionate to others. Furthermore, mindfulness has been shown to boost people’s immune systems; increase positive emotions; increases the capacity for empathy, learning and memory in the brain; and improves our attention by helping us to tune out distractions and remember things more easily.

Many people swear by this technique, saying that “Through Mindfulness I have put much into perspective and now feel I can deal with many emotions without feeling the need to supress basic human feelings…Anyone who finds Mindfulness does not work for them obviously are not fully giving themselves to the idea and should try again, believing fully that they can change their minds”. Whereas, others seem more sceptical about the idea feeling that it’s “not helpful and a waste of useful time. I feel that I am in control of my feelings and therefore do not need to practise Mindfulness”

Overall, for only needing to give up a small amount of time, the positives of this practice show just how enhancing taking time to focus on ourselves can be for our mental and physical wellbeing. No matter what your opinion on the subject is, taking a few brief moments to focus on your breathing and hear your thoughts without judgement is not a bad idea. You can find many YouTube videos outlining simple and effective mindfulness techniques Who knows, you might discover a new outlook on life and a mindful refuge from the stresses of life.