There are so many benefits of mindfulness! I use mindfulness as a way of living my life to help me be calm in stressful situations, to really enjoy the happy times and to notice the beauty in my surroundings. The practise of mindfulness:

·         reduces stress and anxiety

·         prevents depression and reduces symptoms of depression

·         increases our stress threshold and improves resilience

·         improves our working memory

·         increases positive thinking, feels and emotions

·         enhances overall well being

There are 5 core components of mindfulness, following is a brief outline of each of these areas. I urge you to consider how these activities and ways of thinking can help you when life’s difficulties arise.

1.       Attention

Mindfulness is all about paying attention. When you are mindful you pay attention to what is occurring in the present moment. You are aware of your thoughts, physical sensations, emotions and feelings in the moment. Paying attention to all of these things enables you to be more self-aware. In difficult situations, the moment can be a refuge, as it gives us a break from thinking so much about the past or the future. Take time to practise mindful breathing, mindful looking and mindful listening as a way to help you stay focused. Pay attention to what is happening right now.

2.       Open awareness

This component of mindfulness involves becoming aware of our judgements and labelling things as “good” or “bad”. When we are aware of our in-built automatic thought patterns for judgement of others and ourselves, we can practise letting go of these. Our judgements have the capacity to keep us stuck in certain ways of thinking and behaving – often having negative effects on our mental health and other areas of our lives.

3.       Acceptance

It’s not always easy but accepting our current experience as it is important. Without trying to fight against and change what is out of our control we can improve how we deal with difficult situations. It takes the power and effect of the struggle and fight away. Simply thinking “It is what it is” or asking yourself “Can I change this?” and accepting the current situation can relieve stress, worry, anxiety and depressive thoughts.

4.       No Identification

This is all about your thoughts and not identifying with them. When you bring no identification into your life you accept that thoughts are just that, thoughts; they aren’t always reality. It takes away the power that the thoughts can have over you in stressful times when you realise that not everything you think is true. We often make up storylines in our mind of the future or replay scenarios from the past getting carried away. No identification also brings awareness that you are not the emotion or the thought. Practise being aware of your thoughts and feelings, giving them less power, not playing in to them as much and notice how you feel.

5.       Choice

When you are paying attention to the present moment you are more aware of what you are thinking and feeling at that time. This can help in difficult and stressful situations. You become able to notice negative thoughts or unpleasant emotions when they start to arise, acknowledge them, breath to help yourself calm down and then make a positive choice to the situation or your thoughts. This reduces our automatic patterns to respond, often negatively, which can be bad for relationships and your own mental health and wellbeing.

Each of these 5 core components can be hard to get your head around and build into your way of being. So I have created a simple and easy to follow course that is for adults who want to bring mindfulness to the forefront of their lives - Mindfulness Living Essentials. It will help remove unwanted chaos and overthinking from everyday activities. It will bring out a happy, vibrant and relaxed version of yourself. You can find it on our website. Be kind to yourself, keep practising and celebrate your success in applying these components to your own life. Over time, your mental health and well being will improve.