mindfulness

How Meditation Affects The Brain

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Mindfulness and meditation have been gaining a lot of recognition for the past years. Many celebrities have been spotted practicing it which gave way to the birth of meditation guides and yoga teachers. Let’s get to know how mindfulness and meditation affects the work of the brain.

Meditation and Mindfulness

Meditation is defined as a set of techniques that is practiced by a person by being in a state of awareness while focusing on the sensation, emotion and thoughts while meditating. While mindfulness is just one of the 3 types of meditation. Mindfulness is one type of meditation which also focuses on a person’s thoughts and feelings through the use of breathing methods, guided imagery and other techniques that clears the mind of stress and relaxes the body.

7 Ways Meditation Affects the Brain

Both meditation mad mindfulness needs a person practicing it to be in a heightened state of awareness with focused attention to the sensation, emotions and thoughts.

1. Preserves Aging of the Brain

According to studies, people who have been practicing meditation for a long time were proved to have better- preserved brains than those who do not practice it. Through the use of CT-Scan, the researcher found out that there are more grey matter volume in the brain of those meditators who have been practicing for more than 20 years. Meditation helps slow down the aging process by stimulating the brain whenever a person meditates.

2. “Me” First

With everything that is going on in our day-to-day lives, our mind has been working non-stop to keep up with its demand. Meditation helps calm the mind and bring the focus on oneself. A Yale study was able to prove that meditation can reduce the self-referential thoughts and mind-wandering of a person which is often associated with stress, worry and even fear of the past and the future. Meditation was able to quiet down these weary thoughts and instead make new connections in the brain that improve one’s focus more.

3. Lessen Depression and Anxiety

Millions of people are being diagnosed with mental health problems each year. Majority of which is depression and anxiety. Meditation along with mindfulness were effective in toning down the symptoms of patients with depression and anxiety. Studies show that its effectivity is same as the use of anti-depressants but without the risk of experiencing the adverse reactions of the drug. Since meditation is also one way of training the brain, it gains the capability to increase the awareness of the mind and focus on things that matter.

4. Improves Memory and Cognition

Since meditation mainly works on the brain, it does not only affect the emotional and social parts of the brain but also the cognitive area of the brain too. Meditation and mindfulness increase the cortical thickness of the hippocampus, which is responsible for thinking, learning, memory and problem solving. Improving a person’s cognitive abilities.

5. Focus and Attention

Meditation and mindfulness require a lot of focus and attention on what you are currently doing in order to attain that level of awareness. Studies show that meditation and mindfulness help train the minds of the people and improve their memory and focus. By doing and practicing it every day, we will not notice it but we are slowly becoming more attentive and focused on the things that we are doing.

6. Helps with Addiction

There has been a number of studies relating mindfulness and meditation to addiction. These studies found out that meditation is a very effective way of alleviating addiction especially for recovering addicts. One study found out that mindfulness and meditation is an effective way of making smokers quit. It helps get through the craving.

7. Great for Kids

We mainly hear adults practicing mindfulness, but kids may do so too. Meditation and mindfulness were already practiced in some schools as it was proven to stimulate the brain’s development of children making it easier for them to learn their lectures at school. Also, meditation at school are much needed breaks that decreases the stressors of children. Lastly, it showed that meditation and mindfulness greatly increase the attendance and GPA of students at high-risk schools.

Mindfulness At The Office

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We spent most of our days inside our office, working. When we enter the office, the first thing to do is sit down and work. This goes on for the next 12 hours with eating breaks in between. We are so focused on work that we forget to stop, breathe and think. Doing this will improve the quality of your work.

Benefits of Mindfulness

The workplace is full of conflict and stress especially when the workload or task at hand becomes hard to bear. Doing something to relieve your mind and body from this stress is essential for a good day’s worth. Here’s why mindfulness is recommended to be done at work:

  • Stress Reduction ­– it is the number one and most popular benefit that one can get from practicing mindfulness at work especially since stress is also the most common cause of workers absenteeism.
  • Better Understanding – Working requires you to be able to absorb new information or ideas. Studies show that letting the brain take a break once in a will further improve one’s problem-solving, critical thinking and skills development. They are able to process information much faster leading to a more efficient work.
  • Adaptability – The ability to adapt at work is a must. Having this skill proves that you are able to easily acclimate to different situations and be able to think fast on different situations. Mindfulness increases your adaptability and will improve your leadership skills and performance.
  • Creativity – Since mindfulness focuses on the mind, it also enhances one’s creativity. It motivates people, making you think more innovatively. Also, mindfulness lessens distractions and focuses on what’s important.

