What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is an intentional act of turning one’s attention to the present moment sense experience just as it is and without judgment. In this act, we learn about our present-moment experience and begin to develop the capacity to respond to the events of our lives with greater freedom and choice.
What does meditation have to do with it?
Meditation serves as a way to establish a baseline understanding of our inner and outer emotional and sensory landscape. Through meditation practice, we can begin to establish what a calm mind and body feel like so we can read the cues in our own experience that inform us about the quality of our experiences. Meditation is a doorway to understanding our own minds and behaviors.
What are the benefits of this practice?
Developing mindfulness through meditation and understanding can lead to reduced stress and anxiety as we begin to create space to observe our experiences. Through meditation, you can reduce the cortisol in the body leading one to be less prone to stress-related diseases like migraines, hypertension, ulcers, and depression. Mindfulness helps us develop the capacity to have a greater awareness of the nuances of our day-to-day experience, adding balance and focus and leading to increased concentration and confidence.
How do I get started?
The best way to develop mindfulness along with a supportive meditation practice is to make sure that you understand what you are doing when you practice these teachings. There are a lot of misconceptions about what mindfulness meditation is and this often leads to a feeling of confusion and a sense of “not doing it right”. Our online Foundation of Mindfulness course will give you a baseline and path for a deeper understanding of meditation techniques and supportive practices.
