Understanding Mindfulness
When it comes to getting started with mindfulness, the most important thing is to actually understand what it means. Mindfulness simply means awareness. It is also a practice where you intentionally pay attention to the present moment while putting aside your programmed biases. This allows you to break free from old patterns that no longer serve you and open up to the possibilities of life.
So, why might paying attention to our present moment experience be helpful? A growing amount of mindfulness research points to healing effects for stress, anxiety, depression, addictive behaviors, trauma relief, and an increased openness to joy, gratitude and a number of other happiness factors.
Watch Jon Kabat-Zinn, the creator of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), give his 5 minute explanation of Mindfulness
What do people who practice mindfulness do differently?
The benefits of meditation are many, enjoy this one-minute animation showing you how meditation works.
While the instructions for how to meditate can be simple, starting a practice isn’t easy. Here’s a good overview of 5 Excuses Not to Meditate and then 5 Reasons to Give it a Try.
Now try a practice: Here’s a simple one-minute practice to get you started.