Mindfulness at Work

Practicing mindfulness at work does not consume so much of your time and space. You don’t need a lot of equipment or items. You may use whatever you see around you that is available. Here are the ways you can practice mindfulness at work:

Be Aware and Awake

Mindfulness is – overall – a state of awareness. It works when one is being conscious about his or her present state at the moment of mindfulness. At work, our mind is mind blown with all the task and to dos. To be mindful at work requires you to be consciously present on whatever task you are doing, while you are doing it, and as well as being able to manage both your mental and emotional state. You may not even realize but by focusing on a report or task, you are already practicing mindfulness. Don’t forget to bring back your thoughts to the task at hand whenever you feel that it’s slipping away.

Short Mindfulness Exercise

Mindfulness exercises may also be done at work without needing any kind of mat. Here are some short mindfulness exercises you can do:

  • Body scan meditation – Lie on your back on your swivel chair and gently extended your legs and arms at the side with palms facing up. Close your eyes and gently bring your mind to focus on every part of your body from head to toe and vice versa. Be aware of any sensations, emotions, and even thoughts that are associated with each part of your body while you are doing it. You may do this for as short as a minute or longer.
  • Sitting meditation – Sit comfortably on your working chair with your back straight and feet resting flat on the floor. Put your hands on your lap. Close your eyes and start breathing through your nose. Focus on your breathing in and out and the sensations that you feel. Bring your mind to focus when you notice it lingering everywhere else.
  • Walking meditation – if you are tired of your working space, you may opt to go out for a short walk. It may be done around the office or up on the rooftop. Find a quiet place then begin walking slowly. Focus on the overall experience of walking, notice how you keep your balance and the movements needed to keep walking. If you find yourself at the end of the path, you may go for another walk if you want.

Be a Single – Tasker

People mostly multi-task these days because they think that they are able to achieve more if they do so. Little did they know that they are doing much less when they do two things at a time.  Try to start being a single tasker. Let your mind focus on one task at

What is Mindful Yoga?

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Many thought that yoga is a form of mindfulness – it is and it is not. Yoga may be done just like any other form of exercise or workout. If you want your Yoga practice to be more beneficial, you can opt to incorporate mindfulness in it by doing mindful yoga. Here’s all you need to know about mindful yoga.

Mindful Yoga

The benefits of mindfulness are well-known to everyone as it is proven effective for almost anyone who is practicing it. Mindful Yoga is yet to be popular. It is the application of traditional Buddhist mindfulness teachings on the physical practice of yoga. Going deeper and making it a life-changing approach.

Mindfulness has been always associated with the practice of yoga. Mindful yoga focuses on the mind and body awareness where a person practicing it cares much about the sensations that yoga brings rather than on their body alignment and physical posture. The goal of mindfulness in yoga is to cultivate mindfulness and bring awareness to the physical activity by shifting the focus to the exact moment and transforming every movements to a form of meditation. Mindful yoga is a form of observation rather than reacting. You get to observe your mind and how your body feels while doing different yoga pose.

MBSR or Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is a practical training program developed by researchers and scientist to assist people who are suffering from anxiety, depression and pain. It is backed up by science and was proven to be effective in decreasing the participant’s symptoms.

4 Foundations of Mindful Yoga

1. Mindfulness of the Body

Awareness of the body is just one of the four foundations of mindfulness. As the body is a collection of many parts, the skin, bones, teeth, nails and all the other parts are within an even bigger or larger entity – the body. Mindfulness helps us train ourselves to observe out body part by part, rather than focus on the whole body itself.

2. Mindfulness of Feelings

Mindfulness is defined as a state of awareness which means that one should be aware of both your bodily sensations and emotions. These feelings may be pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. Mindfulness makes us observe and fully acknowledge such feelings, in this way we learn to accept and be more aware of it. That feelings are just an emotion or sensation that should not overpower us but instead make us see the truth in ourselves.

3. Mindfulness of Mind

The mindfulness of mind does not refer to the mind that is responsible for thinking but more on the consciousness or awareness side of the mind. Since the mind has many wonders, the information that it gathers has a great impact on our internal mental status. If we pay attention more on how the thought rises than what our thoughts are, then we may learn not to attach ourselves or our identity in these thoughts.

4. Mindfulness of Dharma

“Dharma” is a Sanskrit word which means “Yoga”. It can also be defined as the “natural law” or “the way things are”. Another foundation of mindfulness is that of mental objects where we learn that everything that we see around us exists for us only as mental objects. They are a manifestation of reality that was translated in our mind through our senses.

