I’m sure by now you’ll have heard of mindfulness. It seems to have exploded in popularity in recent years, and is recommended as everything from a cure for severe depression to improved concentration.
Mindfulness can be described as being aware of the present, in particular how we feel on the inside. It generally involves bringing focus back to the body and how it feels at that time. Focus is directed towards the present moment, as opposed to worrying about past or future events. Eyes are typically closed, and attention is directed towards the breathing as opposed to any outside stimuli. Rather than try and block out our thoughts, mindfulness aims to help us acknowledge our thoughts and feelings, but lets them pass without paying them too much attention, which can lead to stress or anxiety.
For someone with an interest in all things psychology and mental health, I’m almost ashamed to say I’ve never properly tried mindfulness myself, with the exception of a couple of group sessions at conferences. I definitely find it easier when I take part in a led session rather than try and do it myself, so I downloaded the Headspace app and decided to give it a go. Here’s how I got on:
1st session: It’s been a few months since I’d had last had a guided session at work – I did try to practice a couple of times recently but found it hard to keep my focus. I started off using the Basics package in Headspace, which starts with an introduction to mindfulness and a few tips to get started. I began with a short 3 minute session, and afterwards I felt noticeably more relaxed, I’m definitely looking forward to the next one. The 3 minutes went by really quickly, I found it quite easy to concentrate on my breathing. No massive change but only day 1!
2nd session: Another short 3 minute session. I found it harder to stop myself focusing on thoughts that popped into my head during the session today. I started it as soon as I’d finished studying and found thoughts kept popping into my head – I know this is okay and you’re meant to acknowledge them and move on but that’s quite difficult in reality! I think I’ll try it at a different time tomorrow and see if that makes it easier.
3rd session: I completely ran out of time so ended up practising just before I went to bed. I switched to the 5 minute session today, and the focus of this session was on letting thoughts pass. This is definitely the bit that I find most difficult, but it was easier than yesterday. I found the session very relaxing, it really put me in the mood for sleep!
4th session: Again ended up practising just before bed, and I almost feel asleep! Today I found that I was better at paying attending to my breathing (counting helped) and it meant that I couldn’t really focus on other thoughts which popped into my head. The 5 minutes went so quickly too.
5th session: Getting into more of a routine and practising at the end of the day. Not much change on this session, but I am definitely enjoying it and look forward to practising.
6th session: Today I really wasn’t feeling in the mood for practising mindfulness, I’d had a really busy day and it just felt like another thing I had to do. I did feel so much better afterwards and was glad I did, a bit like going for a run! I found my mind didn’t wander too much but things I need to do tomorrow kept popping into my head, which I found hard to ignore.
7th session: The last one in my week’s trial! It feels like the time during the session seems to go quicker every day, and I always feel much calmer by the end of it. This session started with a short animation using the analogy of the calm mind as a blue sky, and thoughts as clouds which pass across it, which I quite liked. I know the app recommends practising first thing in the morning but for me I think I’ll probably do it more in the evenings. I’ve got a bit more time, and I think it’s a nice thing for me to do at the end of the day – I’m someone who can find it hard to switch off at night so practising before bed could help me relax.
By the end of the week I can’t say I’ve noticed any significant changes but I have looked forward to the sessions. I do have to admit – there were a couple of days in between where I didn’t end up practicing, usually if I was out in the evening and got back too late to want to practice. On reflection. these busy days were probably the ones where I should have made sure to take the time out for it – it’s only a few minutes and makes me feel more relaxed afterwards. By the end of the week I felt like I was better at concentrating on my breathing instead of letting my mind wander, although I still slipped up from time to time. In particular, I kept finding myself thinking about things I could say in this post, so now it’s written maybe I’ll find it easier to focus!
I’d definitely recommend giving mindfulness a go, especially if you haven’t already, just to see whether you notice any changes after each session. Have you tried mindfulness before? Let me know in the comments!