Demystifying the practices and benefits of Mindfulness and Meditation

Thank you for spending some time with us at the end of this week.

Mindfulness and meditation practices have been around for thousands of years. For many in the Western world these words conjure up images of monks sitting cross-legged, chanting repetitive “ohms” from morning to night. If this is you, you’re in the right place. This week we will share a very quick crash-course on how to start benefiting from these highly effective methods aimed at enhancing our overall well-being.

The focus on mindfulness and usage of meditation practices have become very popular and more mainstream over the past 15 years or so. Apps like Headspace have made these practices accessible to millions of people around the world and many have been exposed to the benefits they offer.

Are Mindfulness and Meditation different words for the same thing?

Not quite. Mindfulness is a state of mind – it is the quality of being present and fully engaged with what you are doing at the moment. Being free from distraction or judgement, and aware of your thoughts and feelings without getting caught up in them. It is the ability to notice, pay attention to and fully experience the moment and environment you find yourself in.

Meditation is a practice – it is one way (a very effective way) of learning how to be mindful, more often. It is one of the routes you can travel towards becoming more mindful. Humans in general have become poor at directing and maintaining our attention and keeping it focused on the moment or task at hand. Our hyper-connected world, with its unlimited distractions, has resulted in us not being in the here-and-now for very long. Rather than being engaged in what we are doing, it is much easier to distract ourselves with smartphones, streaming services or whatever else we keep ourselves busy with. Meditation helps us regain the ability to pay attention and focus on the things we actually should be paying attention to.

Focused attention is one meditation technique you could try right away. For one minute, with your eyes closed, try to focus your attention on your breathe – particularly the rise and fall of your chest. Whenever you find your mind wandering, calmly and quietly bring your attention back to your breath, without judgement or self-criticism. This is much harder than it sounds, so see how long you can go without your mind wandering off.

Instead of paying attention to your breathing, pay attention to the sensations you experience in your environment. Walk around outside in your bare feet, paying attention to the sensation of the ground on the soles of your feet, the sunlight on your skin and the wind on your face. Listen to the sounds. See if you can take 20 steps without your thoughts going anywhere else than where you are in the moment.

The next time you have an in-person conversation, try paying attention to what the other person in saying, the colour of their eyes, their hair, notice the details of their face. Instead of thinking of a reply or being somewhere else in your mind, be where you are in the present with that person. And as soon as you find your mind wandering, without judgement or criticism, just return to the present moment as best you can. This is what being mindful looks like in practice.

What are the benefits of mindfulness then?

1. Reduced rumination – you won’t get stuck in unhelpful thought patterns as often when you become more mindful or your thoughts and their impact.

2. Less stress – when practiced consistently, you will experience more positive emotions and less negative emotions, resulting in lower levels of overall stress. When you become aware of your emotions instead of being overwhelmed by them, you are in a better position to deal with them in a helpful and healthy way.

3. More working memory – think of this like the RAM in your computer. When your thoughts are feelings are under your control you have more mental capacity to devote to the tasks and activities at hand.

4. Enhanced focus – since mindfulness enhances your ability to pay attention, you will be less distracted and get more done in a shorter period.

5. Less emotional reactivity – when you notice your emotions before reacting to them, you give yourself the opportunity to decide whether they require a validation or action. If not, you can just let them go.

6. More cognitive flexibility – when you are less reactive, you enhance your ability to respond in more appropriate ways. You can view situations from different perspectives and give yourself the opportunity to not react according to your default settings.

7. Better relationships – apart from regulating our emotions more effectively, mindfulness has been shown to enhance communication and listening, boost empathy and compassion and help in dealing with conflict more productively.

The Takeaway

Mindfulness and meditation do not have to be intimidating or strange. There are many great apps (we like Headspace) or guided meditations on YouTube you can start with to find your way. These benefits are significant. Who would not want to have more of these given the challenging times we are living in?

At PurposeWorks we are “ordinary” people that love helping other “ordinary” people and organizations tap into their potential and grow. We help companies build great cultures, teams become exceptional and individuals flourish.

If you are interested in taking a step forward in your life, get in touch at info@purposeworks.co.za

Thank you for reading. Our sincere hope is that the content we share enables you to see things in a fresh and insightful way, so you can go challenge ordinary.

At PurposeWorks we are all about Making You and Your Work Rock. Our focus is on Organisational Health and Design, Employee Centered Culture, Leadership Development and Performance Coaching. For more information on how we can help you create a work environment that rocks, develop a great team, become an inspiring leader or unlock your personal excellence talk to us at info@purposeworks.co.za.