Mindfulness of Dharma is a practice of awareness of the existence of the things that is surrounding you and being aware that they are only temporary and conditioned by everything else.

4 Mindful Yoga Poses

1. Savasana or the Corpse pose

Savanasa is just one of the 4 poses that was taught by Buddha. It is done by lying on your back with your feet at least 12 to 18 inches apart, arms at your sides a few inches away from your torso with the palms facing upwards. Let your gravity overcome your body and surrender your full weight to it. You can do it to start or end your yoga practice.

While on this position, focus on your breathing and your bodily sensations. Let it overwhelm your body and observe how your body reacts to it. If your mind wanders, try to bring it back to the breath and the body.

2. Eye-of-the-Needle Pose

After Savasana, still lying on the floor, place your other right shin on your left thigh then draw your left knee towards your chest. Reach between your legs with your arm and around the outside of the left leg with your left arm and clasp your hands. Observe if your breathing was held or restricted while stretching and then continue your normal breathing.

3. Cat- Cow Pose

Position your body on a hands and knees position with the hands directly under the shoulders and the knees under the hips. On inhalation, tilt the pelvis forward, opening the belly toward the floor and let the spine move into the torso creating a gentle backbend. Reach the crown of your head and tailbone towards the celing. While exhaling, round your back and scoop the tailbone between your legs then tilt your head to gaze back towards the thigh. Do this a couple of times while breathing normally.

4.  Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose)

Do a downward facing dog pose. Tuck your toes under, lift your hips and strengthen your legs. Coordinate your breathing as you straighten both of your legs and stay on this position and do at least 8 to 15 breaths. Enjoy the experience and create different postures. Don’t forget to put yourself in a state of awareness while practicing this yoga pose.

There are many other yoga poses that you could try. These are only a few examples of it. Yoga is a good practice of mindfulness as it coordinates both the mind and the body benefitting both of it. Let us know if you were able to try these yoga pose and how it change your life. 

Mindful Running And Mindful Exercise: Your Fitness Journey

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If you are a fan of the great outdoors and enjoy simple runs then maybe this is for you. Did you know that you can actually do exercise activities while practicing mindfulness? Feel the fresh air as you appreciate the beauty of nature while being active. Start your health and fitness journey now.

Mindful Running

With mindfulness having a number of proven health benefits, we can continuously add it to our daily routine. We often associate mindfulness with a state of silence and awareness, but you can actually combine it with other healthy pursuits that is really helpful in elevating one’s sense of well-being.

Studies suggested that meditation can be done along with running or walking. It was able to reduce symptoms of depression in people who are suffering from it and increased their mental health. The outdoors and the natural sounds that it makes are great psychological factors that impacts a person’s performance in life or even at work. It has a way of encouraging people to reflect inwardly while running and focus on their body showing great results. Running also tones down possible distractions that is present during other mindfulness practices. Here some advice you can follow for better results of mindful running:

  • Release yourself from unwanted distractions and daily pressures that life brings while running.
  • Feel the flow in your body and listen to it: your breathing, your posture and your heightened senses.
  • Breathing mindfully is a great response to stress, try to focus more on the process of breathing. Breathe through the nose and exhale through the mouth.
  • Connect with the memories that are associated with your body. It may be a recent injury of experience related to running or other activities. Doing this will help you create a deeper connection with yourself.
  • Keep the internal conversations between you and your body and not with other people. Sometimes, it’s best that you talk with yourself and assess how is your current state or condition in the moment.
  • Don’t worry about the anchor points or timing devices – just listen to what your body wants and what it needs.

Mindful Exercise

Some people just love exercising so much. But what if you can do exercising while being in a state of mindfulness? It is the same as hitting two birds with one stone – your body and mind become healthy at the same time.  The difference between mindful workout and a traditional mindfulness practice is instead of zoning out and feeding your mindful with unnecessary thoughts, you will draw your mind back to the physical activity that you are doing and focuses on connecting the two activities together. Mindful exercises or workouts involves paying much attention to the flow that happens in the body while being in a state of awareness through exercising. It is a good way to unify the mind, body and breathing practices.

Here are few helpful tips to help create a more grounded practice of mindful exercising:

1. Prepare your mind before your body

It is hard to do any activity if you already have a busy schedule. In order to practice mindful exercise better, you need to take a portion of your day just for mindfulness. It is important to bring your mind to a neutral state prior to the start of the exercise by doing a few minutes of mindful breathing as a way of clearing your mind and preparing it for the exercise.

