Mindfulness in Practice Pt2
First let me tell you what Mindfulness is NOT!
Mindfulness is NOT:
? Avoidance of or distraction away from unpleasant experiences
? Suppression of inner emotional feelings or outward behaviour
? Blanking the mind
? An attempt to be in a 'positive' rather than 'negative' state
? Cognitive restructuring (although it can lead to changes in cognitive processes)
There are two forms of practice
1. Informal practice - Mindfulness in Everyday Life Bringing Mindfulness into your daily life activities, work, home, relationships, etc
2. Formal practice - ‘Sitting’ with Mindfulness
Mindfulness in Everyday Life
You can practice Mindfulness ‘anytime, anyplace, anywhere’. Try not to see it as something to ‘add’ to your life like learning the Piano. Living Mindfully means being more aware of being alive.
The basic premise When engaged in any activity try to bring as much present moment awareness to the experience as you can
? Be aware of yourself being ‘lost in thought’ and disconnected from your experience.
? STOP - LOOK - LISTEN & BE HERE NOW (The Mindfulness code)
? Be open to as much of your actual present moment experience as you can
? Be present WITH the experience - BE ALIVE
? Come ‘back to your senses’ notice sights, smells, sounds, tastes and touch
? Try to directly EXPERIENCE rather than judge or manipulate everything
? Acknowledge any unpleasant thoughts or feelings but again try not to judge them as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ - imagine you are experiencing them from slightly outside yourself.
? Slow down to the speed of life
Mindfulness in Everyday Life Preliminary Exercise - THE BODY SCAN
Most people are completely out of touch with their body. We live so much in our ‘heads’ we rarely even notice the body (apart from judging it by it’s cover!) unless something goes wrong with it.
Bringing your awareness into the body reconnects you not only with yourself but with your environment in which your body exists. This in turn helps to bring your mind back into the present moment.
Practice mindfulness of body any time you remember. If you find yourself getting ‘carried away’ in thinking or talking bring your attention into your body and you will feel calmer and more in control.
You aren’t trying to relax your body (though that might happen). The object is to strengthen your ability to be mindful and to get more in touch with your body.
THE BODY SCAN EXERCISE
- Sit comfortably or lie flat on your back with your arms by your sides.
- Take a deep breath. Let it out slowly. Let go all over
- Feel your body first of all as one unit all over
- Observe what is happening in the body? Feel any sensations or tension.
- Feel the weight of your body and the contact with the chair or floor
- Scan slowly through the body beginning with your feet, moving up to your ankles, calves, thighs, midriff, stomach, back, chest, shoulders, down your arms into your fingers and then up to your neck, throat, head, face, and scalp.
- Explore each area of your body at whatever speed feels comfortable.
- Then feel your body as a single unit again If your mind settles rest in the stillness
Mindfulness in Everyday Life Exercise 2. Begin the day MINDFULLY
Most people start thinking or problem solving as soon as they open their eyes in the morning. The earlier in the day you practice Mindfulness the more likely you will be able to maintain it throughout the day. Your life is happening NOW - try not to miss it!
- (Set your alarm clock ten minutes early)
- Catch thoughts drawing you in..
- Be open to the whole present moment
- STOP LOOK LISTEN and BE HERE NOW
- Be aware of your body the room sounds temperature silence / noise
- Wait until you feel anchored in the present moment even if only for a second
- Try to maintain the sense of ‘being here now’ as you start the day. Be present with each experience
Mindfulness in Everyday Life Exercise 3. Mindful Walking
‘Mindless’ Walking, This is the way most people walk around. It’s amazing we don’t bump into one another. How much of our ACTUAL life do we miss?
Mindful Walking First of all be aware if you are walking around lost in thought then remember The Mindfulness Code..
- STOP - being lost in your mind
- LOOK - at life all around you, happening right now.
- LISTEN - to all the sounds that life is creating.
- BE HERE NOW - be PRESENT with the experience of walking - this moment won’t come again!
- Bring Mindfulness to tasks you normally see as menial or boring. Washing dishes, vacuuming, etc. Each moment in life is what we make of it
Mindfulness in Everyday Life Exercise 4. Mindfulness in Daily Activities
Be mindful of how you interact with other people. Do you really listen or are you just waiting to say your piece? Observe how much of your time is spent making judgments about others or how much time is spent worrying about how others see you.
- Eating is a great time to practice Mindfulness. Notice how ‘automated’ this activity has become - how you have barely finished one mouthful before you are shoving another one in.
