How do you define being mindful? This question is a little bit challenging to answer although everyone has experienced mindfulness. You know being mindful is becoming aware of the things around you and this is true. Being mindful is simply the same as being connected with your life in general. Paying attention to your surroundings is a simple way to practice mindfulness. But, how do you correctly define mindfulness beyond the surface level? Well, that’s what we are going to find out here!
How To Define Mindful | The Real Score
In this article:
Definition
In general terms, mindfulness is keeping a state of being aware of your surroundings, thoughts, senses, and feelings and emotions, giving you more room for self-growth. Defining what it means to be mindful also deals with self-acceptance, paying close attention to your emotions and thoughts without judgment. You should accept that your feelings and thoughts towards any situation are not right or wrong.
Mindfulness allows you to care less about the past and the future and care more about the present. If you practice being mindful, you will get used to focusing your attention on being aware of your thoughts in your current situation. How do you practice mindfulness? The answer is simple. It’s just about getting the hang of living your life moment by moment.
Mindfulness Benefits
To define mindfulness is to not only limit the concept to what it really means but also knowing its physical, social, and psychological benefits.
Enhances Health
A study has shown performing mindfulness meditation for two months improves your immune system’s ability to resist illnesses. It also increases your sleep quality for a more refreshed and re-energized daily wake-up.
Healthy for Your Mind
Multiple studies have also revealed mindfulness increases positive and reduces negative emotions, especially stress. It serves as a good antidepressant as well.
Helps You Focus
Maintaining good focus to achieve your life goals is somewhat difficult but with mindfulness, you will develop a strong resistance to distractions while beefing up your attention skills, decision-making, and memory.
Improves Relationships
Couples practicing mindfulness are able to create healthier relationships. They develop optimism and relaxation in their relationship allowing more space for acceptance of each other’s strengths and weaknesses and making them feel closer to each other. They can also recover from conflicts quickly.
Develops Self-Value
Being mindful aids in building a strong sense of self and lets you act according to your values. This also secures your self-esteem, develops a healthy body image, and allows flexibility to respond to criticisms.
Mindfulness Exercises
Living your life moment by moment seems too broad to comprehend, much less practice. So, to give you the specifics, here are some helpful mindful exercises you should try.
Mindful Breathing
Mindful breathing is paying a close attention to your breath sensations. It’s a common meditation form which allows you to focus on your breathing flow. And yes, yoga is a perfect exercise for this, so you might want to consider enrolling in a yoga class.
Body Scan
This is not new to you because you naturally check some parts of your body every day but a mindful body scan brings your attention to checking your entire body, that is, from head to toe. This practices your sense of being in tune with the details of your body.
Raisin Meditation
Raisin meditation makes all of your senses work one after another, from observing a raisin to tasting it. The goal of this exercise is to strengthen your focus on what’s in front of you, allowing you to give your attention fully to the current scenario.
Watch this video from PsychAlive for more insights about mindfulness by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn:
Defining what it means to be mindful takes a lot of self-awareness and understanding. Before you can completely define mindfulness, you have to begin to transform yourself into a more mindful being. Achieving a state of mindfulness might be a struggle but you’ll definitely get there if you practice. So, start cultivating your state of being mindful now and enjoy less stress and more clarity!
What are your thoughts on how to define mindfulness? Share them in the comments section below!
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