2. Create a purpose every time you exercise

Having a purpose before doing any activity is a great motivator. Any person who wants to do something has a goal, and for mindful exercise you can set one purpose for doing so – to lose weight. Your goal will keep you in track and maintain the focus that you needed in order to attain it.

3. Take it slow

Do not exercise just because it is a “to-do” item on your list. Don’t make it as a chore and let it just be a part of your daily life. Give yourself a permission to take time and engage your full body. Be thankful and grateful about many things in your life and appreciate how exercising not only benefits your but most importantly, your mind.

Can Mindfulness Make Anxiety Worse?

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Being anxious is a normal response of the body especially when it is faced with threats and stress. When anxiety becomes a constant part of your life, then you may have an anxiety-related problem. Treating such problems will need you to be able to clear your mind and deal with your stressor.

Anxiety

Anxiety is commonly felt when the brain reacts to the stressors and threats that a person is facing. Everyday, we are facing different challenges whether at home, school, and even at work. Feeling anxious every now and then is common but when you started to notice that you are feeling more anxious than usual and it is affecting your daily tasks then, you may need to consider consulting a psychiatrist.

Here are some of the most common Anxiety Disorders and their associated signs and symptoms:

Front view of a woman suffering social anxiety attack on city street
  • Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) – symptoms occurs for more than 6 months. A person with general anxiety disorder feels excessively anxious most of the day. Most of the anxiety attacks caused by GAD is triggered by any work or relationship problems, health problems and any unexpected life occurrence that may not be ideal for a person. Some patients constantly feel anxious all day even without the presence of such triggers. Symptoms of GAD includes feelings of restlessness, easily fatigued even by simple tasks, have difficulty concentrating on tasks, being irritable more than usual, noticeable muscle tension when having an anxiety attack, unable to control feelings of worry and fear, sleeping problems such as difficulty falling or staying asleep and having an unsatisfying sleep.
  • Panic Disorder – this is one of the most common anxiety disorders and is often seen in movies. When a person is having an anxiety attack, it causes a person to feel muscle tension, palpitations, chest pain and increased sweating. People often mistake panic attacks for heart attacks and sometimes, choking. The panic attack is often caused by a fear on an object or a situation. Identifying its triggers is helpful in preventing future panic attacks. Other symptoms that a person who has panic disorders experience shortness of breath, feelings of impending doom, and feelings of being out of control.
  • Phobia – It refers to a certain fear on a specific object or situation. When a person is faced with this trigger, they feel intense fear that is out of proportion. The most common trigger is the fear of heights. People with phobia also experiences excessive worry or irrational fear of an object or situation, tries their best to avoid the feared object or situations, when exposed to the trigger, they feel an immediate intense level of anxiety and some may be able to endure the unavoidable situation or object but with an intense anxiety.

Mindfulness and Anxiety

Mindfulness is a common go-to for people who wants to relieve their everyday stress. 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 with what’s going on around us. It is a type of meditation that you can do anywhere for a short period of time. There are many testaments to the beneficial effects of mindfulness, but little is known about its unwanted effects.

In recent studies, it was said that out of many people who practice mindfulness, about 12 percent of them experience unwanted effects. This is true especially in the case of people who suffers from anxiety and depression. Mindfulness can aggravate the anxiety and depression that they are feeling.  Some people who meditate often lose control of their feelings of fear, anxiety or panic because they are desperate to go out of their current situation. In their attempt to control these unwanted thoughts and feelings, they become even more counterproductive and actually ends up causing them to overthink more.

Mindfulness is often misunderstood because of its claim that it can actually control one’s thought and feelings. Many people take it the wrong way and ends up causing themselves further distress. Mindfulness, if done the right way, can enhance one’s psychological capacity and flexibility making you acknowledge these thoughts and feelings and take action based on your personal values. Still, mindfulness is a good tool in overcoming an anxiety disorder as long as it is done correctly.

Can Mindfulness Help With Anxiety?

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Being anxious all the time has some great impacts on your body. It can lower your energy and have certain unwanted effects on your brain. Feeling anxious is a common reaction especially when faced with certain situations but experiencing it too much may actually be harmful for you.

Anxiety

Anxiety is one of our common emotion. It is the brain’s way of reacting to the stressors and alerts your body of any harm or danger ahead of you. Everyone will feel anxious every now and then – at work, home or school. Being anxious from time to time is okay but when you noticed that it becomes more common than usual then you have to rethink again. Excessive anxiety in the presence of stressors may cause a person to feel overwhelmed. If the anxiety you have makes you unable to do daily tasks that you usually do, then you may consider consulting a doctor or a psychiatrist.

