benefits of mindfulness

October 7, 2015

Mindful eating

The Elusive Strawberry Banana from Flickr via Wylio

© 2010 Pink Sherbet Photography, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio

It is common to eat without thinking. To not take notice of what we are eating or when we are satisfied. You may have encountered times where you have grazed on food or shovelled food into your mouth without even taking the time to taste it.

Have you ever had a time when you were eating something while watching television and next thing it was all gone?

This is called mindless eating. However when we eat mindlessly we are not focused on our food. We are not mindful of what our body may be telling us. Thus we tend to eat more than we otherwise would.

When we eat, we tend to go into an unconscious mode. Which can be a problem.

People who practice mindful eating, purposely make eating a conscious practice. They will listen to their bodies. They take their time when eating. They pay attention and focus completely on the enjoyment of food and eating. They will also take notice of any temptation to maybe eat quickly.

Being mindful when eating means, paying attention to the senses. The colours and shapes of the food. Taking notice of the smell of the food. Enjoying the sensations of the taste, the flavours and the temperature of the food. Even taking notice of the crunch and textures of the food whilst chewing.

One of the great things about mindful eating is that it is not a diet. It is about experiencing the pleasure of food more intensely.

Most of us know what foods are good food for our body. But we may not be eating those things.

The best outcome that naturally results from mindful eating is it creates a barrier to overeating.

Yoga teacher and psychologist Dr Lisa Ciechomski says that mindful eating is effective for helping deal with such issues.

“It helps them get in touch with food. And get in touch with that urge to keep eating a lot.”

“When people eat more mindfully they may realise they do not need as much, they can be satisfied with less.”

Overall, mindful eating promotes better eating behaviours and encourages healthier relationships with food.

‘Expecting is the greatest impediment to living. In anticipation of tomorrow, it loses today’ (Seneca)

– Michael

September 23, 2015

Mindful learning

Study from Flickr via Wylio

© 2015 Moyan Brenn, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio

As was highlighted in the last post there are many positive changes to brain functioning that result from mindfulness meditation. So it should come as no surprise then to find that mindfulness is becoming increasingly popular in education.

Effects that result from practicing mindfulness such as increased attention and concentration, improved self-regulation and awareness are of great benefit for students and learning at all levels.

Mindfulness expert Dr Richard Chambers, who has extensively researched and wrote about the many benefits of mindful learning, says there are clear links between practicing mindfulness and improved learning abilities.

“By noticing our thoughts, noticing our emotions, without getting caught up in them and without reacting to them, we get a metacognition or meta-awareness … that intersects beautifully with the social and emotional learning that most students are doing now. It’s a really good underpinning of any type of education we do.”

Mindfulness brings our attention to the present moment which makes us more aware of what we are doing. Dr Chambers says this has the twin benefits of improved mental health and greater ability to focus. This leads to improved academic performance.

“We spend less time caught up in worries and concerns, and stressing ourselves out, and more time focused. And that of course improves our performance. Because we spend less time distracted and not listening, away with the fairies, and more time focused on what is in front of us.”

“From an educational perspective, students who have better mental health and wellbeing are better performing and better able to learn … that’s why there is so much broad support for it now in education.”

It is the benefits of mindfulness for learning such as increased focus and attention, better health and wellbeing, and decreased anxiety and self-doubt that are behind the explosion in the popularity of mindful learning.

“There’s a growing popularity of mindfulness generally, started in medicine and healthcare, then spread into business and sport, and now it’s in education in a very big way. Just that recognition that students are less stressed and better performing for very little investment.”

“Research shows that meditating for just 5 minutes before class improves test performance. That is a significant finding. It doesn’t take a lot.”

“It’s becoming a more acceptable thing they (teachers) can do with their students at the start of the day, or period 5, or before a test, or whenever they need it.”

“Students need it more than past generations of students, because things move faster and there’s more pressures. From standardised testing, online, social media and some of the issues that come with that.”

‘Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears and never regrets’

(Leonardo Da Vinci)

**Excerpts included were taken from an interview I conducted with mindfulness expert and clinical psychologist Dr Richard Chambers.

– Michael

September 19, 2015

How mindfulness can change our brain

Burt_OrganicNeuron from Flickr via Wylio

© 2012 Brian Burt, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio

A big reason the popularity of mindfulness has rapidly increased in recent times is the growing evidence surrounding its benefits. In particular, the benefits associated with changes in various parts of the brain as a result of meditation.

Mindfulness meditation strengthens and increases connectivity between many important areas of the brain.

