Mindfulness Put Simply

MINDFULNESS PUT SIMPLY

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ABOUT THIS BOOK In this book, I would like to help you gain an understanding of some of the key aspects to living a mindful life. There are more and more books on mindfulness emerging everyday, and they are often filled with many chapters of valuable information. It can be a bit confusing for some people to know what sort of mindfulness is right for them, and sometimes the depth of the book might seem to overcomplicate the simplicity of what a mindful practice is.

The idea of this book is to give you some easy to read information about mindfulness, and for you to put some of the key principles of mindfulness into practice immediately.

Melo Calarco

Founder of Mindfulmooves

INDEX

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What is Mindfulness and is it different to Meditation? · 3

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Three Main Aspects of Mindfulness · 6

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Key Attitudes to Nurture Mindfulness · 8

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What are Formal Mindfulness Practices? · 11

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Overcoming Common Barriers to Mindful Meditation · 13

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12 Ways to Live More Mindfully · 17

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A Mindfulness Meditation in less than 90 seconds · 22

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One Final Word · 24

1

What is Mindfulness and is it different to Meditation?

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MINDFULNESS A few definitions

Here are just a few definitions of mindfulness - without trying to overanalyze them or break them down, just read and interpret them for yourself. You will notice that the common words among them are: present moment, attention and awareness.

‘A mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.’

‘At its essence, mindfulness is just about being in the moment.’

‘Mindfulness is the gentle effort to be continuously present with every experience moment by moment.’

‘Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.’

Jon Kabat-Zinn

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So what’s the difference between Meditation and Mindfulness?

Many people ask this common question; firstly, let’s say that there are many different styles to meditation practice and there are many different focuses to mindfulness practice, so it is hard to generalise. However, I’ll aim to give you a short answer to what could be a long debate. I would also like to add that I personally do practice both and I think they are both equally great!

Meditation is traditionally thought of as sitting still, cross-legged with your eyes closed for 10 or 20 minutes a day. This is true for many meditation practices, where you actually stop what you are doing and sit and meditate for a set amount of time. Often the key goal to a mediation practice is often to sit still and quieten the mind. Some forms of meditation are about emptying the mind of thoughts and trying to have a blank mind. As I said, there are many types and goals of meditation but mostly it is about sitting in a calm state of relaxed awareness.

Mindfulness, on the other hand, isn’t about clearing away thoughts or emptying the mind, it’s just about being aware of them and letting them all be there. With mindfulness teachings, there is the seated meditation practice which we call ‘formal practice’ or mindful meditation - this is where we actually do stop, and take some time out of the day to sit for 10 or 20 minutes, similar to a normal meditation practice.

The difference is that with mindfulness practice we are also aiming to be mindful not just for those 10mins or so when we are sitting in meditation, but also for the rest of the day while doing our everyday activities. This is sometimes called informal practice, where we are training our attention to be more present with all the things we do throughout the day, so we can experience things more fully. This can include eating mindfully, walking mindfully, talking mindfully, working mindfully, and just being mindful in in everything you are doing.

Mindfulness practice has been much more widely researched, especially over the last decade, than traditional meditation practices and research suggests that we are most happy when we are more present. Mindfulness teaches us to be more present moment-by-moment and to connect with ourselves and our environment more fully.

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Three Main Aspects of Mindfulness

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Mindfulness has three different aspects that ideally work seamlessly together to bring about a state of mindful awareness.

YOUR ATTENTION

YOUR Intention

YOUR Attitude

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Your mindful attention is mainly developed through various types of meditation, which can be formal or informal.

We aim to observe our attention in everyday activities, eg: talking, cleaning, working, eating, driving and so on.

Mindfulness is about paying attention to your inner or outer experience, and essentially mindfulness is about training your attention.

Your intention is what you hope to get from practicing mindfulness, eg: stress reduction, emotional balance, discover your true nature, slow down and so on. This is not to say you must ‘strive’ for this every time you meditate, instead we just sit and allow our intention to just be there. Setting your intention will keep you motivated to find mindful awareness.

Mindfulness involves paying attention to certain attitudes, such as curiosity, acceptance, patience, nonjudgement, compassion and kindness. There are some key attitudes known as the pillars of a mindfulness practice, as they form the foundations to establishing an attitude of mindfulness in your life. We’ll go deeper into the topic of attitude in the following section.

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Key Attitudes to Nurture Mindfulness

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These key attitudes are sometimes known as the pillars of a mindfulness practice, as they form the foundations to establishing an attitude of mindfulness in your life. Essentially, it is your attitude to life that makes all the difference, so by developing these key attributes you enable yourself to live a more mindful and abundant life.

BEGINNER’S MIND

Non–judging

Curiosity

Acceptance

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As they say, ‘In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few.’ An open, beginner’s mind allows us to not take things for granted and to be receptive to new possibilities, instead of being an expert and shutting things out.

Simply observe whatever you are experiencing as it is, no need to label it good or bad, like or dislike. When we make these preconceived judgments, we enter autopilot or default- mode and we fail to experience things exactly as they are in the present moment.

Become curious like a child seeing something for the first time again. Bring an air of curiosity to all aspects of your life and see through curious, new eyes. What thoughts are going through your head? How does your body feel in different situations? How do you feel emotionally?

‘Acceptance first, change comes later.’ Acceptance means seeing things exactly as they are right now in this present moment, rather than denying them. Eventually we have to come to terms with things as they truly are- good, bad or otherwise- and experience them fully as they present themselves. It doesn’t mean we have to abandon our principles or values and like everything, instead we just accept things as they are in this present moment.

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Kindness

Letting go

Non–striving

Patience

Trust

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Bring a sense of kindness and compassion to yourself and others. Use your heart as well as your head to bring warm, caring kindness to things you experience momentto-moment. It’s easier to be kind towards the people you love in your life, but try it with others in your life whom you may feel indifferent to, or may have some difficulties with…it really is empowering!

It is not only a matter of holding onto pleasant experiences and pushing away unpleasant ones. It’s about paying attention to our inner experience towards our thoughts, feelings and situations. In the meditation practice we let our experience be exactly as they are in that moment.

Allow yourself to experience whatever your experience is rather than creating a goal for some other experience and then striving to attain that different experience. This is particularly useful for meditation, sometimes when we strive to ‘relax’ it makes it harder to do so, instead just sit with no definite goal except to ‘just sit and breathe.

Patience is a form of wisdom and it demonstrates that we understand and accept that some things just take time to unfold. Change takes time. When we practice mindfulness we cultivate the capacity to be patient with our body and mind.

It is so much better to trust your own intuition than to look for external sources of guidance all the time.

Practice taking responsibility for yourself and learning to ‘listen to’ and trust your own person. Have confidence in the practice of mindfulness and in your inner self to guide you.

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What are Formal Mindfulness Practices?

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Formal practices are when you actually take time out of your day to practice a form of mindful meditation. Either you start or end your day with a meditation, or you purposefully take a pause somewhere in your day. Formal mindfulness exercises and meditations help to train your brain to be more focused and aware of how you are feeling moment-by-moment.

Your capacity to be more mindful is most powerfully developed through mindfulness meditation practices. To really deepen your mindful awareness, it is best to practice a formal mindfulness meditation on a regular daily basis, even if it’s just 10mins a day. In time, it will become easier and you will begin to feel the benefits of a mindful practice in your life.

Some forms of formal mindful meditations are: A Body Scan Meditation This meditation is often practiced lying down, but it can also be practiced sitting. This meditation involves spending between 7 and 15 minutes becoming aware of each part of your body, from the tips of your toes to the top of your head, in a mindful way. This simple meditation brings you to the present moment by bringing your awareness to the sensations that are happening in your body at the time.

A Sitting Meditation This can be done sitting comfortably on the floor, or on a meditation pillow or simply upright in a comfortable chair if you prefer. This involves being mindful of your chosen object of attention whilst in a sitting posture. You can focus and be mindful of your breath, your body, sounds, thoughts, emotions, or practice simple awareness.

Often new meditators will use guided audio dialogue and then progress to no audio guidance. Both are very effective.

Mindful Movement The good news is that you don’t need to be physically still to practice meditation.

Taking time to do some taichi, yoga, Mindfulmooves or stretching with mindful intention is a powerful way of developing your capacity to be mindful. Mindful walking is also considered an effective way to practice formal mindfulness meditation. The added benefit of mindful movement is that we become stronger and more flexible at the same time, especially due to the fact that many of us live quite sedentary lives.

