The Power of the Present Moment
How Mindfulness, Meditation & being blissfully anchored in the present moment changes everything.
What is Mindfulness exactly?
Mindfulness is a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you're sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment. Practicing mindfulness involves breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress.
Spending too much time planning and controlling, problem-solving, daydreaming, or thinking negative thoughts can be quite draining. It´s a trap as the mind suggests pondering on an issue over and over is helpful; however it won’t get you anywhere. In addition these patterns can also make you more prone to experience stress, anxiety and symptoms of depression. Practicing mindfulness exercises can help you direct your attention away from this kind of thinking and anchor you in the present moment and the current world around you. Being conscious with your thoughts, words and actions is key to a happy life.
What are the Benefits of meditation?
There has been a lot of ongoing research on meditation. And it has been studied in many clinical trials. The overall evidence supports the effectiveness of meditation for various conditions, including:
Stress
Anxiety
Pain
Depression
Insomnia
High blood pressure
Further research indicates that meditation can also help people with asthma and fibromyalgia. Meditation can support you in experiencing emotions, thoughts and feelings with more ease, balance and acceptance.
Meditation also has been shown to:
Improve awareness and attention
Decrease burnout from a stressful job environment
Improve sleep pattern
Improve bodily dysfunctions like high cholesterol levels, diabetes control etc.
Mindfulness explained
Mindfulness involves focusing your awareness on the present moment. It means paying attention to your thoughts, feelings, sensations and environment in the here and now with an attitude of acceptance towards all there is. Some of the potential benefits of mindfulness include lowering stress, decreasing depression, improving memory, and strengthening your relationships, among many other benefits.
In a large-scale review of more than 400 previous studies, mindfulness was identified as an effective mental health practice for helping almost all people improve their physical and psychological well-being.
What are helpful Mindfulness Techniques?
There are both formal and informal mindfulness techniques that you can learn and practise to cultivate mindfulness. Over time, mindfulness will become a habit that you integrate in your daily life. It becomes a part of the way you live, breathe and think. Start today with practising the following:
Mindful breathing
Mindful observation
Mindful awareness
Mindful listening
Mindful appreciation
Health Benefits of Mindfulness
Studies suggest that focusing on the present can have a positive impact on health and well-being. Mindfulness-based treatments have been shown to reduce anxiety and depression. There's also evidence that mindfulness lowers blood pressure, improves sleep, relieves stress and anxiety, treats heart disease, lowers blood pressure and also reduces chronic pain.
1 Reduces Stress
Reduced stress is a wonderful side effect of living a mindful life and relates back to being able to manage your emotions more effectively. In mindfulness, you learn how to recognise what is causing you stress so you can navigate the course and move forward to a resolution. Often, when stressed, we direct that frustration at others. Be aware of what is causing you to feel afraid or anxious, so you can stop that from happening and address the core of the problem, rather than letting emotions take over.
2 Enhances Self-Awareness
Through Mindfulness you are able to gain a greater sense of self-awareness. Mindfulness encourages you to check in with your thoughts and emotions and to acknowledge them so that you can move towards a resolution. In this way, mindfulness helps you manage emotions because you re able to recognise the way you re feeling and move on, focusing on the moment, rather than dwelling in overwhelming emotions.
3 Improves Productivity and Focus
Mindfulness helps bring you back to this very moment which allows you to focus on the task at hand, rather than letting distractions get the best of you. This means you are able to complete tasks more efficiently and effectively, which improves your overall productivity.
4 Helps to change unhealthy habits
As mindfulness is about focusing on the here and now, it works to stop you from living your life on “autopilot’. When you move through your day without being involved in your actions, it’s easy to let unhealthy thoughts and habits take over. When you stop to consciously think about them, however, this is when change can take place.
5 Improves Relationships
Mindfulness improves and enhances relationships because it teaches you to live in the moment, which means you re giving your focus to the relationship, instead of thinking about that email in the past or that meeting in the future. When you re completely focused on the person you re spending time with, you ll both feel the difference. It also helps you observe and understand others, rather than simply reacting, because it increases self-awareness and helps you manage emotions.
You may wonder: How do I get started?
A simple way to nurture mindfulness is to stop yourself at any given moment. Checking in with your mind, body and soul. Ask yourself. Where are my thoughts at? Do I think loving thoughts towards myself? How do I feel right now? Do I enjoy my surroundings? What do I need right now? You can use this simple exercise whenever you feel you re slipping into the past or future or having trouble concentrating. Activating all of your 5 senses is a great way to come back to the present moment. Here you find peace joy and happiness. Awareness is key not only when it comes to your thoughts but also being present in this very moment that you are in. Using your breath is an amazing tool that gets you back to the here and now.
Healju Hub Tip:
The majority of people find it hard to stay in the present moment. And we get it. It takes some time and practice, however once you know the tools it becomes easier and easier. Eckhart Tolle’s book ‘The Power of Now’ is an essential must read that we highly recommend. It teaches the importance of living in the present moment to achieve a joyful and fulfilling life. The book also provides practical techniques for transcending the ego and finding inner peace. By focusing on mindfulness watch your life become more peaceful , content and happy. Practising Yoga and Mediation are both super helpful to be more in the here and now. Plus they are reducing the mind chatter to a minimum. Apart from that Yoga and Meditation are holding the key to totally transform your life for the better on all planes. So what are you waiting for? Start uplifting your life today.