Mindfulness Meditation enables the practitioner to cultivate a more accepting, non judging and kindly awareness of thoughts, feelings and body sensations.
It is a particularly helpful technique for managing stress, anxiety, pain and repeated episodes of depression
It can also enhance creativity and enable practitioners to make wise choices in how to respond to life’s challenges.
It is also invaluable in learning to pay attention and nourish oneself more in life’s joys.
Mindfulness has been and continues to be rigorously researched by scientists and there is a strong evidence demonstrating that its use leads to improvements in health and emotional well-being.
Mindfulness is recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence for people who have repeated episodes of depression.
The Mindful Nation report in September 2015 makes recommendations for its implementation in health, education and the workplace.
In summary: mindfulness is a form of mind training that can
- enable us to live in and appreciate more the present moment
- foster self-acceptance
- help us to respond to life’s stresses with greater awareness and
- enable us to make more positive choices
Mindfulness is an inherent capacity that we can tap into. It is understood and cultivated by both formal meditation practices and informal practices in every day tasks such as, for example, brushing your teeth with awareness; or having the experience of eating a sandwich and really tasting all the flavours rather than thinking about what has to be done after lunch. It can be used when travelling on public transport; to take a pause when working at the PC and when walking home from the tube station or bus stop.
Mindfulness has a strong evidence base as a treatment option with positive outcomes in mental and physical healthcare.
Practicing mindfulness can assist in facing life’s challenges with more equanimity and non judgemental awareness. It has proven to be particularly helpful for people managing stress related conditions, repeated episodes of depression and chronic pain. It is also helpful in cultivating a fresh perspective towards the sometimes hectic pace of life.