There are many kinds of Anxiety Disorder. Here a few of the most common ones and their associated signs and symptoms:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

People who have generalized anxiety disorders have been showing excessively anxious for at least 6 months. Common stressors for such are work, relationship problems, health, and any unexpected life circumstances. In some patients, even if there’s no trigger they tend to feel anxious too.

General Anxiety Disorder symptoms includes:

  • Feelings of restlessness
  • Easily fatigued even by simple tasks
  • Have difficulty concentrating on tasks
  • Being irritable more than usual
  • Noticeable muscle tension when having an anxiety attack
  • Unable to control feelings of worry and fear
  • Sleeping problems such as difficulty falling or staying asleep and having an unsatisfying sleep.

Panic Disorder

Panic disorder is often seen on televisions shows and series. In panic disorder, a person suddenly feels an intense feat that causes one to perspire a lot, have palpitations and chest pain. Some patients even think that they are having a heart attack or choking during panic attacks. The episodes of the panic attack peaks within minutes and is triggered by a fear on an object or a situation. People who have panic disorder often worries about their next attack. Knowing the trigger of such episodes is helpful in preventing future attacks.

Here’s what some people experience during a panic attack:

  • Increase in heart rate and pounding heartbeat
  • Sweating too much
  • Trembling or shaking of the body
  • Shortness of breath or feels like you are choking on something
  • Feelings of impending doom
  • Feelings of being out of control

Phobia-related Disorders

People often use the “Phobia” to refer to a specific object or situation that a person fear. It is almost the same on how psychiatry defined it – an intense fear of specific objects or situations. The most common of which are the fear of heights or flying. It is normal to feel fear when exposed to a certain situation but people with phobias feel fear that is out of proportion than the actual danger posed by the situation or the object. People with phobia experiences:

  • Excessive worry or irrational fear of an object or situation
  • Tries their best to avoid the feared object or situations
  • When exposed to the trigger, they feel an immediate intense level of anxiety
  • Some may be able to endure the unavoidable situation or object but with an intense anxiety.

Mindfulness And Anxiety

Is mindfulness able to help someone who is anxious? According to recent researches, mindfulness is able to reduce the level of anxiety of a person. Mindfulness works by teaching our brain to focus our attention on the present moment while removing the unwanted thoughts in our brain such as worrying and ruminating about the past.

Being anxious means that you are thinking too much in your brain and your body is reacting to that stress. Mindfulness teaches us and our body on how to respond to this stress simply just by being in a state of awareness where one will only focus on meditating. Mindfulness is just one of the adaptive reactions that a person can try to do especially during difficult situations.

Mindfulness Tricks to Reduce Anxiety

Hispanic woman walking on winding path in lush green forest

There are different mindfulness practices that you can try to reduce the anxiousness that you are feeling. Try it out and let us know if it works for you, too.

Set an intention – know the reason on why you are practicing mindfulness. Setting an intention every morning before important activities will help you focus and remind you on why you are doing it every day. If a certain event is making you feel anxious – like a major speech at school – set an intention for it so that you’ll be even more motivated to finish and do your speech.

Try guided meditation – some people just have a hard time meditating without a guide. If you are one of them, you can try looking for online programs or phone apps that shares free guided meditation.

Mindful coloring – this is commonly done by children, but it works as good for adults too! Set aside a couple of minutes on your day and let your creativity flow. You may opt to buy or print some nice pictures that you can color. 

Take a walk – taking a walk works wonders. Being outside and having your alone time and just focusing on your senses and the environment is not only comforting for your body but for your mind too.

Can Mindfulness Cure Depression?

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Mindfulness has become greatly popular these days. Its benefits were proven both by people who practice it and by science itself. But is mindfulness capable of curing mental illness, like depression?

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the basic ability of the human mind to be fully aware of the present, of where we are and what we are doing.  As defined by the American Psychological Association (2012), it is “a moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experience without judgement. In this sense, mindfulness is a state and not a trait.”  It a pretty straightforward word, but its meaning can do so much. It has its way of snapping us back to reality and to what we are feeling. 

Mindfulness helps divert your attention and purposely focus on what is happening at the present moment – accepting it without judgement. It is achieved when a person reaches a certain state where they become more aware of the present moment while acknowledging and accepting whatever it is that they are feeling, thinking, and the bodily sensations that is overflowing in their body. It heightens your sensations and lets you focus on it to more.