Dr Richard Chambers says that it’s the brain science that makes mindfulness much more accessible for everyone. Because people can now understand it and can see what the changes are.

“Meditation training rewires the prefrontal cortex … strengthens it, makes it thicker and stronger so we are more able to focus our attention outside of meditation periods.”

“It also strengthens the hippocampus, so our long-term memory is better. And the insula, so our self-awareness is better.”

And you don’t need to practice for a lifetime to see positive changes in brain functioning. Dr Chambers says that changes can happen quite quickly after first practicing mindfulness meditation.

“You can take people who have never meditated before and get them to do some intensive meditation for half a day and you will start to see very real change in attention regulation.”

“It takes a little more to start seeing the neurological changes … you might need to meditate for 10 minutes a day over 3 or 4 weeks to start seeing that. It’s a dose effect. The more we do it, the better we get. And the real benefits are when people make it into a regular practice.”

“If you’re meditating 10 minutes a day over a number of weeks you start to see real sustained changes that are happening outside the meditation periods. It’s not just about tuning out and relaxing, it’s literally about learning to be more present and engaged, which rewires your brain. Then in the other 23 hours and 50 minutes of the day you are just more there.”

Particularly exciting is recent research that demonstrates the plasticity of the brain. The ability for the brain to rewire itself as a result of practicing mindfulness meditation.

“Anything we practice we get better at, it gets hardwired in. This includes certain qualities of the mind. If we practice being curious, we just hardwire that in and become naturally more curious from day to day. If we practice being kind and gentle to ourselves, self-compassionate … it gets hardwired in. This is neuroplasticity at its best.”

“Anything we practice gets hardwired in, so we need to just choose what qualities I want and practice them.”

‘We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like the a shadow that never leaves’
(Buddha)

**Excerpts included were taken from an interview I conducted with mindfulness expert and clinical psychologist Dr Richard Chambers.

– Michael

September 12, 2015

What are the benefits to being more mindful?

walking trackWe live in a world where everyone seems to be time poor. There is a constant need to juggle task after task. And there are many distractions from all the new gadgets that are supposed to us save time. Yet they seem to take up more time.

Thus, there is no better time to bring mindfulness  into our lives. It can help us deal with the effects and distractions of the fast paced modern world.

Mounting evidence associates practicing mindfulness with benefits in all aspects of life. From increased life satisfaction, improved work and academic performance to improved health and wellbeing.

We gain greater life satisfaction!

Practicing mindfulness makes it easier to enjoy all of life’s pleasures as they occur. We become more engaged in what we are doing. It helps us deeply enjoy and experience such things as eating our meal, listening to music or engaging with nature when we are walking.

Being more mindful leads to increased self-awareness and developing a greater capacity to deal with problems and issues as they arise. We become more connected to ourselves, those around us and to the world at large. And we become less reactive to unpleasant experiences.

Mindfulness has also been linked to increased displays of compassion and altruistic tendencies. Those practicing mindfulness are more likely to assist someone in need.

And interestingly, mindfulness is linked to enhanced relationship satisfaction. Couples who practice mindfulness tend to feel closer, are more optimistic and relaxed, and generally more satisfied with their relationships.

Our work and academic performance improves!

Mindfulness meditation has shown to improve cognitive functioning. This results in improvements in work and academic performance.

More precisely, mindfulness has been associated with increased attention span and improved focus. And improved functioning in vital brain areas associated with memory, learning, emotional regulation and empathy.

Practicing mindfulness also reduces the impact and influence of stress. A major issue in both the work and academic environment. Reduced stress combined with improved attention and focus greatly improve problem solving and other work-related abilities.

It is beneficial for our overall health and wellbeing!

There are many positive health benefits associated with practicing mindfulness. These include improved breathing, relief from stress, lowered blood pressure and reduction in chronic pain.

Mindfulness can also assist with sleep problems and boosts our immune system, which enhances our ability to fight illness.

blossomMindfulness is also beneficial for our minds. It has shown to increase positive emotions whilst reducing negative emotions. It also displays great promise in treating many mental health disorders such as, depression, substance abuse and anxiety disorders.

Interestingly, recent research even shows that meditation may be a protective factor against aging. People who meditate appear to show less age related brain shrinkage.

And mindfulness is also showing great promise in the fight against obesity. Practicing mindful eating encourages people to eat healthier and to enjoy the food they eat.

‘Everything is created twice, first in the mind and then in reality’ (Robin Sharma)

– Michael