Is Mindfulness & Meditation Right For You?
Written By Kim Deschamps | December 13, 2022
Do you ever feel as though you are sleepwalking through life? Driving on autopilot and going through the routine motions of your day – brushing your teeth, fixing a salad for lunch, zoning out watching television in the evenings?
At the same time, the world has become such a busy place that the busyness often crowds into our brains, sending 50,000 thoughts a day through the stratosphere of our minds. Bouncing around and coming and going with no rhyme or reason. It can feel like pure chaos!
If either of those paragraphs resonates with you, the answer might just be mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness meditation is a practice that trains your brain to slowwwww down those thoughts zipping around inside your head, focus on the positive while you release the negative, and process your internal dialogue and inner emotions with love and acceptance. In short, it’s finding a way to be present in the moment.
While there are several ways to go about it, they all generally share the commonalities of deep breathing and self-awareness in mind and body. The other thing to note is that mindfulness meditation is a simple practice, and it is accessible to everyone. No props or music or special accommodations.
To try it, simply find a quiet and comfortable where you can be alone and set aside a few minutes when you won’t be interrupted. You might even consider setting a timer (make sure the alarm is a gentle one!) and setting it for 5 minutes to start. As the practice becomes more familiar, you can increase it to 10 or 15 minutes and work your way up to 30.
Start to focus on your breathing. Slow, steady, in and out through the nose. Fill your belly and feel all the sensations that accompany your breath.
As you breathe, pay attention to your thoughts. We’re not trying to either block them or hold onto them. The goal is to simply observe them without judgment and let them pass. You might start to notice patterns, trends, or gain clarity on a difficult situation.
If these thoughts trigger strong feelings, that’s okay too. Give yourself all the grace you need and remember that this is ‘practice’ – no need for perfection. If your mind or your heart get a little too ‘loud’, just do your best to go back to your breathing and your role as observer.
It can also help to focus on your body and how it feels at the moment by doing a simple body scan. Start with your toes and mentally examine each part – ankles, legs, knees, hips, belly, back, etc. all the way up to your eyes and scalp.
As you become more experienced at mindfulness meditation, you’ll soon see that you can practice it in your daily life too. Instead of sleepwalking through life on autopilot, try driving a different route to work and observe the new landscape. Pay attention to the minty tingle of your toothpaste. Savor every sip of your morning coffee.
Even with just a few minutes a day, this simple mindfulness meditation practice yields incredible benefits for your mental and physical well-being, including:
Lowered heart rate
Reduced stress and anxiety
Stronger immune functions
Improved sleep quality
To summarize, the answer to the question of whether or not mindfulness meditation is right for you, the answer is yes! Accessible to anyone and benefits for everyone. Our assignment for you: try it for 5 minutes each morning for a week, then let us know how you feel afterwards!
Kim Deschamps
Physiotherapist, Yoga Therapist, Lifestyle Medicine Practitioner, Dry Needling Practitioner.