Benefits of Mindfulness

Helps you sleep

If you are having a difficulty sleeping at night, mindfulness is there to help you sleep without worries. The state of mindfulness needs you to clear or empty your mind and remove those wary thoughts that you’ve been keeping. Mindfulness brings you a relaxed state and helps  you create a mental space where you are able to welcome sleep.

Reduce Stress

Everyone experiences stress at some point of the day, whether it be at work, home or school. Mindfulness was proven to reduce the stress levels a person has by alleviating some of their worries. Practicing mindfulness gives you better control of yourself and makes you focus on the things that matter while preventing you from being distracted.

Improves self

At one point in your life, you may have felt lost and did not understand yourself at all. Mindfulness helps improves your perception about yourself and makes you aware of the current state of your emotions. Of course, other self-care habits should be done also to further improve yourself.

Depression

Depression is just one of the most common mental illness in the world and has killed thousands of people in a year. Depression is a silent-killer and usually people who suffers on it does not show their suffering. Depression not only affects adults, but children too.

Depression is a mood disorder that is characterized by a persistent feeling of sadness, loss of interest and disinterest in performing daily activities. People who suffer from depression may feel down from time to time or all day long. They are unable to cope and adjust to the struggles and setbacks that they have in life and succumb to their problem. By understanding depression and recognizing its symptoms, you may help yourself or another person to overcome their problem and feel better:

  • Feelings of helplessness and hopeless as if nothing you do can improve your current situation.
  • Loss of interest in performing daily activities. From taking a bath to going to work, you are no longer energized to do such tasks and prefers to be alone all day long.
  • Loss of appetite leading to a significant decrease in weight.
  • Lack of sleep or oversleeping. Some can’t sleep because of their problems while some sleep too much to not have time to think about their endeavors.
  • Change in behavior like becoming easily angered or irritability.
  • Loss of energy. Easily fatigued by performing simple tasks. The body feels heavy when doing even small chores.
  • Strong feelings of worthlessness and guilt by repeated criticizing self for the faults and mistakes done.
  • Unable to concentrate at school or at work and tends to have significant decline in performance.

If you have any of the symptoms above, please consult your doctor or a psychiatrist near you.

Can Mindfulness Cure Depression?

With depression taking a lot of people lives each year, one would be curious if there are other ways to cure depression. Mindfulness has been greatly studied by scientists and researchers to see if it has an impact in treating depression. Researchers were able to formulate a therapeutic program for patients who have chronic depression and anxiety called Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.

MBCT is an 8-week mindfulness-based program that was based from cognitive therapy. Cognitive therapy teaches patients on how to redirect their negative thinking and is the gold standard for treatment of depression. The combination of mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy is ideal as the former brings you to a state of awareness, specially your feelings, while the later teaches you to redirect these negative thoughts and countering them with actual positive event in your life.  

MBCT is performed only by experts and should not be attempted by anyone. MBCT in combination with proper intake of anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medications will further improve a patient’s condition and lead to faster recovery a patient.

Can Mindfulness Help With Weight Loss?

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During this quarantine, there are a lot of people who spent their time mostly at home. Many browse the internet and often found themselves watching YouTube videos especially those inspiring workout videos. They are really inspiring to watch but not everyone has the motivation to do the work. Mindfulness is a great alternative in losing weight, without having to exert much effort like in working out.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a way of being present and fully focused on whatever it is that is happening at the present moment. With mindfulness, you remove all the possible distractions around you and free yourself from it while focusing about your thoughts and feelings during meditation.

Some say that mindfulness is also a training. It is a way of training us to pay close attention to ourselves by not worrying about the challenging past, the unexpected present and the unknown future. These three things are the most common cause of stress for any individual who’s living their life.

Take note though, that mindfulness is not like Buddhism or any kind of religion. It does have a belief system and the science of mindfulness are mostly based on research. Meaning, many scientists were able to prove the benefits of mindfulness in many aspects of our lives.

Mindful Eating

There are many ways on how to practice mindfulness. You may not even realize it, but you may be doing it every day. The practice of mindfulness has a lot of different exercises. Some of which can actually help you with your weight loss. The most popular one is Mindful Eating.

The Digestive system is composed of complex processes that somehow send signals to the brain to register satiety. If a person eats too fast and overeats, these might send signals to the brain causing them to feel fullness. Being distracted while eating may also slow down the digestive process causing us to have indigestion and this might lead to us not getting enough nutrition from the food that we are eating.

Mindful Eating, also called as “intuitive eating” is when a person brings themselves on a state of awareness while eating. Mindful eating is a way of bringing your full attention on your food: how it smells, taste, the color, and even the sensations you felt while eating. It is a way of appreciating the process of eating and allowing it to enter your mind and body. Mindful Eating is not a weight-loss cure in itself, but it is a part of a bigger approach that can lead a person to eating healthy leading to their goal to lose weight.

Mindfulness and Eating

Mindfulness can actually work when you use it the right way. It may not work as much as other diet therapies, but it is one way of figuring out how to eat right. This does not only help your mind but also keeps your body fit and healthy.

1. Before eating anything: Pause and Think.

A big part of mindful eating is thinking about why you chose the food and why are you eating it. Before you start eating feel your body: Is your stomach growling? Are you attracted to your food? Can you feel your mouth salivating? Consider all of these factors before eating. Pausing prior to eating allows us to make eating more purposeful and allows us to focus more on what we are doing.

2. Take a Bite and Chew

Get a piece of that food and slowly put it on your tongue. Savor every sensation that you felt while the food was in your mouth: What does it taste? Are the flavors amazing? Does it change your mood? Did you feel the sensations flowing through your body as you chew?

Do not slurp or inhale your food in front of you. This does not only look good, but it can actually affect your digestion causing it to slow down. Also, you will miss out the different flavors and the texture of the food as you are too busy satisfying your hunger. Chewing properly is a part of mindful eating as it allows you to totally experience the process of eating itself. Make sure to completely chew your food before you swallow it.

3. Drink Water before Meals

Some researches advice people to drink water before having meals as this is also one way of preventing yourself from overeating. It is usually easy to do and eventually becomes a habit as time goes by. Also, drinking water prior to meals allows you to have some time to clear your thoughts and focus on the upcoming process of eating.

4. Choose Colorful and Flavorful Foods

The eyes not only guide us to see around us but also shows us to the wonders of life. Choosing a colorful and flavorful meal composed of unprocessed foods has a great importance in Mindful Eating. Naturally healthy and whole foods have unique flavors that you cannot get from eating processed foods.

5. Do not be distracted

If possible, close any gadgets that you have that might interfere with your meditation. You should only be able to focus on what you are eating. Also, by doing this, you will not be easily distracted, and your full attention will be on the process of eating only.

Research shows that the noise your food makes when you eat can actually influence how much food you consume. The sound can either make you eat a lot or less. People who often eat with their earphones on is prone to overeating.

6. Count to Twenty

Did you know that it takes about 20 minutes for the digestive system to actually send signals to your brain to tell it that you are full? In this small window of time, you might find yourself overeating. Consider taking a break in a buffet before getting another plate for your round two. The waiting period gives time for your body to process the food that you ate.

Everyone wants to lose weight, but we all know that it includes a lot of work before it can be achieved. Mindfulness is only one of the ways that you can use to lose weight. This should be combined with exercise can help attain your goal to be fit and fab this quarantine.

What Is A Mindfulness Colouring?

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Many things happened unexpectedly this year, from terrorists’ attacks to an epidemic that caused the lives of so many people. People has been forced more often than not to stay inside their homes and temporarily stop the normal routine in their lives. Spending a lot of time at home can cause one to think too much and mindfulness is just one way of getting rid whatever is inside your mind.  

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is just one of the common practices that helps divert your attention and purposely focus on what is happening at the present moment – accepting it without judgement. It is achieved when a person reaches a certain state where they become more aware of the present moment while acknowledging and accepting whatever it is that they are feeling, thinking, and the bodily sensations that is overflowing in their body.

Benefits of Mindfulness

Improves well-being

Mindfulness increases your capacity to support many attitudes that contribute to a more satisfied life. The state of mindfulness makes it easier for one to enjoy the pleasures of life. It also allows you to be fully engaged in activities and increase your capability to face future untoward events. Many people who practices mindfulness see the differences on different aspects of their lives – they worry less about their stressors, the present and the unknown future. They become less preoccupied on the pressure to be successful and are able to make better and deeper connections with other people.

Improves physical health

The mind and the body are interrelated. One works because of the other. When one is harmed, it causes the other to disfunction. Using mindfulness to connect the body and the mind is a great way of improving one’s physical health. Many studies done showed significant results on using mindfulness in relieving stress, lessening the chances of having a cardiac disease, lowers blood pressure, reduces chronic pain and improves sleep.

Improves Mental health

Mindfulness, as a part of science, has its own contributions when it comes to treating a person suffering from any mental health problems. Psychologists and Psychiatrist proved the success of using mindfulness in treating a number of mental illness such as: depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, conflicts, anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The ability of state of mindfulness to help a person accept their experiences – past, present and future. It has a great impact on how people who are suffering from such disorders are able to cope with it.

