By Jason Wu, Ph.D.
Mindfulness has recently been co-opted by large corporations and businesses who enjoy the side effects of mindfulness (e.g. increased productivity and resilience in their employees), but the root of mindfulness comes from thousands of years of meditative practices that have existed in various cultures all around the world.
For starters, mindfulness can be defined as the act of staying present and being in the moment. It does not always have to be sitting with your legs crossed and your eyes closed. It can be being mindful of the sun on your skin while you walk, and being aware of the feeling of the ground underneath your feet as you take one step at a time.
So why is mindfulness helpful?
Well for one, oftentimes we ruminate on past events that have already happened, and this causes us to feel sad, regretful, guilty, etc. Or we get focused on the future and think about all the things we have to do, things that might go wrong, a stressful meeting that can make or break our career, etc., which causes us to feel worried, anxious, tense, and scared.
Mindfulness focuses on the present, and so by practicing mindfulness, we can learn to stay in the here and now, which is the only time that we can actually create change. In doing so, we let go of the idea of how we wish things were and we come to accept how things are now – which then gives us the freedom to make choices about the most effective thing to do in the present.
I know it might sound complicated, but it doesn’t have to be – it just takes practice. Mindfulness is not an ability, it is a skill that has to be cultivated through practice. Think of it as a muscle that you are working out – the more you work on it, the better you can use it later.
Here are some ways to get into a mindfulness practice:
- Insight Timer app – I love this app because it also shows who else is practicing at the same I do, which makes my practice feel strangely social – and it’s nice to know that I am connected to others. It also has a ton of guided meditations at all skill levels and for various topics (compassion, stress, sleep) to help you get started.
- “The Mindfulness Workbook” book – Helps define mindfulness as well as offer a lot of guided exercises (and ways to troubleshoot your practice
- “Peace is Every Step” book – Thich Nhat Hanh is a world-renowned Buddhist peace activist (he was actually chummy with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) and his book teaches you how to incorporate mindfulness into your daily life
- YouTube – There are so many mindfulness videos on YouTube that it’s hard to even know which ones to use! Here’s one for starters: