Life & Well Being

Practicing Mindfulness in our Everyday Lives

What is Mindfulness?

ध्यान करने का एक तरीका है जिसमें ध्यान को वर्तमान क्षण (The Now) में केंद्रित करते हैं।

Mindfulness is awareness of THE NOW. Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.

Mindfulness is awareness.



Why do we need to practice Mindfulness in our everyday lives?

“It is both the work and the adventure of a lifetime not to be trapped in either our past or our ideas and concepts, but rather to reclaim the only moment we ever really have, which is always this one.”
~Jon Kabbat-Zinn



Taking care of this moment can have a remarkable effect on the upcoming moments that is, the future. If you can be mindful at this moment, it is possible for the next moment to be different and beautiful—because you are aware and not imposing anything on it in advance.

Mindfulness practices can help us to increase our ability to regulate emotions, decrease stress, anxiety, and depression. It can also help us to focus our attention, as well as to observe our thoughts and feelings without judgment.

As Rajesh Khanna in the movie Anand says:




How to practice Mindfulness?

Step 1: Breathe in deeply, and relax as you breathe out

Step 2: Drop all your worries and concerns

Step 3: Bring more awareness into breathing

Step 4: Start counting the breaths slowly. And repeat

Step 5: Get deeply immersed in the breathing process

Step 6: Do not drift off with the thoughts moving through your mind

Step 7: Keep settling more and more into a peaceful awareness

 

Above are the steps that can be followed regularly to practice mindfulness for beginners. I am sharing the link to an audio file that I prepared long back that you can play and practice mindfulness.

 

Mindfulness Guiding Audio

 

Some factors to consider before practicing Mindfulness:

  • Find alone time to practice mindfulness. When there’s no one around you, or everyone is sleeping, so that you do not get disturbed in between.
  • Keep your phone on silent before starting with the practice
  • While focusing on your breathing, let the thoughts come in and let them go as well. Do not restrict them
  • During practice, if you get to feel anything, or notice any bodily sensation- maintain a diary and write down all of these in it
  • Push yourself to practice every day

About the author

Smruti Paradarshita is working in Pratham Education Foundation and works on aspects of Content Creation for the teacher capacity development portal: Gurushala. Any views expressed are personal.

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