If there is a single practice that can transform your entire life, there is no doubt that this practice is mindfulness. But let’s start from the basics, also because mindfulness is not really a practice, but a state of mind. Unlike improvised translations, mindfulness does not mean fullness of mind, but fullness of awareness. It is a state of strong presence in which attention and awareness are at the center of our perception. A state where the mind is mostly silent, where our attention is sharpened and deepened and we are fully aware of the present moment. An increasingly rare state in today’s hyper-connected world.
Stuff for freaks?
With approximately 16,000 published studies, mindfulness practices are among the most studied in the medical and psychological sciences and among the proven benefits of constant practice are:
- Stress reduction and better regulation of neurotransmitters
- Increased awareness, self-awareness and self-esteem
- Increased length and depth of attention
- An increase in empathy
- Improvement in the control of instincts, impulses and addictions
- Improvement of sleep quality
- Relieves depressive and anxiety symptoms
There is of course much more but, if we consider that it is free, our life can change radically if we insert more mindfulness into our days. And there is one mountain of science that proves it.
Informal and formal mindfulness
We can describe two main groups of practices: the informal and the formal. Informal practices are small daily gestures that help us return to the present.
You will have noticed that most of the time you live on autopilot: the day is marked by habits and almost all the things we do we are very used to doing them. These no longer require presence and awareness and for this reason our brain no longer requires maximum attention.
Think about when you learned to drive: the first few times you had to pay close attention to every movement, now you do it naturally (applies to all complex skills, of course).
However, if we break this pattern of automatisms, the brain immediately brings us back to the present and increases the amount of energy expended to stay focused. At that moment the mind hardly speaks.
A simple practice to obtain this type of training is to force yourself to open all the handles with our weak hand for at least a week: every time we find ourselves in front of a handle, we will remember to use the other hand and we will be brought back to the present. When we forget it, we will notice it anyway.
The formal practice
Formal practice is meditation. There are many types of meditation: these are practices in which the attention is focused on an internal or external object.
Meditation practice is often linked to breathing and there is a very simple reason: breathing is something that we always have available and that we can control at will.
We don’t need an external object and nobody can stop us.
If we run out of breath, we no longer even need to meditate.
Focusing on the breath is the simplest practice (but not at all easy, at least the first few times) and just go ahead to get all the benefits listed a few paragraphs ago.
Instructions for a “basic” mindfulness
Here I describe a simple practice that, repeated on a daily basis, can give you great benefits in a few weeks (although you will still notice immediate effects).
Sit comfortably with your back straight enough. If you don’t find comfortable sitting positions *, lie down comfortably on your stomach.
Start breathing through your nose and try to watch the air go in and out of your nose.
With each breath, move your attention first to the forehead, then back to the nape of the neck, and then down to the neck.
Then relax your mouth and let the air in through your nose or mouth, as you like and notice the air passing through your throat and going down into your chest.
Continue and with each inhalation observe how your body moves swelling and deflating. Just try to observe the small details: how far you feel the movements, how much air enters, if it is hot or cold etc.
Whenever a thought sneaks in (and it will), it just records where it went and then returns to the breath.
Do this for 5/10 minutes and you are done.
The important thing is practice
There will be sessions where thoughts will sneak in more often, sessions that are more distracting, and some where you won’t really feel like it. The important thing is the practice itself, as a good repetition brings more results.
Regardless of me, if you want a big change in your life, I recommend that you delve into mindfulness practices and give yourself the time and permission to try them to see if all of this science really speaks the truth.
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