Rooted in Hinduism and Buddhism, this practice of awareness has been used for centuries to find inner peace and is often the way in for developing a meditation practice. In the 20th century, mindfulness was introduced into the West through programs like Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), which adapted these Buddhist principles for stress management.
Jon Kabat-Zinn’s studies and courses propelled mindfulness to the mainstream teaching thousands of people that: “Mindfulness is about loving life. When you cultivate this love, it gives you clarity and compassion for life and your actions happen in accordance with that.”
What exactly is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the practice of being truly present and aware of your surroundings, your bodily sensations and your environment. Doing this observation non-judgementally takes our focus away from worries, negative thought patterns and things that we can’t control, aiming to reduce overwhelm, reactivity and stress.
How can mindfulness impact stress levels?
Mindfulness has both psychological and physiological benefits. It calms the racing mind, reduces your cortisol levels (your stress hormone) and this has a knock-on effect in reducing physical tension in the body.
Let’s look at the science. Mindfulness can:
- Regulate your amygdala
Your amygdala is the part of the brain responsible for your emotional reactivity. Overtime, these practices quieten your stress-alarm system which creates a pathway for more controlled and collected responses to triggers. - Enhance your emotional regulation
Mindfulness activates the parts of the brain such as the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) that are responsible for conflict resolution and regulating your emotions. Tapping into this area of the brain helps us process stressful situations more effectively and help us avoid reactive behaviour patterns. - Helps us avoid unnecessary dwelling
By using mindfulness to disengage from repetitive negative thoughts, we’re able to break the thought pattern cycles that send us into a downward spiral. - Aid tension release
Mindfulness and meditation lowers our blood pressure, our heart rate and other markers of physiological stress, activating our parasympathetic nervous system (our rested state), signalling for the whole body to relax. When the parasympathetic nervous system is activated, it counteracts the release of cortisol.
5 ways to be more mindful
Okay, so how do we do it? There are many practices and ways to include mindfulness throughout your day that don’t involve sitting cross-legged on a cushion surrounded by the sounds of waves crashing (although that would be nice).
Try these 5 simple steps.
1. Mindful morning
The way you start your day can have a big impact on the direction your day takes. Create yourself a morning ritual:
- Avoid picking up your phone
- Take notice of how you are feeling
- Set yourself an intention for the day ahead
- Take a quick stretch
- List 5 things you are grateful for.
Remind yourself of your intention and your gratitude list throughout your day to cultivate that positivity.
2. 5-4-3-2-1
This is a well-known mindfulness and awareness technique that draws on the power of your senses. This practice turns your focus and awareness away from external distractions and towards your present environment. Pause at each one to really notice what you are experiencing. Add it into your morning ritual or use it when you need it.
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- 5: List five things you can see
- 4: List four things you can feel
- 3: List three things you can hear
- 2: List two things you can smell
- 1: List one thing you can taste.
3. A mindful breath
Our breath is the only autonomic function in the body that we can control. We can’t control our heartrate or our digestion, but our breath – yes! Which makes it a super unique process. When we’re stressed, our body will revert to taking short sharp gasps of air however, when we control and slow our breath right down, we can stop our sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) in its tracks. Taking fuller breaths circulates oxygen around the body more efficiently, increasing our focus and performance and signals to our parasympathetic nervous system to rest. It’s mindful because we’re taking our awareness to our breath, instead of external stressors.
Some breath tips:
- Try putting your hands on your side ribs and breathing deeply into your hands, maximising your lung capacity for each breath and using your diaphragm more effectively.
- Try a box breath – 4 counts in, hold for 4, 4 counts out, hold out for 4 to control and slow the breath (not suitable during pregnancy).
- Try an extended exhale – 4 counts in, and 6 counts out.
Notice how you feel before and after you take some time to consciously breathe.
4. A mindful pause
Things getting too much? Mental load reaching maximum capacity? Take a pause! We work through our day often on autopilot, doing job after job, action after action, without them needing much conscious decision making, thought, and often lacking purpose or intention. Pausing to take a few breaths, step into the garden or make a cup of herbal tea could be the reset you need. We’re so used to living in a ‘get things quick’ world but what’s going to happen when we take an extra 5 minutes to take it a bit slower? Nothing other than a calmer you.
5. Moving mindfully
Bringing movement into your day is only going to brighten the mood, and we’re not talking a full blown 90-minute pumping session at the gym. Moving your body releases endorphins, your happy hormones, which does wonders for reducing the release of cortisol. Take a walk, dance to your favourite ABBA banger, or have a 10 minute stretch of the neck or the shoulders.
Add mindfulness by noticing how you feel before, during and afterwards. Set an intention for your movement – am I doing this activity to feel relaxed, restored, or rejuvenated? Take deep breaths as you move to cultivate the calm.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to mindfulness. Mindfulness is about little and often, day by day. Pepper them in and see how they feel.