Mindfulness Colouring

Mindful colouring is another technique of mindfulness where you bring one’s awareness to the present moment by consciously focusing on colouring and designing. Unlike the other techniques where you focus on breathing, mindful colouring focuses on the weight of the pencil on your hand, the shade of colours that you are painting or colouring your paper, and the feelings that is filling your body as you are doing the activity.

Mindful colouring is almost similar to meditation. We let go of any thoughts about tomorrow or yesterday or when you are going to finish the activity. If you catch yourself thinking about the past or the future, revert your mind again to what you are doing in the present moment by describing it. Let go of your judgements while colouring and don’t think if what you are doing is good or bad, amazing or terrible and whether the outcome will be good or not. Remember, the focus of mindful colouring is the process of it, not the possible outcome of colouring. There is no right or wrong way to colour. Think of it as one way of expressing yourself. In mindful colouring, we pay attention on what is happening on the present with curiosity, openness and acceptance.

Effects of Mindfulness Colouring

According to researches, mindful colouring was found to be a great way to reduce a person’s anxiety and stress. It diverts one’s attention from the stressor and allows them to switch off these thoughts and focus on colouring.

It was also found to improve sleeping patterns especially for people who are having a hard time sleeping. It improves a person’s vision and motor skills. The semi-mediative state that the mindful colouring has caused can provide us with some much-needed brain relief by lowering the activity of the amygdala, the part of the brain which controls emotion. Lastly, it helps build our focusing skills that is definitely helpful in studying and foster a sense of compassion.

Why Is Grounding Important In Meditation?

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Are you tired recently, and you want to relax yourself and clear your mind? Make one with nature and your spirit by practicing Grounding meditation. What are the benefits of Grounding meditation and its difference with other types of meditation?

What is Grounding Meditation?

         Putting the meaning of grounding into words is quite hard because there is not an exact word that can describe the experience of it. For the sake of understanding what grounding is, we will define it. Grounding is more of a spiritual term that refers to connecting your soul and body to the environment, or the Earth. It helps you make a connection with the surroundings which makes you feel safer and it lessens the anxiety and fear that someone experience on a daily basis.

Two Types of Grounding Meditation:

  • Concentration Meditation

Concentration meditation includes focusing your attention on a single object or point. In this type of meditation, one needs to refocus its attention on a single object when the mind seems to be wandering. Instead of stopping your thoughts, concentration meditation allows you to let go of these disturbances. It is improving the cognitive processes by helping you to focus your attention properly and higher perception of details.

  • Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness meditation encourage the person whose mind is wandering to observe these thoughts and reflect on it. The goal of this type of meditation is to be more aware of one’s thoughts and feelings. It allows a person to accept who he or she truly are and know it better. Mindfulness meditation increases a person’s self-awareness, body awareness, regulates the emotion and attention and decreases stress and anxiety. Aside from that, this also helps you have a good sleep at night and take care of your overall health.

Benefits of Grounding Meditation

Old woman making a heart sign

There have been numerous studies regarding grounding meditation, also called as earthing, which showed how connecting with the environment has a way of healing a person on its own. Here are some proven benefits of grounding meditation from recent studies:

  • Decreases inflammation and pain

One study showed improvement on a 44-year old woman who reportedly have a chronic back pain. Upon monitoring through thermography, the red areas (hot areas) of pain and inflammation were lessened after practicing grounding. After 4 weeks of continuously meditating, she reported that almost more than half of her pain is gone, no more sleep interference, and the stiffness and soreness in the morning is almost gone. By 8 weeks, she reported that the pain she was experience before was completely gone.

  • Lowers stress level

Cortisol is a steroid hormone naturally produces by the body that helps regulate the wide range of processes in the body which includes the immune response and metabolism. Grounding helps normalize the level of cortisol in the body. It lessens premenstrual symptoms and hot flushed and makes one sleep faster. The participants also reported that they feel more refreshed and energetic after. They also noticed that they are less emotional and stressed.

  • Improves blood circulation

Grounding was also proven to improves the oxygen delivery capacity of the blood and brings the nutrients to the tissues in the body. Grounding helps regulate the blood supply of the body more efficiently on the abdomen, on vital organs and on the face resulting to better digestion and better functioning of the organs.

References:

https://www.the-guided-meditation-site.com/what-is-grounding.html

https://alignedandwell.com/grounding-meditation/

https://chopra.com/articles/grounding-the-human-body-the-healing-benefits-of-earthing