What is Mindfulness
Simply put, Mindfulness means being completely present and in the moment doing whatever you are engaged in without losing yourself to your thoughts.
It is being in the moment when you are eating your lunch, listening to a friend and yes even doing that homework.
Mindfulness encourages you to be present, instead of worrying about the future or dwelling on the past.
Why spend time on mindfulness
1. Increases Attention: It is believed that if a person practices mindfulness, he can raise his focus. If you are paying attention to what is happening then that might save a percentage of your distraction time maybe from using phone even for seconds or daydreaming.
In other words, you can concentrate on more important things in studying that will automatically give you a chance of increasing the typical grades and lower academic stress.
2. Decreases stress: Mindfulness helps you manage stress by becoming more aware of what is going on in your mind and body. Stress doesn’t crush you, rather enables mindfulness such that one can step back again take a breath and face mental toughness.
3. Better Relationships: Maintaining mindfulness helps you to be more present with others and clear about what is actually happening, freeing up considerable mental space.
For example, you will be more present during those slit-your-wrist conversations with friends and family (not always a bad thing) because now in addition to hearing words, you can sense their feelings. That means better relationships all around!
How do I practice mindfulness
So how do you even begin practicing mindfulness? Some Simple Techniques For Practicing Mindfulness Include;
1. Deep Breathing: Sit in a quiet place and close your eyes. Breathe in — breathe out and feel the air moving into your body.
Just be sure to redirect your attention back to what you can hear with kindness, if it starts wavering. Doing this for just a few minutes each day can soothe your mind.
2. Mindful Eating: focus on the taste, texture and smell of your food. Chew each bite slowly and then swallow.
It is mealtime Come To the Table with more awareness and mindfulness of what you are ingestion eat well, The diet link above from Harvard may also be helpful for some this approach implemented properly can make a difference on your plate even if one does not need to lose weight.
3. Focus Walking: Take a walk and feel as your feet meet the ground. Look at what you see, listen to the sounds and smell whose basement. Has the added bonus of clearing your mind and taking a brain break, to boot.
4. Listening Intently: Give 100% attention to the words spoken before crafting your answers or getting lost in another thought. This will show that you understand and truly care about what they are expressing.
Challenges and Tips
When you are practicing mindfulness your mind will wander. And that is normal. Do not become disheartened if it is hard at the start.
Those are just moments when your thoughts drift away, realize it and kindly bring the attention back to now.
This process of practice on a regular basis will make mindfulness more accessible to you and becomes second nature.
Conclusion
Mindfulness is an important skill for increasing focus, reducing stress, and enhancing your relationships. It is not as much about perfection but it is more to do with fully involved into what you are doing.
Practicing mindfulness every day can help you feel less scatterbrained and more focused on everything else that school throws at you. Why not test-drive it and see how you feel — you might just be pleasantly surprised!