There is an increasing emphasis on wellness, a state of mental and physical health that is supported by lifestyle choices. One key component of wellness is mindfulness. Here is a quick overview of how mindfulness can contribute to your overall well-being.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a deliberate awareness of the outside world and your inner thoughts and feelings. Instead of rushing through life reacting to exterior events and your emotional state, mindfulness involves pausing and reconnecting with the present moment. This involves becoming aware of your own thoughts and with bodily sensations.

How does mindfulness help wellness?

People are generally subject to a stream of thoughts that seem to take them over and are impossible to escape from. This stream is not always helpful and can lead to feelings of anxiety and helplessness that have a negative impact on physical and mental health. By practising mindfulness, you can observe this stream of mental events and free yourself from its control. Mindfulness also relieves stress by relaxing the mind and experiencing small pleasures that you would otherwise have ignored.

Mindfulness techniques

Mindfulness is very simple — the difficult part is remembering to do it in the first place. The simplest technique is simply to stop for a minute and focus your awareness on the outside world — all the sounds, sights and smells that you would otherwise ignore. This has the effect of pausing the torrent of thoughts that keep you stuck in your head and allowing you to notice things such as birdsong and natural colours that you tend to ignore when you are on autopilot.

You can also try to make small changes in your daily routine, such as walking a different route to work or trying different foods. This can snap you out of your daily habits and make you more aware of what is going on around you.

It is also worthwhile trying to observe your thoughts from outside. Instead of trying to stop them, just watch them go by as if they were mental events that you don't have to get caught up in. Naming or categorising these events can help you to view them objectively rather than allow them to control you.

Regular practising of mindfulness can relieve stress and anxiety and have an enormous effect on your wellness and health. A wellness coach will be able to give you more help on how to increase your mindfulness and your overall wellbeing. Contact a wellness service to learn more.