How do you start practicing mindfulness?
I recommend this article, What Is Mindfulness?, if you’re a beginner in mindfulness. It includes a full definition of the concept and lists many benefits of mindfulness.
Mindfulness is a practice that must be done regularly and with intention. Let’s look at some ways mindfulness can be integrated into our everyday lives, keeping these three cornerstones in mind.
Begin with a daily routine
It is important to establish a daily routine. Regular practice is key to mindfulness, as with any exercise. Researchers often use a mindfulness intervention program that spans many weeks (Mackenzie and Poulin & Seidman–Carlson 2006; Hofmann & Sawyer, Witt & Oh 2010, 2010).
Find a time each day you can practice mindfulness and include it in your daily schedule.
Mindfulness refers to a way of perceiving and thinking as well as being mindful.
It would be easy to think that mindfulness is only an activity. However, mindfulness can be developed with a variety of tools. Meditation, breathing, and exercises are just a few of the tools available.
Commit, commit and commit
Before you embark on this journey, it is important to make a commitment to it. A few meta-analyses have shown varying results for mindfulness interventions. The authors suggest that participants may not be engaging in mindfulness homework exercises for long enough to see the benefits (Khoury and al., 2013).
This is why you must commit before you can start. Next we will discuss why mindfulness is important and how to live mindfully every day.
Five Reasons to Practice Mindfulness Now
You might feel that mindfulness requires a lot effort at this point.
It is hard work to establish a mindfulness practice. However, it will get easier with time and more practice.
Mindfulness has many positive benefits (Davis & Hayes 2011, 2011). Mindfulness has many benefits, including cognitive, emotional, interpersonal, professional and practical.
Emotional Benefits
Regular mindfulness meditation can reduce depressive symptoms, negative affect, rumination, and other symptoms (Chambers, Lo, & Allen,2008; Hofmann et. al., 2010; Khoury et. al., 2013,). Rumination refers to persistent worry about the following:
- Past events
- Negative emotions
- These emotions and their causes (Nolen-Hoeksema 2000).
Rumination can lead to anxiety and depression (Nolen Hoeksema 2000). You can also read our article Mindful Thinking about four ways to stop ruminating.
One study does not show that mindfulness has positive effects on anxiety and depression. Hofmann et. al. also support these findings in a meta analysis. (2010).
The effect sizes of the psychological changes before and after mindful therapy were significant for clinicians, while moderately for nonclinical participants.
These results indicate that mindfulness-based therapeutic interventions are not only effective for clinical populations but also have benefits for nonclinical populations.
Cognitive benefits
Mindfulness practitioners have better working memories than non-practicers (Chambers et al., 2008, Corcoran, Farb, Anderson, Segal, 2010), which allows them to regulate their emotions better.
Participants also reported that regular mindful meditation improves their attention (Chambers and al., 2008).
Laboratory evidence also suggests that people with a longer mindfulness practice are more adept at ignoring emotional distractions (Pavlov and al., 2015).
These results indicate that mindfulness has cumulative benefits and will continue to increase over time.
Interpersonal benefits
Mindfulness has many benefits that can be applied to all spheres of your life, including relationships.
Evidence suggests that mindfulness practice can increase communication and satisfaction in relationships (Barnes Brown, Krusemark Campbell, Rogge, 2007).
- Positively responding to stress in relationships
- Greater identification of one’s emotions
- Improved communication of emotions
- Better conflict resolution
- Empathy is improved
- Benefits for professionals
The benefits of mindfulness go beyond interpersonal relationships. Dekeyser Raes, Leijssen and Leyson (2008).
Regular mindful activity was associated with higher job satisfaction and lower stress levels in employees (Hulsheger Alberts, Feinholdt & Lang 2012).
Mindfulness: Practical reasons to practice mindfulness
Practical reasons are the last reason to practice mindfulness. Many methods to increase mindfulness are simple and affordable. There is no ‘cost’ to improve mindfulness other than your time and effort.