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Overcoming Common Barriers to Practice Mindful Meditation

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Here are a few of the most common issues or problems some people have when doing mindfulness meditation along with some tips and suggestions for overcoming them successfully.

I just can’t do meditation because my mind always wanders off!

When a person says this, it normally means that they simply just can’t focus.

Ironically, exactly what they need to develop is the ability to focus through the practice of mindfulness meditations. Understand that it is perfectly normal for your mind to wander off when you’re meditating. It is a misconception to think that your mind will not wander during meditation; this is all part of the process. With mindful meditation we allow this to happen and gently bring our awareness and attention back to ourselves, usually with our breath.

Each time you do this, you are training your mind and rewiring your brain to be more focused. There is no such thing as a bad meditation session, as long as you keep trying you will benefit. Just remember it is a meditation practice and just like any practice the more you do it the easier it becomes.

There is no way I can sit still for half an hour!

Many people think you have to sit perfectly still, on the floor, cross-legged for at least half an hour. This is not true, with mindful meditation you can even practice a 7-minute body scan meditation while you are lying down if you prefer.

You can even just do a 90 second focus on the breath to bring yourself back to the present moment.The main goal is to have a state of relaxed awareness throughout the practice, whether it be standing, sitting or lying down.

Alternatively, you can also practice more mindful moving meditations such as: mindful yoga, mindful walking or tai chi. These practices are equally beneficial and can be performed in less than 20mins.

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I really just don’t have the time!

There is an old Zen saying- ‘You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day, unless you are too busy then you should sit for an hour’.

Yes, life is busy and how can I spare time to meditate. With mindfulness you have both formal and informal practices. With the informal practice, this is happening all the time throughout the day with your daily activities, such as, brushing your teeth, doing the dishes, walking the dog, or you can even having a shower. As long as you practice these things mindfully, it is essentially a mindful practice and it takes no extra time out of your busy day.

As for the formal practice, where we need to stop and take a bit of time out, well, just think that some of the busiest and most successful people around the world who meditate (and many do), if they can find time, then I’m sure you can spare a little time too. Just remember, baby steps, we start with 2min, 5mins, then 7mins, then 15mins and so on...

I always fall asleep!

This is a valid barrier and it highlights the need for more rest and restoration in your life. If you frequently fall asleep during meditation it could mean you simply aren’t getting enough sleep at night, which is critical for our bodies to recover from the physical and emotional stresses throughout the day.

Falling asleep during meditation can also signal that you are not incorporating enough down time or rest periods throughout your day to renew your energy, so your body only associates relaxation with sleep. Therefore, every time you try to meditate the natural outcome will be sleep. We can change this pattern by incorporating short rest and restoration periods through the day, and minimindful meditation practices, starting with just a few minutes and build them up over time. Research suggests that 20mins of meditation has the same restorative benefits as 2hrs of deep sleep.

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It takes years of dedicated practice to get any benefits from meditation

There are many recent scientific studies to dispel this myth and there is evidence that meditation has profound effects on the mind-body physiology even after just a few weeks of practice. Studies led by Harvard University found that as little as eight weeks of meditation not only helped people experience decreased anxiety and greater feelings of calm; it also produced growth in the areas of the brain associated with memory, empathy, sense of self, and stress regulation.

You can begin to experience benefits the very first time you sit down to meditate and many new meditators notice they are able to sleep much better after only a few days of meditation practice. You do not need the dedication of a monk but just some regular practice to feel the many health benefits quite quickly.

Meditation actually gives me the opposite effect, I feel more anxious!

Firstly ‘letting go’ of what meditation is supposed to be and how it is supposed to make you feel is the first step. Mindful meditation is about sitting with yourself and with how you feel at the time. Many people like to keep themselves busy and distracted all the time, perhaps because they don’t feel comfortable with sitting with things in their life, past or present. Slowing down often makes space for fears, difficult emotions and thoughts to arise. This is totally normal and a natural process of experiencing these things in your life. We have a choice to sit with them and let them take their natural course or keep busy and distract ourselves to shut them out.

