What is Mindfulness?
Simply put, mindfulness is the practice of enhanced attention. Mindfulness is a skill, like any other skill you’ve tried (sports, art, etc.). However, mindfulness is a mental skill. By paying mindful attention to your breath, body, emotions, and thoughts in a way that isn’t caught or influenced by judgments and comments, you will see things more clearly and become free of the causes and conditions that lead to stress.
Why Do We Meditate?
Some people think meditation is silly or it’s not worth just sitting there doing nothing. Since mindfulness does not come naturally to humans, the main way to cultivate mindfulness is with meditation. While there are many different types of meditation, the secular mindfulness meditation we teach here is not a concentration or spiritual meditation.
What Do I Get From This Practice?
Mindfulness helps you concentrate more, promotes emotional intelligence, resilience, clarity of vision, and facilitates critical thinking and discernment. Mindfulness has been linked with human health, well-being, and enhanced decision-making, and it has been shown to stave off burnout, anxiety, and feelings of helplessness.
Is There Proof That Mindfulness Works?
There are many specific benefits to the practice of mindfulness. From a scientific perspective, practicing mindfulness alters the neurochemicals and hormones in your brain and body, like cortisol, that contribute to stress. The practice emphasizes the prefrontal cortex (front part of the brain) rather than the deeper, older parts of the brain (basal ganglia and amygdala). Go to the American Mindfulness Research Association if you are interested in seeing hundreds of scientific papers supporting mindfulness practice or see the most recent research.
Can’t I Just Learn Mindfulness From a Mobile App?
Maybe?..Watch this: