Mindfulness Made Real

A How-To Guide using Clinical Approaches and Making them Practical.

After my last mindfulness post, Mindful Minutes: The Art of Being Present, I asked one of my best friend’s to let me know his thoughts (the same one with the funky quote) and he told me something that really stood out to me: He wasn’t really a big fan of mindfulness. Mostly, due to the fact that he wasn’t even sure if he knew how to properly go through a mindfulness exercise. After he told me, I felt so silly for skipping over it!

I briefly mentioned previously how mindfulness is a common practice now to help with stress and anxiety management and it is a “hot” topic in new age yoga circles. But what is it? How do you do a mindfulness exercise?

When I first had heard of mindfulness, the image of an individual with the quietest mind, without a single thought, came to mind. It truly seemed impossible, unobtainable, that that state could be reached, but it can! It’s not this, this, silence or void-type of mental experience rather,

1. Mindfulness, is essentially a practice in awareness in the present moment towards something. Now, that can mean awareness in whatever - your breathing, your thoughts, your surroundings, your actions but again in that moment in time. This can be a challenge if you’re like me and are always thinking about what is coming, what things you have to get done, etc.

2. Now, additionally, mindfulness is focusing on whatever behavior you are doing, like in the list above, without judgment or nit-picking. Without practice this can also be challenging, and personally, I’ve gotten frustrated with myself by “thinking too much” or not being mentally “quiet” enough. We’re human; I think the only time we’re that “quiet” is when we’re sleeping perhaps, but again the point here is to not judge. Acknowledge and move back to the present.

So, how is it done in practice? How did the mindfulness expert, Dr. Kabat-Zinn, create a mindfulness practice that was later found to impact the lives of so many people, from those with chronic illnesses to those with mismanaged stress?

How-To, specifics:

Dr. Kabat-Zinn interests, methods, clinical practices were very much rooted in bridging Eastern practices with Western medicine as he understood the benefits these practices could have on an individual. Thus, the creation of his Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program.

In Dr. Kabat-Zinn’s 1990 article, he defines the MBSR program as a 8-week program in which sessions are meant to initially train individuals in meditative, emotional, and cognitive self-regulation techniques, and later stress reduction methods such as body scanning and yoga methods. It was a very scaffolded approach in order to properly train and educate individuals in mindfulness practice (i.e., how to fixating ones focus on their activities/behaviors, having present awareness in their activity/behavior, and observing thoughts, emotions, and senses without judgment) and thus get the most benefits. The creation and success of his program led to widespread use in both medical and academic settings, as well as fostered the creation of many other mindfulness practices alike.

Now, we don’t all have 8-weeks to develop a mindfulness program in our daily lives but the mindfulness intervention from the Nisbet, Zelenski, and Grandpierre’s (2019) article has some great bones for you to build your own practice. That article created a 20-minute practice that was broken up into 3 phases.

Phase 1: An introduction or centering of the mind on whatever activity one is doing in that moment. The researchers specified:

• Be curious about the activity, and focus your attention on the process of it.

• While acting, you may repeat the word of said activity to keep you focused. If your attention wanders, just gently bring it back.

Phase 2: An expansion to ones surroundings, specifically:

• Transfer the same attention to some aspect of your surroundings. It can be anything, such as how the breeze feels on your skin, how the water feels in your hands while washing dishes, the kind of sounds you hear, or the scent in the air. They describe this as trying to experience your surroundings as if it is the first time you’ve encountered it.

• Maintain your attention on these experiences, observe it curiously and in detail, but do not judge its qualities. Remain an objective observer.

Phase 3: Just relax your mind.

• Breath deeply and become completely absorbed in the moment. Allow all your senses to take in this experience as a whole without judging its qualities.

Making it your own

Now, the article implemented this mindfulness practice while walking and I’ve practiced this myself during my walk to work in the morning, but you can start this off while doing anything! You don’t have to roll out your yoga mat; you can do a little mindfulness while doing your dishes, laundry, or cooking a meal.

I spent way too long looking for a photo, but even something like coloring can be a great mindfulness exercise!

I did this myself this morning while making oatmeal: Focusing on pouring in my oatmeal and milk into the pot, purposefully observing myself stirring the mixture, feeling the wooden spoon in my hand, the muscles making the action, the smell of the cinnamon as I poured it in and the little cloud it made as it came out… you get the idea.

It wasn’t perfect, but I made sure to leave my phone upstairs charging AND my headphones, and tried to just simply be. I could write up my to-do list later, listent to music or podcasts, etc. after a few moments of silence in the morning.

I also want to add, that in a world that is always moving, bustling, and just stimulating period, it can be difficult to just shut off. But, even just not putting on your headphones can help you start your mindfulness journey - I think that’s how mine started, actually…boh. It created a crack in the constant stimulation I was putting myself through, and it gave me the opportunity to sit, to let my eyes wonder and experience my city as if it was new. I’m definitely not a mindfulness guru, but I do see what Dr. Kabat-Zinn and all the other researcher who followed were emphasizing. We can find not only peace but tranquility in just being in the now.

I know, cheesy, but hey, whatever helps in making me, us, not just happy but content.

Have you tried out some mindfulness practices? Share what it’s like for you and some of your practice’s characteristics!