MINDFULNESS

Mindfulness and meditation are practices that can help you improve your physical and mental well-being. In simple terms,

• Mindfulness is the ability to pay attention to the present moment, without getting distracted by the past or the future. It means being aware of what you are thinking, feeling and doing, as well as what is happening around you. Mindfulness helps you to accept your experiences without judging them as good or bad.
• Meditation is a technique that helps you train your mind to be more mindful. It involves focusing your attention on something such as your breath, a word, a sound or an image. Meditation helps you to calm your mind, relax your body and enhance your awareness.

Some of the potential benefits of practicing mindfulness and meditation are:

1. Reducing stress and depression: Mindfulness and meditation can help you cope with stressful situations by focusing your attention on the present moment and accepting your thoughts and feelings without judgment. It also helps you to prevent or reduce depressive symptoms by changing the way you relate to your thoughts and emotions. Studies have shown that it directly impacts our hormones by creating a positive vibe for us to go ahead with our day. Verywell explains a beautiful image of how one can practice mindfulness in daily life.

2. Improving memory. Mindfulness and meditation can enhance your memory by increasing your attention span and reducing distractions. A study conducted by researchers confirmed the before and after pictures of our brain on practicing meditation. Its interesting to see that our brain becomes relaxed to absorb and retain memory.

Image credit: naturalhealthcourses

3. Strengthening relationships. Mindfulness and meditation can help you improve your communication skills, empathy and compassion by making you more aware of your own and others’ emotions and needs.