14. Mindfulness: Find Calm in the Present
Mindfulness offers a gentle reminder to your body and mind to slow in what may be a fast-paced life. Simply, mindfulness practices focus on bringing your attention to the present moment with a feeling of openness and without judgment. It provides a gentle way to reconnect with yourself by simply noticing your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings without directly trying to change them.
Many people may feel like they are in a constant cycle of worrying about the outcome of decisions, past experiences, or the future. Mindfulness helps interrupt this cycle by creating space to ground yourself in the present moment. In moments of anxious thoughts and before emotional overwhelm creeps in, mindfulness teaches you to observe your experiences with enhanced awareness and compassion. Over time, this can lead to improved emotional regulation, reduced stress, and a greater sense of balance and clarity.
Simple Ways to Practice Mindfulness in Daily Life
Mindful Breathing: Focus on your breath. Notice the air as you gently inhale and slowly exhale. When your mind wanders, gently bring it back to focus on your breath with compassion and understanding. For guided support in this practice, we recommend the podcast “The way out is in” by Thich Nhat Hanh.
Grounding Through the Senses: Take a moment to pause and notice your surroundings. What do you see, hear, feel, smell, and taste in the present moment. This can be especially helpful during moments of stress or anxiety by making you feel grounded in the here and now.
Mindful Moments in Routine Activities: Choose an everyday activity such as drinking your morning coffee, walking, or washing dishes, and focus your attention on it. Notice the feelings, movements, and experience without rushing through it.
Name What You Feel: When difficult emotions appear, try to gently name them (i.e., “I am noticing anxiety like butterflies in my stomach”). This can create gentle space between you and the difficult emotion, making it feel more manageable.
Mindfulness is a skill that can develop over time through small, consistent practices. If you’ve been feeling stuck in a cycle of stress, anxiety, or emotional overwhelm, mindfulness can offer a supportive space, moment, or pause to ground yourself.
Learning Mindfulness in Therapy
In therapy, mindfulness is often integrated into evidence-based approaches to support healing and growth. These approaches don’t aim to eliminate difficult thoughts or feelings but rather help you relate to them in a new way that feels less overwhelming and more manageable. One approach is Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) which integrates mindfulness and cognitive behaviours strategies to build awareness towards unhelpful thought patterns. This may be helpful if you are struggling with negative thought cycles or rumination. You don’t need any prior experience to begin, just a willingness to show up as you are.