New To Mindfulness? Getting Started

Mindfulness is a term that is used very frequently these days, often with a rather flippant air. It’s important to remember that mindfulness techniques are incredibly important tools that can help users from any background overcome emotional and stress-related issues.

Before approaching the topic, learn about what it is, and what it isn’t so you come into the process with no misconceptions.

What Isn’t Mindfulness?

Let’s address some misconceptions that have come along with the popular use of the term. Mindfulness isn’t something foreign, exotic, or appropriated from other cultures. Though its techniques are derived from Buddhist elements, it isn’t a closed-off system for those seeking Eastern enlightenment.

Mindfulness and the Buddhist practice of meditation aren’t exactly synonymous. Though all mindfulness techniques are meditation, it’s not all what is always commonly thought of as meditation. Meditation is a wider class of calming and attentive techniques that encompasses mindfulness, and it doesn’t have to take place in a quiet studio.

It’s also not a guaranteed solution to get rid of all of your problems. The mind is a complicated thing and it will want to wander. Mindfulness is something you can practice and improve, bringing a mind back to focus, but it won’t solve every inner problem or relationship issue. It’s a tool, not a miracle.

What Is Mindfulness?

It is a psychological process of becoming more attentive to your internal and external experiences, using meditative techniques to enhance concentration and shift the wandering mind back into place. Through a combination of Buddhist and psychological practices, it lets the user become more aware and control emotions to prevent problems of overcoming the mind. It’s an incredibly useful and effective way to handle emotional well-being.

It has also been proven to reduce symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety, let people control and handle their emotions, and even improve cardiovascular health. There are strong, scientifically-backed correlations between mindfulness and perceived health and well-being.

The techniques, broadly speaking, include paying attention, breathing exercises, and using little things to awaken senses and becoming familiar with surroundings. These exercises are crucial to strengthen the mental processes until they become effortless.

This is, of course, a general guide. Different techniques can help different problems, and some exercises will work best for different people. Work with us to find the proper methods that will help you overcome anxiety, stress, grief, and loss.