Why You Need Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a popular term these days. It has generated a lot of content on social media platforms, websites, self-driven courses, and numerous other channels. 

But why is mindfulness so important? Is it really so useful? If I ‘practiced mindfulness,’ what would that do for me? What exactly is mindfulness, and how you do know if you have it?

Benefits of Mindfulness

First, let’s confirm what mindfulness is. Merriam-Webster defines it as “the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one's thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis.” 

It’s more than just a word: mindfulness is the number one means for addressing chronic anxiety. It has been proven to dramatically reduce sudden episodes of panic or overwhelm. Mindfulness is a powerful method for connecting with yourself and devoting your attention to what is happening in your body and mind in the present moment. 

The practice of mindfulness has been associated with an increased well-being and decreased depression and anxiety. Recent studies have linked mindfulness to core changes in the brain, including key neuropathways in the brain’s center. This brain tissue, called our corticolimbic circuitry, regulates our stress and emotions. The practice of mindfulness can physically and chemically change our brain, increasing our ability to manage our emotions during stressful events. 

Stressful events stimulate our amygdala, an organ located in our corticolimbic tissue. Through MRI scans of the brain, doctors have found that people living in chronic states of stress have a larger amygdala than those who live in stress-free environments. Constant stimulation of the amygdala causes the grey matter of the organ to increase. This increases the likelihood of the brain releasing cortisol and other stress-related hormones, which create a fight-or-flight response. 

One study examined the changes in the amygdala when participants practiced mindfulness over an extended period (Taren et al., 2013). They found that grey matter volume in their amygdala reduced in size, reducing the impact of stress as a whole.

Practicing Mindfulness

Those who want to learn how to practice mindfulness typically find it difficult, even frustrating. That’s because your brain is so used to functioning at ‘high speed’ and on ‘high alert.’ As such, you first need to slow down or pause your daily schedule. Select a regular time each day to practice mindfulness. Put it on your calendar or set a reminder to help you follow through with this commitment to yourself. 

The following steps for practicing mindfulness are simple to understand, but may be difficult to execute. They include five basic steps, and should only take about 10 minutes daily. 

Five Easy Steps for Practicing Mindfulness

1. Breathe: Stop what you are doing, empty your mind, and focus only on taking slow, deep breaths. Completely fill your lungs, hold the air for a few seconds, and then release it slowly and intentionally. Continue to do this throughout this exercise.

2. Concentrate: Choose a peaceful, calming place that you love to go to—anywhere in the world—and hold an image of that place in your mind. Your chosen place might be a beach with a calm breeze, with gently crashing waves on the shoreline, damp sand beneath your bare feet, and the smell of salt and sea life in the clean air around you.

3. Become aware of your body: Find a place to sit while thinking of your calming place. Focus on each part of your body, starting with the top of your head, and moving downward to every region of your body, ending with your toes. 

4. Release your tension: While you expand your awareness, notice places of tension in your body. Release the tension in those areas. Tighten and tense those muscles, and then slowly release that tension with each deep breath you have been taking. 

5. Express gratitude: While breathing, relaxing, and connecting with yourself, find simple things in your present life that you feel grateful for. You might think of people, blessings, circumstances, and other things that assist you in your daily living.

As stated earlier, maintaining this practice of simple mindfulness is difficult at first. It takes consistency, and a commitment to yourself to follow through on the practice daily. 

During your mindfulness journey, try to manage your thoughts with gentleness, so you don’t end up focusing on your challenges and difficulties. Save those thoughts for later. During this exercise, you are rewiring your brain so that you can face your challenges with less anxiety, greater confidence, and more resilience. 

Reference:

Taren, A. A., Creswell, J., & Gianaros, P. J. (2013). Dispositional mindfulness co-varies with smaller amygdala and caudate volumes in community adults. PLoS ONE, 8(5), e64574.