Mindfulness is the ability to be in the present moment and aware of what is happening, without being overly reactive or overwhelmed by what's going on around us. Our brain attends to many different stimuli at one time and before we know it, we lose connection to our body and begin to have obsessive thoughts about things in the past or future- which causes anxiety.
Mindfulness can be helpful because we already have the capacity to do this- we just need to access it. It can be incorporated into daily life through seated, standing or walking meditation as well as combined with other practices such as yoga and sports. It is also evidenced based which means there is a lot of research demonstrating the positive effects of mindfulness on reducing stress and anxiety.
The Benefits
Mindfulness therapy imparts the ability to observe, think and feel with an objective view.
- Heightens self-awareness
- Improves self-regulation
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Tends to reduce patterns of habitual response