Guest post by Michael Roytburd
You’ve probably heard the term mindfulness. Maybe you associate it with meditation. Maybe you’ve learned about it in mental health settings. Maybe you’ve even received some training. Mindfulness is talked about a lot these days, and that’s for a good reason. You may be practicing mindfulness without even knowing it. And if you aren’t, there are countless simple opportunities to use mindfulness to improve your life — they might be right under your nose (literally).
So first, what exactly is mindfulness?
I like to think of mindfulness as the opposite of mindlessness. You know: mindlessness — going about the motions of your day, working on autopilot? It’s the opposite of that. Mindfulness is the capacity to notice the present moment. That’s it. The more moments we notice, the more mindful we are.
It’s a simple idea that’s hard to do. In any given moment, there are countless things happening. How are we supposed to notice countless things? Just pick one, and stay with it! Traditionally, people are trained on the breath because it’s always there, and it’s always happening. But it can truly be anything. It can be the sensation in your palms, the sounds around you, the feel of the ground beneath you, the taste in your mouth, the sensation in your stomach, the breeze through your hair.
Whatever component of the present moment you can access is your doorway to mindfulness. Can you stay with the present moment? Great, you’re being mindful. Progressing in mindfulness is coming back to it more and more. None but a fully enlightened master will maintain constant mindfulness. Our work is simply doing a little bit more over time.
Okay, so that’s what it is and how to do it. But why should you be mindful?
Buddhism has a term that I love: Ehipassiko, meaning “come and see for yourself.” The most convincing argument for mindfulness is experiencing the benefits yourself. But maybe that’s not good enough for you. So let’s bring in some evidence.
There’s a lot of research that backs up what practitioners have known for thousands of years. For example, regular mindfulness practice reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression, at levels comparable to what you’d expect from antidepressants. Mindfulness meditation can also boost creativity, increase empathy and self-compassion, and rewire the brain.
Not only that, but you don’t need years of practice to see results. Research shows measurable changes in brain structure associated with self-awareness and stress regulation, after just eight weeks of mindfulness practice. Eight weeks!
Ready to try it? Check out these suggestions from the New York Times for building a morning practice. And when you’re ready to deepen your practice, finding a teacher or coach can help.
But remember: you don’t need a cushion, a retreat, a guru, or a subscription app to be mindful of the present moment. Just by simply noticing more moments, more often, you’ll start to experience the benefits. Whether it’s the ground beneath you or the sensation of your breath, the present moment is usually right under your nose.