Discovering Mindfulness: a practice for feeling good about yourself

26 February 20246 January 2024 by clemente.ferrara

The concept of Mindfulness is aimed at identifying a set of practices useful for rediscovering and increasing awareness of one’s own experience and feelings, both physical and mental, with the aim of reducing the psycho-physical, relational and emotional stress of our existence. The idea behind the Mindfulness methodology is to approach life, one’s feelings, perceptions and thoughts without any judgment, but with a calm and gentle attitude.

The MBSR ( Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) method originated in the late 1970s at the University of Massachusetts from the mind and experience of Jon Kabat-Zinn. The training practices, both physical and mental, proposed by Kabat-Zinn were effective right away against chronic pain, anxiety, depression, psychosomatic illnesses, and even eating disorders. The MBSR program involves an 8-week-long training cycle that encompasses various activities in order to increase and achieve full awareness of one’s body and mind for one’s mental and physical well-being.

The various activities are highly participatory, supportive and are structured according to the guidance of a conductor, some of them carried out in groups with specific communication exercises. The “Mindfulness Tools“, the name by which we denote the residential training days that enable participants to approach the practice of the MBSR method, are many and varied in nature. Very important are those on meditation, aimed initially at attention on one’s breath to the sensations coming from every part of our body and mind, but also those on Yoga, the exercises on walking and even those aimed at awareness in eating. We will, over the course of the various articles on our portal, go through them in detail one by one.

Meditation exercises

The meditation exercise should be done for about 20 to 30 minutes for at least once or twice a day. You need to sit in a comfortable position and remain as still as possible with your back erect and head straight, and focus on these points:

Be aware of the inhalation and exhalation
Be aware of each sensation in different parts of the body
Be aware of the body as a whole
Listen to the silence and sounds
Observe thoughts and emotions as they move in and out of your awareness, but do not allow yourself to be distracted by their contents
When you notice that your mint is wandering among various thoughts and feelings, gently bring it back to being attentive to the present moment

Underlying this phase of meditation must be a nonjudgmental attitude toward life, meaning that the mind should not be allowed to wander on its own toward the things it likes, avoiding those that cause it pain. Meditation is an effortless awareness of the totality of life, of each individual aspect; it represents concentration on the present you are living. By performing this exercise consistently and attentively at least once a day, we are able to strengthen our sense of balance, being able to counter emotional upsets and positive/negative feelings in our lives, and to approach our daily activities and relationships with others in a relaxed and balanced way.

Mindful eating

Another area in which the practice of Mindfulness is practiced concerns, as already anticipated, the field of nutrition. This is one of the areas in which the Mindfulness approach takes on fundamental importance for the mental and physical well-being of the individual. The Mindfulness approach applied to the field of nutrition involves eating more mindfully and somewhat more slowly than usual. As an experiment, to begin with, you can try eating at least one meal a week in absolute silence, focusing essentially on the act of pure and simple eating. Very important also would be to eat with the TV off and without paying attention to smartphones and other sources of distraction (radio, books…). These behaviors will help make you more sensitive to the way you eat and, more importantly, make you put your attention on what you actually choose to eat. Of course, you need to pay attention not only to what you decide to eat but also to the people who will take part in the meal with you, and to your surroundings.

With this in mind, it appears to be of great help to ask ourselves questions before consuming the meal, to try to understand what motivates us to eat at that precise moment. For example:

Am I eating to nourish my body and keep it properly healthy?
Am I eating to satisfy the desire for pleasurable sensations?
Am I aware of where the food I am eating comes from?
Is it a natural food or is it treated with preservatives and other substances novice to the body?

Mindfulness and nutrition: mindful eating

26 February 20246 January 2024 by clemente.ferrara

The practice of Mindfulness, which is becoming increasingly popular among individuals who want to achieve a state of both physical and mental well-being for their bodies, represents a particular approach to life, whereby the main component of our existence is mindfulness. Being aware and conscious of every single action we experience in our daily lives, paying attention to the events that happen to us, the environment around us and even every single part of our body. This approach must affect the various areas of our living, whether when we are at work, when we study, when we play sports, but also during a simple walk or, more importantly, when we eat.

For what reason do we eat ?

It is well known that some of the diseases that affect our bodies are due in large part to our eating habits. In fact, many diseases arise from poor, if not bad, nutrition, which has a very negative effect on the health status of our bodies. According to the Mindfulness approach you should pay more attention to the quantity but especially the quality of the food you ingest. It can be helpful to ask questions before approaching each meal such as:

Am I eating to nourish my body and keep it properly healthy?
Am I eating to satisfy the desire for pleasurable sensations?
Am I aware of where the food I am eating comes from?
Is it a natural food or is it treated with preservatives and other substances novice to the body?

These are just some of the questions that it would be appropriate to ask oneself before even starting the meal, but the list of questions could continue for a long time and also move to the psychological level (do I eat because I am really hungry or out of anger/anxiety/frustration ?).

Mindful eating

The Mindfulness approach applied to the field of nutrition involves eating more mindfully and somewhat more slowly than usual. As an experiment, to begin with, you can try eating at least one meal a week in absolute silence, focusing essentially on the act of pure and simple eating. Very important also would be to eat with the TV off and without paying attention to smartphones and other sources of distraction (radio, books…). These behaviors will help make you more sensitive to the way you eat and, more importantly, make you put your attention on what you actually choose to eat. Of course, you need to pay attention not only to what you decide to eat but also to the people who will take part in the meal with you, and to your surroundings.

Mindfulness and walking: an exercise for mind and body

26 February 20246 January 2024 by clemente.ferrara

Mindfulness

Over the course of various articles on our portal, we have repeatedly discussed the topic of approaching life.

As many of you may have learned from reading previous articles, this is a series of practices (some of which we have already analyzed such as Meditation and Body Scan) that aim to increase our awareness of what we are doing. These are exercises that improve concentration on the activities we do on a daily basis, which we now almost always ignore and do too sufficently (eating, walking, resting) letting ourselves be disturbed and distracted by external worries and thoughts that do not allow us to fully comprehend what we are experiencing at that moment. And that is precisely the ultimate goal of the Mindfulness methodology: to make us aware of our present! Ignoring the distractions, bad thoughts, judgments and worries that make our minds wander beyond the present time. One of the exercises that , besides providing physical well-being, can also prove to be a boon for the mind is mindful walking.

Mindful walking

A simple walk, however good it may be for our bodies, is very often accompanied (especially if we are alone) by negative thoughts, worries and restless moods that almost always refer back to problems in our daily lives. Such an attitude goes on to inhibit many positive feelings that could arise from a walk taken with a mind free of worries, fully in tune with the Mindfulness approach. The mindful walking exercise teaches us precisely how to avoid these unpleasant situations and walk with greater awareness.

It will be helpful to take the opportunity from time to time while you are walking to simply slow your pace slightly and remind yourself, “I am here, complete right now.” Pay attention to the way your body moves as you walk, pay attention to every single movement of your feet, legs, torso, right down to the movements of your head. Very important also is to have an open view around you, focusing on where you are and your surroundings.

This exercise should be coupled with awareness of your breath, which is very important during the walk. Try to exercise as often as you can during your day: on your way to work, on your way up the stairs, or when you are waiting to meet someone. This is a practice that, if done with some consistency, will not only make your walks much healthier and more relaxing but will greatly increase your awareness of yourself, your body and your surroundings.

Mindfulness and Yoga: an exercise for physical and mental well-being

14 November 20246 January 2024 by clemente.ferrara

The concept of Mindfulness has already been extensively analyzed and covered in previous articles on our portal. In general, it will suffice for us to mention here that the practice of Mindfulness indicates a whole range of activities aimed at achieving physical and mental well-being. It is an approach to life in which the concepts of mindfulness and awareness of one’s existence are brought to the forefront, an analysis aimed at analyzing all the moments of our daily life, avoiding distractions and misleading thoughts that can divert our attention from what we are doing ( whether it is actual exercise or more common practices such as a walk, a meal and even breathing). One of the exercises in the Mindfulness program, and one that plays a role of great importance, is certainly Yoga.

Yoga and the body

Yoga is undoubtedly an activity that has become widely popular throughout the world in the past decade and has immediately attracted the interest of many individuals of all age groups and genders. It is a series of physical exercises designed to bring the individual to a state of profound physical and mental well-being (literally the word yoga means precisely union of body and mind). Regarding the first aspect, Yoga is most useful for improving the elasticity of our body’s muscles and joints; in addition, the stretching of muscles that is accomplished during the practice, combined with breathing, promotes oxygenation of the body, facilitating the elimination of toxins.

Yoga and the mind

As mentioned in the previous passage, yoga is a practice that also aims at the well-being of our mind. Through the attention that it is necessary to apply while performing the exercises in the various postures, yoga allows for increased concentration and is also instrumental in increasing awareness, a very important element in interrupting, or at least diminishing, the effects of that vicious cycle in which we all live and which culminates in the stress.

Just as in the practice of Mindfulness, attention also plays a key role in yoga. Throughout the performance of the exercises, in fact, attention must be paid to each and every movement of the body and also and especially to breathing, a fundamental component of yoga. According to the Mindfulness approach, the ideal would be to do 20 to 45 minutes of exercise a day, every day, varying the sequences so as to cover the full range of exercises within a week.

Eight tips to combat stress

25 February 20246 January 2024 by clemente.ferrara

We live in a world that constantly puts us under stress! Work, study, family problems, sports, now everything is a cause for stress if we are unable to organize the various activities throughout our daily routine. Even a summer vacation, if not thought out in detail, can be a cause of mental and physical stress on our bodies. How then to find an escape route to this oppressive condition ? Again, the practice of Mindfulness plays in our favor, describing the 8 tips to combat stress. Let’s see together what they are.

Tips for combating stress

1 – Be aware of all the signs (physical, emotional and mental ) that indicate to you that a particular situation or event is stressful. Try to react rationally and calmly rather than impulsively to what happens to you.

2 – Remember as much as possible throughout the day that you are a complete, infinite being, losing nothing by allowing your sensitivity and love to express itself.

3 – Pay attention to the feelings, whether negative or positive, that you are experiencing in a stressful situation. When they are present be aware of what your behavior is in response to them and judge whether it is an appropriate reaction or not, keeping in mind the consequences of your actions.

4 – Pay attention to how much your feelings and moods affect the way you feel physically at that moment. Reason about your body movements, how you drink, how you eat, and how you appear in the eyes of others.

5 – Notice whether your mind turns its thoughts to memories of the past or, on the contrary, projects itself into anticipations of the future, and how much this all revolves around the I, ME and MINE. Is all this necessary ? Does it cause you pain ? Wouldn’t it be better to take your mind off these thoughts ?

6 – Be more aware of the present moment, focus your attention, especially through the use of breathing, on what you are experiencing at this very moment. Reflect on the here and now, without letting your mind digress too much into thoughts and memories that may increase the uncomfortable situation resulting from stress.

7 – Be aware of every feeling that arises from your body, whether positive or negative ( fear, anger, jealousy, laziness, joy, security, calmness, etc.).

8 – Imagine that your life was coming to an end at this moment, how would you like your mind to be at this moment ? You can think about what to do practically to make your intention come true consistently, in everyday life.

Mindfulness and Body Scan: getting in touch with your body

24 February 20246 January 2024 by clemente.ferrara

Once again we find ourselves paying attention to the concept of Mindfulness, already discussed at length in another article in our portal. With the term Mindfulness one indicates a whole series of practices aimed at increasing the awareness of ourselves, our bodies and our existence, paying special attention to each and every one of our actions, to the present we are living, not letting ourselves be carried away by thoughts and feelings beyond the present moment. The exercises included in the Mindfulness program are many and varied in nature, and we will try, over the course of the next few articles, to examine them all in detail. After a first step focused on pure and simple meditation, here we will focus on another aspect of the Mindfulness methodology: the Body Scan.

Body Scan

This exercise, to be carried out at least once a day if one has the opportunity and the material time to do so, consists of a very special meditative phase, during which our attention is to be directed to all the individual parts of our body, taken individually and at different times, in order to create a close connection between our inner sense and our body, and to carry out a true “scanning” of each and every part of us. Of course, Body Scan is applied for healing purposes as part of the MBSR“Mindfulness-based stress reduction” program.

From a practical point of view, Body Scan exercise is recommended at least once a day for a duration (at best) of about 40-45 min. Particularly important throughout the exercise is the attention that must be given to the breath, which must accompany us from the beginning to the end of the exercise. As well as on the breath, our attention should be directed hand in hand to all parts of the body, starting from the toes, continuing through the knees, legs, chest, all the way to our heart and head, focusing both on the muscles, bones, joints but also and especially on our internal organs (heart, lungs, stomach, brain, etc.).

As specified earlier, the key thing to keep in mind throughout the exercise lies in the fact that any other feelings from outside (thoughts, emotions, disturbances) whether positive or negative must be ignored, and we need to turn our attention solely and exclusively to the meditation exercise that is taking place in the present moment, so as to achieve a state of balance that is fundamental to decreasing the distance between our mind and our body.