- Does thinking, talking or watching TV take over at mealtimes? Enjoy eating for a change
- Driving is another wonderful opportunity to practice Mindfulness. Switch off the Radio for a change. Bring your attention to the experience of driving. Feel the car moving along the road.
Sitting Mindfulness Practice
- Find somewhere quiet if possible, just sit back straight with eyes open and relaxed, but be open to the entire present moment without judgement.
- Gently be aware of and open to body, breathing, environment sounds, objects colours, shape, textures, the space around you Imagine life beyond the room.
- Allow any thoughts or feelings to be as they are Notice how thoughts come and go. Rather than judge emotions mentally - experience how they feel physically in the here and now just observe without judgements of ‘good’ or ‘bad’
- If you get lost in thought gently return to the here and now. See the thoughts as part of that experience. Don’t try to get rid of them or change them
- Stay open to the entirety of your present moment experience for as long as you can
Goals of Sitting Mindfulness
Nearly everyone thinks the goal of Mindfulness is to be very calm and peaceful but that is ‘relaxation’ not mindfulness.
- Sitting in Mindfulness is a practice that helps you deal with life beyond the practice.
- If you have a stressful day - if you are stuck in a huge traffic jam - if you are arguing with your boss or partner and so on, it helps to have an effective way to reduce your conditioned, automatic unhelpful responses to these situations
- Sitting Mindfully builds your tolerance, acceptance and compassion muscles.
- When you sit it’s not about being calm it’s about getting better at stepping back, accepting and letting go of old automated, reactive, conditioned reactions to life.
- So when the mind wanders you gently bring it back.. When it wanders again - you gently bring it back again
- You don’t judge yourself if your mind wanders you just observe
- You aren’t trying to have a blank mind
- The whole point is to simply practice being aware of whatever arises without having to react in automatic condition ways.
It’s like being at the gym, you don’t go to the gym to lie down and relax - you go to the gym to build stamina so that you feel more capable in your life.
Sitting Mindfully is the same - each time you bring the wandering mind back , each time you face and accept agitation, irritation or boredom you increase your capacity to deal with these things in your daily life.
Mindfulness can lead to a greater sense of peace but if you try to be peaceful each time you may be very disappointed!
The mind never stops and that’s ok. It doesn’t have to stop. It’s how we respond to the mind that causes problems.
If we gently observe thoughts coming and going in all their craziness we will eventually be less controlled by them.
Possible side effects to Sitting Mindfulness Practice
? You may get bored or restless Use boredom as a practice. Consider why your mind feels compelled to be entertained all the time. How does this affect your life? Think how useful it would be to feel content in your own company without the need for distractions. Boredom can be very interesting if you explore it for a while
? You may have strange thoughts or sensations This can happen sometimes - the mind is not used to sitting in this way. If you feel overly uneasy, stretch, readjust and try again. If the feelings persist, give up and try later. Don’t turn it into an endurance test.
? You will try to manipulate your experience Everyone has their own idea of what mindfulness is all about. Some try desperately to be relaxed or blank their mind or slow down their breathing. Some try to get rid of any unpleasant thoughts or feelings. The list is endless. These things are not ‘bad’ but they aren’t Mindfulness - just observe the subtle manipulation.
? You will try to achieve something.. It’s hard to break a life long habit! For instance, you will try to be very calm, you will try to be good at Mindfulness, you may be waiting for something to ‘happen’. Just observe this.
? You might think it is all a waste of time Sitting doing nothing does not seem very ‘practical’. Just try it for a while and see what happens. Mindfulness practice has a cumulative effect. The more you practice, the more you will notice change in your life
? You will wonder are you ‘doing’ it right Don’t ‘DO’ anything - just BE.
? Your thoughts will reach mania level! See the next few pages..
? You may feel GREAT! That’s a nice bonus - just don’t turn that into a goal each time.
What if thoughts get out of control, when we try to sit without distractions our mind feels a great need to fill the void with endless chatter.
So what we can do when our thoughts go out of countrol? this will be covered in the third part of these series.
More details, to discuss any of the above, or if you feel mindfulness could improve the quality of your life. Or if you or anyone dear to you are affected by issues that are beyong control. Use any of the following free links to get in touch.
More at Mind Minders or
Via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mindminders.co.uk/
Also, visit Mind Minders Support Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/37943547240739
Mind Minders Forum: www.mindminders.boards.net
All services available online here
https://www.shezlong.com/en/therapist/details/MindMinders
Contact The Psychology Center directly via whatsapp on +44 7562 788646 or +20102 8408240