The more you do this, the stronger you will get, and each time you will find it easier to stay with your difficult feelings the next time they arise. Please be gentle and patient with yourself and remember that it’s ok to sit with the emotion only as long as you can, the trick is to go a bit further than you’re comfortable with each time, strengthening yourself little by little.

Sometimes, when we are feeling anxious before a meditation practice it might be beneficial to do some vigorous activity or exercise first, like go for a brisk walk or run, then when you have finished this, settle into your breathing and try a short meditation session. Perhaps for some people, you might like to alternate between sitting meditations and moving meditations, like taichi, yoga or internal martial arts to help establish a practice.

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12 Ways to Live More Mindfully

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What is Informal Mindfulness then?

Informal mindfulness is when you practice mindfulness throughout the day without setting aside a special time for it. One of the best things about mindfulness is that with just a little more attention training you can practice it at any time of the day among all of your daily activities. With mindful living and training the simple daily task can become so much more meaningful and enjoyable.

Here are just 12 examples of informal mindfulness practice:

MINDFUL WAKING UP

MINDFUL Eating

Simply observe how you feel when you first awake and open your eyes, how does the body feel? Where are your thoughts?

Do you feel refreshed? Do you feel sluggish? Then take note of how you get out of bed, is it the same every day? Do you always put the same foot down on the ground? Just observe all these actions that probably happen automatically every morning.

Rather than eating whilst working behind the computer, or missing out on lunch altogether, use your lunch-break as a way of practicing mindfulness. Perhaps, go outside and sit in the park or find a nice spot where you can just relax and enjoy what you are eating. This means noticing you are eating with all your senses, intentionally tasting your food, chewing properly and tuning in to the feeling of being satisfied, rather than overeating.

Mindful eating will allow you to appreciate your food more and has also been demonstrated to be an effective way to maintain a healthy weight.

Think about the last time you were talking with someone and they were more interested in their smart-phone than listening to you, how did that make you feel. When you are speaking or listening to someone else, try to fully engage with the experience.

Become aware of the sound of your own voice, or the voice of the other person, hearing the tones, the accent, the rhythm MINDFUL communication and the pauses. It is normal for your mind to wander off into other thoughts, just try to gently guide your attention back to the conversation without criticizing yourself.

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MINDFUL Walking

MINDFUL Movement and Exercise

MINDFUL Working

Look up from your computer

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If it’s possible, from time to time, walk barefoot on the grass or at the beach and just connect with all the sensations of walking.

The next time you’re walking somewhere, notice the sense of touch between your feet and the ground, even when you do have shoes on. Don’t just think of walking as a way to get from A to B, but notice what you see and feel along the way. Observe how your weight seamlessly transfers from one foot to the other, almost effortlessly. It is a simple and effective way to bring you into the present moment.

The next time you’re in the gym, going for a jog, swimming or playing a sport, don’t just ‘go through the motions’ try to become more mindful of what’s going on. Focus your mindful attention on your own body, your thoughts, your emotions or on the environment around you. Try a yoga or tai chi class and connect fully with the breath and movements. Move mindfully with every exercise and observe with curiosity each new experience.

First of all, realise that multitasking is a myth and you are much better at focussing on one task a time. Whatever your work is, by paying more attention to what you’re doing, you’re bound to increase your productivity and achieve better results. Let your focus be effortless, relaxed and calm, and just work through things with full engagement.

If much of your day is spent behind the computer chances are you are probably not even aware of your breathing patterns.

There is even a term I heard called email apnea, where during busy periods of emails you stop breathing and you hold your breath without realising it. Firstly, try to bring awareness to your breathing and to your posture while sitting at your desk.

Secondly, stop for mini pauses where you take a few deep conscious breaths and look at some different things around you or tune into different sounds, just connect for moment to the environment around you.

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Firstly, define clearly to yourself, are you on holidays or are you taking work with you. Understandably, sometimes there is a need to take your laptop with you and check work emails etc. If this is must for you then try to set clear guidelines to when you are working and when you are not and stick to them.

MINDFUL Holidays

MINDFUL Waiting

Be Accepting and Compassionate

MINDFUL listening to music

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It’s easy to spend half your holiday thinking about other things rather than actually being there. Feel the gentle warmth of the sun, soak up the environment, connect with yourself, connect with your family and be present. Breathe in the fresh air and enjoy the simple things in life just as they are.

