Is mindfulness just an overused buzzword? Or is there solid evidence behind it? To mark International Self-Care Day, and Mindfulness Month, Sarah Lang shares how she cultivated mindfulness – and what it actually even is.
I’m one of the least woo-woo people I know. Astrology? Nope. Crystals? Nope. And when it comes to health practitioners and health treatments, I always look into what is backed up by scientific evidence – and there’s a lot out there that isn’t. You can waste money and time trying things that have been shown by science not to work. That’s my take, anyway.
So when I first heard about ‘mindfulness’, I thought it sounded wishy-washy. Was it something monks and hippies did? Was it about counting your breaths? Chanting? Surely it didn’t actually work.
But the person who suggested it said ‘what do you have to lose by trying it?’ A fair point. So I looked into it, learning – to my surprise – that that there is indeed solid science behind it. And the practice helped me.
So, to mark Mindfulness Month – run by the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand and The Kindness Institute – I thought I’d share what I’ve learned about mindfulness.
First, you might ask: what is mindfulness exactly? Essentially, it’s a frame or state of mind that you actively cultivate. It’s defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “the practice of maintaining a non-judgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis”. So, you might concentrate on what you can see, hear, smell, touch or taste.
The Mental Health Foundation of NZ says “the ability to be mindful varies between people and within individuals”. But wherever you are on that spectrum, mindfulness can help. “Research suggests that when we intentionally practise being mindful, we feel less stressed, anxious and depressed, and more balanced and in tune with what is happening inside and outside of our bodies.”
It’s not about ignoring negative thoughts and emotions – that gives them more power. It’s about learning to let them come and go, without getting overly caught up in them. So I might say, ‘hi anxiety, you’re welcome to stay for a bit but I’ll be cooking dinner in the meantime’.
Where does meditation come in?
‘Mindfulness meditation’ is simply a practice that cultivates mindfulness. Basically, what you do with your eyes shut can help later when your eyes are open.
For beginners, guided audio meditations are best. You sit down, close your eyes, focus your attention on taking slow, deep breaths – and follow the instructions of your ‘guide’. Try different audio tracks to find out who suits you. I found Bruno Cayoun’s French accent full-on, preferring Jon Kabat-Zinn’s soothing voice.
Some tracks simply involve deep breathing, while others involve body scans (focusing on the sensations in one part of the body at a time) and others involve progressive muscle relaxation (you clench and unclench different muscles).
A common misconception – one I initially had – is that mindfulness meditation is about turning off your thoughts. It isn’t. That won’t work. When your mind wanders – and it will – the idea is to recognise thoughts, emotions and sensations in a non-judgmental way. You learn to notice them but not to feed them, returning your attention to the breath and the present moment.
A tip for high achievers: don’t try too hard. When I stopped thinking about whether it was working and just went with it, the process got easier and stopped feeling like a chore. Just 10 minutes a day for eight weeks can make a difference. The more you do it, the easier it gets and the longer you can go.
The science?
Mindfulness is actually derived from a 3000-year-old Buddhist practice known as Sati: a spiritual awareness commonly translated as ‘to remember to observe’. After studying with Buddhist teachers, scientist Jon Kabat-Zinn integrated their practices with scientific principles and, in 1979, founded the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MSBR) program – and later the Center for Mindfulness for Medicine, Health Care and Society – at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The MSBR programme is now offered around the world, in many healthcare settings.
A meta-analysis of systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials (the gold standard of scientific research) shows that mindfulness-meditation programs alleviate symptoms in many mental and physical conditions. Between them, more than 2000 studies have found that mindfulness meditation has significant benefits from reducing stress, anxiety, pain and depression to improving sleep.
One trial found mindfulness meditation can physically change the brain, showing decreased grey-matter density in the amygdala (where anxiety and fear arise) and increased grey-matter density in the hippocampus (important for learning, memory, and compassion).
Where to start?
It may sound ironic to use an app to help switch off, but Headspace is an excellent gym for the mind – and, like many gyms, it offers a free trial, called Take 10. Each day for 10 days, you listen to a 10-minute audio file of a guided mindfulness meditation. Afterwards, you can sign up to Headspace’s monthly or annual paid programs, and move onto different levels or themes (such as sleep or anxiety), and access one-off tracks for specific situations (such as when you’re panicking, going for a run, or making dinner).
Some other suggestions:
- Watch Headspace founder Andy Puddicombe’s TED Talk ‘All It Takes Is 10 Mindful Minutes’
- Listen to Jon Kabat-Zinn and Bruno Cayoun on YouTube before deciding whether to download their audio tracks
- Download free audio files at calm.auckland.ac.nz
- Mindfulness Works offers introductory courses in 17 centres nationwide, and online courses
- Read the Mental Health Foundation’s resource ‘How to be more mindful’
Now, I don’t do mindfulness meditation as often as I used to, but it’s there when I need it. And I’m more ‘mindful’ in my everyday life: calmer, more present, and more accepting of whatever the day brings my way.
Happy Mindfulness Month.