What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is one’s ability to be fully aware of what they are sensing and feeling in the moment without being judgmental. In other words, it is the awareness of our thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, and the surrounding environment without seeing them as right or wrong.
To practice mindfulness, we must focus on the feelings of the present moment and avoid dwelling on the past or planning the future.
Spending a lot of time thinking about solutions to the problems, planning, daydreaming, and negative thinking may put you under stress. In some cases, it may also result in depression. Practicing mindfulness can help in overcoming stress and anxiety by engaging you with the world around you.
Benefits of Mindfulness Exercises
Mindfulness is helpful in several ways. Some of these are listed below.
- Enhances performance and lessens burnout
- Encourages positive thinking
- Overhauls stress and depression
- Treats high blood pressure and insomnia
- Controls Diabetes, etc.
You can easily manage your thoughts and emotions with poise through mindfulness exercises.
Corporate Mindfulness Meditation Programs
Undeniably, many employees complain of getting burned out due to excessive workload, leading to several health issues. However, organizations are now paying heed to this issue and are making use of several mindfulness programs.
Some meditation institutes offer online mindfulness classes through online platforms such as Zoom and Skype. These corporate mindfulness programs allow the corporations to provide online meditation sessions to their employees at the workplace.
Mindfulness programs enable employees to overcome burnout, build confidence, minimize failure, enhance creativity, and improve communications. Employees have the ease of taking these classes on smartphones, computers, or tablets.
Now, let’s look at the most effective Mindfulness Exercises or activities that help sharpen the mind:
- The Body Scan
The Body Scan meditation entails paying attention to different parts of the body and bodily sensations from feet to shoulders. The first step involves lying down or sitting in a comfortable position.
Next, take deep breaths to let your abdomen expand and contract and then alert your feet by observing the sensations in them. Gently breathe through the pains or soreness and acknowledge the thoughts or emotions associated with them. Breathe into the tension and imagine it leaving the body.
Continue scanning each part of the body in this way, starting from your feet until you reach the top of your head. You will notice the point where you are holding the stress. You will gradually get rid of it by breathing it out of the body. The body scan meditation involves being attentive to the way each area of the body feels.
- Mindful Seeing
Not everyone is born with a good imagination; hence the lack of visual stimulation may be oppressive to some people. Mercree defines mindful seeing as consciously noticing anything in the visual field. These mindfulness exercises require a window with an observant view. Focus your attention on things you can see outside.
Instead of marking or categorizing particular things, try to note the colors, textures, and patterns. Don’t try to be critical but observant. See the world beyond the window from the eyes of someone who has never seen this sight before.
The environment and external stimuli enhance the ability to engage with the information visually and in depth. The practice is for changing your perspective on how you see things. Looking is a deliberate act. But what and how you look at things can all be sources of mindfulness.
- Mindful Listening
Mindful listening is a powerful exercise to strengthen listening skills. It is a way of listening without judging, criticizing, or interrupting others. In other words, it is being mindful of internal thoughts and responses that may obstruct others from interacting with you effectively.
Mindful listening means being fully present at the moment and understanding all the verbal and nonverbal cues. It shows you have fully absorbed the speaker’s message, which makes them feel understood and valued.
You can practice mindful listening by inviting others to share their stories and encouraging them to talk about difficult situations and express something positive.
When practicing alone, take a deep breath and decide whether to accept or reject intrapersonal communication. Be gentle with yourself while engaging in intrapersonal communication, avoid negative self-talk, and focus on optimism.
- Mindful Breaks
Your soul is a complicated thing that needs rest and tranquility. A small break is necessary for the mind and body to continue working efficiently. Undoubtedly, our productivity and the ability to focus decline after a specific time.
Thus, short breaks help sustain the state of mindfulness by giving your brain a chance to reset. You can read life-changing books, water the plants, go for a walk, draw or paint something or even indulge in yoga for a while.
Depending on what provides you calm and peace, you can prefer to do any activity you desire. These small breaks not only improve your productivity but also rejuvenate the brain.
Practicing mindful breaks can be profoundly relaxing and refreshing. It prevents the feeling of burnout, anxiety, and stress. Taking mindful breaks improves the cognitive capabilities of the brain, such as dealing with strong emotions.
The bottom line
If you have trouble focusing, are easily stressed, or can’t relax and let go of negative thoughts, you must work on your mental wellbeing. There are several misconceptions about mindfulness, and people believe it necessitates a lot of hard work. It might not be as simple and easy for beginners, but practicing it will bring the desired outcomes.
Self-care is a trend that, luckily, isn’t going anywhere in the twenty-first century. It is essential to look for a source that can satisfy the needs of the body and soul. Therefore, while you’re trying to become the employee of the month, look after your mental health by incorporating mindfulness exercises.