Mindfulness is the practice of purposely being present, in the moment, in a non-judgmental manner. In other words, it is all about being “in the now”. It can be practiced in a million different ways, but the key element is participating in some sort of activity (whether breathing/meditating, colouring, walking, listening, etc.) with 100% attention. By focusing only on the present, it is almost like giving the mind a “mini vacation”. Another key piece of mindfulness is the awareness that our minds are designed to host a million thoughts every day and that no matter how much we try or practice we are not meant to “clear the mind”. Instead, through mindfulness we become aware of this ongoing ‘mind chatter’ and become able to take a step back from the thought processes to focus on the present moment (even if it means repeatedly drawing ourselves back to the task at hand when we find that our mind has wandered somewhere else). Research into the impact of regular mindfulness practice has exploded over the last decade and what was once considered part of a yoga tradition or eastern practices, has turned mainstream. Research has shown that people benefit from this practice on several different levels including better awareness of emotions, better control over behaviour, reduced anxiety, increased focus, and more resilience to depression.

In mindfulness training, people are taught to observe their inner feelings when they arise and label them. As the saying goes “if you can name it, you can tame it”. Being able to recognize and express emotions is a key piece in developing into responsible, compassionate, and effective adults. Being able to recognize emotions provides for better resiliency to stressful situations. Mindfulness teaches that all emotions no matter how intense are all experienced in the form of a wave. They come, they peak, and inevitably they fade. As stated by Jon Kabat-Zinn who was responsible for bringing Mindfulness practice into Western health care, “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf”. Following this metaphor, if you are on top of the wave it is a lot easier to make a plan than when you are underneath of it. Both places may be very scary and challenging, but on top, you can breathe and at least see where it is you want to go.

            In mindfulness training, we talk about the need to be aware of “automatic pilot” so that a person can better choose how they want to respond. We talk about mindfulness creating space between the event and the reaction. That it enables people to respond vs. react to their emotions caused by the events around them. Over time as we grow up we develop well-worn paths in our minds that dictate our automatic reactions. We learn to react in predictable and not always productive ways that can sometimes lead to bigger problems. Through mindfulness, we can create positive pathways that recognize our emotions and help us to realize that we have the ability to step back from them. If we can take a step back, we may have better control over the behaviour that follows.

Part of the practice of mindfulness includes paying attention to emotions in a non-judgmental factor. In mindfulness training, people are taught to observe their inner feelings when they arise and label them. As the saying goes “if you can name it, you can tame it”. Being able to recognize and express emotions is a key piece in developing into responsible, compassionate, and effective adults. Being able to recognize emotions provides for better resiliency to stressful situations. Mindfulness teaches that all emotions no matter how intense are all experienced in the form of a wave. They come, they peak, and inevitably they fade.

Following this metaphor, if you are on top of the wave it is a lot easier to make a plan than when you are underneath it. Both places may be very scary and challenging, but on top you can breath and at least see where it is you want to go.

One of the biggest findings in the latest research indicates that the practice of mindfulness does decrease levels of resting anxiety in people who practice these techniques regularly. So much anxiety is linked to thoughts about the future and predictions over what ‘might be’. Teaching people to stay in the present as opposed to ruminating about these thoughts, helps to again give the mind a rest. It also provides a skill to be used in anxiety-ridden situations as a key piece of anxiety symptoms are often linked to decreases in oxygen levels. Teach someone to control their breathing and they will be better able to control anxiety when it arises. Being able to recognize when they have started thinking about the future and all of the “what ifs”, enables people to refocus and bring their attention back to the current situation. Teaching people to be aware of when they are making judgments can help them also recognize when they are judging themselves and may just help them to take a look at this practice even if they can’t stop it right away. Again, awareness is the first step in changing anything.

Mindfulness has also been shown to help people increase their ability to focus. We live in a society where we are bombarded with images, sounds, and movement. Technology has opened up our worlds, but at the same time, it has likely also decreased our ability to focus. By purposely training our minds to focus on one task (and at the same time accepting that we will never be able to do this 100% but it is still beneficial to try) we increase our ability to sustain attention to tasks. In the end, it increases our efficiency because we are better able to recognize when our minds have wandered and we are off task.

Finally, mindfulness has been shown to have a positive impact on preventing episodes of depression. In depression, our thoughts become more negative, ruminative, and judgemental. The impact of this is that these thoughts then contribute to depression as they shape how we see and interact with the world. In mindfulness, we are taught to become more aware of these automatic thoughts. This awareness can help pinpoint when these thoughts start to change which could lead to treatment at an earlier stage before it starts to affect a person’s functioning. Being aware can also help a person challenge these thoughts in order to evaluate how accurate they are when compared to the facts of any situation. In this respect, Mindfulness goes hand in hand with CBT.