
MINDFULNESS: AN OVERARCHING MINDSET
When unhappiness or stress hover overhead, rather than taking it all personally, you learn to treat them as if they were black clouds in the sky. Mindfulness allows you to catch negative thought patterns before they tip you into a downward spiral. In essence, it begins the process of putting you back in control of your life. While mindfulness is innate, it can be cultivated through proven techniques, particularly seated, walking, standing, and moving meditation. Short pauses we insert into everyday life and merging meditation practice with other activities, such as yoga or sports.
Also, mindfulness improves physical health. If greater well-being isn’t enough of an incentive, scientists have discovered that mindfulness techniques help improve physical health in a number of ways. Mindfulness can: help relieve stress, treat heart disease, lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, improve sleep and alleviate gastrointestinal difficulties. Last but not least mindfulness improves mental health. In recent years, psychotherapists have turned to mindfulness meditation as an important element in the treatment of a number of problems, including: depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, couples’ conflicts, anxiety disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.