Mindfulness

What do you think mindfulness means? Can you pick up on the meaning with just the word? In essence, mindfulness means to be fully present and aware of where we are and what we're doing. All the while, not overly reacting or becoming overwhelmed by what is going on around us. When you are aware of what you're directly experiencing by using your senses or connecting with your state of mind using your emotions, you're being mindful. 

The meaning of mindfulness can be understood differently by many. Mindfulness itself can be perceived and practiced in distinct ways. It's all about how you connect with mindfulness and in what ways it benefits you the best. Mindfulness can be practiced on the daily and it's something we can all achieve. However in order to incorporate mindfulness to your daily routine, you have to practice and condition yourself to reach the state of being mindful. The main goal behind being mindful is to awaken the inner workings of our mental, emotional, and physical mechanisms. 

One of the main things you can do in order to reach mindfulness is meditation. This medium allows you to be completely aware of your body, your breathing, and mental state. Through meditation you can understand your own inner pain, improve levels of connection with people, lower stress, get your mind to focus, and reduce the white noise going on in your brain. When you meditate you reach a level of connection within yourself where you are able to tap into your real feelings and thoughts. 

Mindfulness helps you reach a level of awareness where you are not affected by your surroundings and you are in the present moment without judgement. You are simply just a human, being. As you reach mindfulness, you are lead on a path of self-awareness which helps you determine how you feel internally and externally. This in turn helps you regulate your emotions and deal with things like depression, stress, anxiety, and helps your regulate your ability to focus and make better decisions. 

Mindfulness is not only reached through meditation. You can incorporate mindfulness to the things you do every day, like eating for example. Savor your food, let your taste buds process every single ingredient that makes up what you're eating. Let your mind connect with those flavors. Ask yourself how the food that you're eating is making you feel. Do you feel fulfilled or do you need another bite? Is it satisfying your hunger? Are your cravings happy now?

You can also incorporate mindfulness when you exercise. Even if it's just a walk around the neighborhood or you're at the gym try to be aware of every movement your body is making. If you're working out a specific part of your body, feel how your movements are affecting that part of your body. How is exercising making you feel overall? Do you feel accomplished? How is your mind doing while you're exercising? How is your body reacting to the exercise?

Mindfulness is something we are all capable of achieving. You don't have to be an expert in meditation or force yourself to reach a state of mindfulness. You just simply have to be.