It is a fact of life, we need to wait in a queue in shops, in the car, for public transport and waiting rooms. Instead of becoming frustrated, practise some mindfulness of breath, think of it as an opportunity to get some time for yourself. When you’re in traffic, notice something else, like the colour of the sky or trees. When in a queue, feel the calming sensation of your own breath and observe your posture and how you stand . When in a waiting room practice a 90 second breathing break, use every opportunity, no matter how mundane, to take a few deep breaths.

We are all human and we will all make mistakes, accept this in yourself and in others. Be prepared to accept apologies and forgive others for their indiscretions. This also ties in with being kind and compassionate to yourself which gives you the ability to share this others. Observe yourself throughout the day and notice how accepting (or not) you are of others. Your world will be a better place if you try to share kindness and compassion to the people around you.

When was the last time you really listened to music? And I mean really listened. Get yourself comfortable, (maybe with headphones) turn on your favourite piece of music and simply listen, moment by moment. After a while you may find your mind will begin to wander – just gently guide your mindful attention back to the sounds of the music. Be aware of both the sounds and the silence between the sounds. Notice every individual instrument, notice the voice, the vocals, and notice how you feel.

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Tune in to the breath

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During a busy day, take a few moments to consciously tune into the breath. All it takes is few breath, so just feel three breaths move in and out of the body. Then try to slow down the exhalation, which helps to trigger the relaxation response. Extending the out-breath in this way sends a message to the parasympathetic nervous system (the system that opposes the stress response) to calm down the body. The breath is the best tool you have to help you relax and become present, and the best thing is, you have it on you all the time.

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A Mindfulness Meditation in less than 90 seconds

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Did I hear you just say, “I just don’t have the time to meditate!”

Well, how about a mini-mindful meditation that takes less than 90 seconds.

This exercise is used to reduce anxiety, stress, and create calmness. This little breathing exercise can quickly bring you into the present moment and immediately create calmness in your body and mind. Practicing regular, mindful breathing is calming and energizing and can help with many stressrelated health problems.

Try this a few times throughout your day. Some people set their alarm periodically at work as a reminder.

PLAY MEDITATION

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ONE FINAL WORD

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Thank you for the taking the time to explore the fundamental concepts of cultivating a mindfulness practice. As you can see the main concepts seem pretty simple in theory, and many of us are already practicing mindfulness, especially when we are doing things we love doing. The thing is, it is harder to be mindful when we are stressed or busy, so this is where we need to train these skills.

You can read and read as much as you like to understand the theories behind mindfulness and there is plenty of fantastic material to help you gain a deeper understanding (see our brief reading list) but the magic is really in the practice.

Like anything you do practice, practice, practice and the better you will get at it.

Even if you are just doing 5-10 of mindfulness attention training everyday you will feel the benefits immediately. Some of the main benefits for practicing mindfulness are: • Decrease stress, anxiety and depression • Improve mood and positive psychological states • Increase brain regions associated in sensory processing and self-awareness • Increase energy levels and vitality • Improve processing speed and short term memory • Improve productivity, focus and attention • Increase creativity and mental clarity Please investigate further yourself and see how mindfulness can be a positive part of your life.

Feel free to browse our website and courses for more ideas and if you have any questions, please ask us by writing to hello@mindfulmooves.com.

Best wishes and keep exploring...

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READING LIST ‘The Happiness Trap’, by Russ Harris ‘The Beginner’s Mind’, by Jon Kabat-Zinn ‘Wherever You Go, There You Are’, by Jon Kabat-Zinn ‘Full Catastrophe Living’, by Jon Kabat-Zinn ‘Mindful Learning’, by Dr Craig Hassed and Dr Richard Chambers ‘Flourish’, by Dr Martin Seligman ‘The Power of Now’, by Eckhart Tolle ‘A Path with Heart’, by Jack Kornfield ‘The Brain that Changes Itself’, by Norman Doidge ‘Buddha’s Brain’, by Rick Hanson ‘Present Moment Wonderful Moment’, by Thich Nhat Hanh ‘The Miracle of Mindfulness’, by Thich Nhat Hanh

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