Mindfulness Meditation and Practice

Mindfulness is traditionally an eastern religious practice in which the breath and body are used as tools to slow the mind and expand our awareness of the here and now in our lives. The techniques of Mindfulness, have been tested by scientists around the globe and are now used in mainstream healthcare and also becoming part of mainstream Education. The practice of mindfulness helps with managing stress, thoughts and emotions.

 

We often operate our busy schedules going about our day in a state of autopilot. We do what we have to and get through the day on schedule and may find we can't simply "switch off". We might even argue that our thoughts are too busy and we can't quiet them down, or that we don't have enough time to follow the principles of mindfulness throughout our busy hectic lives.

 

Mindfulness, doesn't require us to shut down all our natural processes, so we don't force our thoughts to stop thinking, we just notice when our thoughts distract us and bring our attention back to our breath or body. Gradually we can expand the practice to activities, such as eating, walking, paying attention to the sounds around us or attention away from sounds and to the colour variations in the sky. We simply train our brain to develop focus and expand its capacity to hold and manage our present situation. This leads to a better management of our emotions, anxiety, thoughts and feelings. It can also improve memory and benefit sleep.

 

I often use Mindfulness in counselling sessions as and when required. However, for those who choose to learn more and engage more with the practice of Mindfulness alone can also book one to one sessions.