By Lucia Cockcroft of www.yoga-abode.com and www.ya-retreats.co.uk
“Oh, I have had my moments, and if I had to do it over again, I’d have more of them. In fact, I’d try to have nothing else. Just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day.” Nadine Stair, 85 years old, quoted in Jon Kabat-Zinn’s seminal Full Catastrophe Living.
A cornerstone of Buddhist philosophy, the ancient practice of mindfulness meditation has been practised in the East for thousands of years.
Yet in recent years – as science has rubber-stamped the manifold benefits of meditation – this simple, challenging, transformational practice has attracted rapidly-growing interest in the West.
On a clinical level, mindfulness meditation is now taught to those coping with depression, anxiety and addiction (note the highly recommended eight-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course), and practised by anyone seeking greater calmness and clarity. Potentially, isn’t this everyone?
Essentially, mindfulness is the practice of becoming fully aware of the present moment, in a non-judgmental way. It is the Art of noticing, and being with, whatever is arising.
Most of us (normally without knowing it) dwell more-or-less continually in the past or future – re-living experiences we can no longer change, or projecting into an unknown future.
Without mindfulness (awareness), all this mental mulling over can lead to unhelpful habits of ruminating, and dwelling. We can, if we are not careful, unintentionally tie ourselves up in mental knots, with no apparent escape route, and no relief from our own minds.
In many cases, these destructive mental habits can lead to high levels of anxiety, stress and depression – not to mention the increasingly common roll-call of symptoms that go with these conditions (insomnia, high blood pressure, panic attacks are a few).
The practice of mindfulness brings us into the ‘here and now’, using simple meditation techniques to foster a non-judgemental, moment-by-moment awareness of the present. And so we begin to see thoughts for what they are: just thoughts.
Unless we are careful, we have an unquestioning tendency to believe our thoughts. We mistake them for reality. And so, a casual thought observation such as ‘he or she doesn’t like me any more’, becomes mistaken for the absolute truth.
And the more we dwell on this thought, the more ingrained it becomes in our minds. Before we know it, we have convinced ourselves that this thought is the truth. In yoga philosophy, these habitual ‘groves’ of thinking are called Samskaras.
The good news is that science has recently discovered the concept of ‘neuroplasticity’: the capacity of the brain and nervous system to change (only 30 years ago, it was assumed that this was not possible), according to experience and/or environment.
Through the practice of meditation, we can train the mind to find new – more helpful – ways of working, and carve out new neural pathways.
On a practical level, by practising mindfulness, we are giving ourselves the space to become in tune with our own thought patterns, or ‘conditioning’. In time, with much practice and patience, we can foster great mental clarity, focus and perspective.
At the same time, by becoming more accepting of our experiences, we can become more open-hearted and less reactive – leaving room for compassion towards ourselves, and others.
It is tempting to wonder how different the world would be if every person – including (or particularly!) politicians – practised mindfulness daily.
Try the following simple mindfulness practice: Mindful walking
Mindfulness can be practised at any time, anywhere: the point is to be present as possible as you go about everyday living. Walking meditation is a great way of practising – and often easier than sitting still. The length and route of walk is irrelevant. In fact, true mindful walking is without agenda.
– Leave your mobile phone and iPad at home.
– Begin walking with a tall posture, shoulders relaxed and walk slowly.
– With every step, be aware of the tread of your foot on the ground: toes, ball of foot, heel. Also be present to the touch of the breeze against your skin.
– Be aware of sensations – sights, sounds, smells. Let everything into your field of awareness, with reacting to anything. Simply be in the moment.
- Let go of any fixed route. Simply walk for walking’s sake, noticing whatever arises.
If you would like to learn more about this technique, try Lucia’s mindfulness retreat in rural Suffolk over the weekend of March 10-12th, 2012 where she will be co-teaching. See www.ya-retreats.co.uk for more details.
You may also wish to grab one of the following books:
- The Mindful Manifesto: How doing less and noticing more can help us thrive in a stressed-out world. By Dr Jonty Heaversedge and Ed Halliwell
- Wherever You Go, There You Are. By Jon Kabat-Zinn
- Mindfulness in Plain English. By Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
Tags: exercise · health · wellbeing · wellbeing tips
