Tell Us About… Mindfulness

I am pleased to say that, following my Meditation Challenge, I have managed to maintain my meditation practice, making sure that I do it at least 5 times a week for a minimum of 15-20 minutes.  One thing that I have noticed, since starting up with meditation again, is how much more aware I am of my actions and reactions.  I am better able to take a step back and not let stressful situations impact on me and I am really appreciating the ‘little things’, even more than I used to.  I am becoming more…mindful, I guess you would say.

I am so lucky to know Hayley, a friend that I have known since school. Hayley is a mindfulness practitioner and a school teacher who specialises in courses for adults and young people.  I have learned so much from reading Hayley’s blog, Mission Mindfulness, and thought it would be great for her to tell us a little bit more about mindfulness – what is it?  Who can it benefit?  Read on for the answers to these questions and more – thanks Hayley!

Can you tell us what mindfulness is?

Mindfulness is an approach to life which helps us to halt the ‘mental time-travel’ which can consume so many people and stop us being fully present. It is a way of bringing a greater amount of moment-to-moment awareness to our lives and can help contentment levels, stress-management and increase self-awareness.

Jon Kabat-Zinn the father of secular mindfulness states that it is “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.”

Who can mindfulness benefit?

Anyone! If people are open to trying it then it can help their focus, productivity and also stress management. We talk so much about self-care and well-being these days – mindfulness can be an important tool to help us with these.

However, I particularly think busy people who are juggling a lot really feel a positive impact from practicing mindfulness. That’s why I’ve set up Mission: Mindfulness to try to reach people who may initially feel mindfulness may not be for them.

Initially Jon Kabat-Zinn set up his MBSR mindfulness course to help people suffering from chronic pain. A few years later the MBCT mindfulness course was developed to help people suffering from depression. This is a great book for relieving stress, restoring well-being and reducing pain for those with chronic health conditions.  However, as I’ve said above mindfulness has the potential to help anyone but does especially lend itself to people suffering either of these debilitating conditions.

How do you encourage mindfulness into your everyday life?

I’ve developed my own rituals and strategies to fit mindfulness into my everyday life.

Often when I am walking I use this as a mindfulness practice – using the feeling of the feet on the ground as an anchor! Mindfully eating a sweet treat is also a favourite way for me to be mindful! Also, when I am waiting at traffic lights or at the photocopier at work, instead of being impatient as I used to be, I now use these as cues and reminders to spend a few moments noticing and connecting to my breath.

 Do you have to meditate to become more mindful?

Yes and no! Mindfulness ‘hacks’ like keeping a gratitude log can have a positive impact on people with or without meditation. And everyday mindfulness can help someone find more joy and happiness in the small and supposedly ordinary things around them.

However, the caveat is that due to the neuroplasticity of the brain the meditative aspect of mindfulness really has to be embraced regularly (even if it’s just a few minutes most days) if someone is to feel real and lasting benefits.

How can parents support their children in becoming more mindful at home?

I feel strongly that one of the best things a parent can do is to model mindfulness at home and then the children will take on board many of the key principles – patience, empathy, kindness, gratitude. Obviously we are human and there will be times when these may not happen but also acknowledging is helpful too. Nobody’s perfect but having a bit of a chat about ‘the good things that have happened in our day’ round the tea table is an easy conversation for all members of the family to participate in.

Also, let the children see you sitting quietly for a few moments. Talk to them about noticing the breath or noticing the smell or the texture of the food before they begin to eat it. Take a moment in the park to notice the colours or the sounds with them. In actual fact it is often the very young children who are better at this ‘natural curiosity’ than their parents. We just need to allow the children the time and space to explore their world without hurrying them along all the time!

As the children get older there are simple breathing exercises that can be suggested. Another really worthwhile thing to do is to speak to your child’s school about mindfulness. Request/suggest (as a group of parents to have more of an effect) space is made on the curriculum for it to be included in a meaningful way. It’s important too that it’s taught by someone who is trained to teach it. I trained with the Mindfulness In Schools Project. Their courses are excellent ways for young people to learn about mindfulness in a worthwhile way. Paying lip service to it or doing it in a clumsy, unstructured way can sometimes do more harm than good as children may then be ‘turned off’ it.

Can you give us any ‘top tips’ to becoming more mindful?

Start by noticing your breath – even if it’s just for a minute or so. Try and use your senses – touch, smell, taste as well as sight and hearing as much as possible to fully experience a moment to – moment awareness. Sometimes this may bring increased joy, sometimes not. Know that that’s okay.

I can’t stress enough how a course is an excellent way of helping you to be more mindful. However, if it’s just not possible to do one, for whatever reason, then this website has some excellent resources on it and I strongly recommend any books by Mark Williams and Danny Penman.

Wishing everyone lots of luck if they give choose to give mindfulness a go. Please don’t hesitate to email me at admin@missionmindfulness.co.uk with any questions.

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Thank you so much Hayley!  I would love to make my children more mindful, life is so busy with school, clubs and activities, I really do think it would benefit them to stop and just ‘be’ for a moment.  Talking about what ‘good things’ happened to them in the day is a great place to start!  And maybe I need to be more upfront about my meditation practice, taking 20 minutes out on a weekend, rather than waiting until they are in bed.

As someone with a chronic illness, I feel that mediation and mindfulness has impacted positively on my stress levels.  Life can be hard when you are ill; taking the time to be apart from your illness, even if for just a few minutes each day, can make it that little bit easier.

Take care everyone, and please don’t hesitate to contact Hayley if you would like more information.