Mindfulness means paying conscious attention to the experience of the present with interest, curiosity and acceptance.While meditation seeks to achieve a centralized state of attention in a thought, a feeling, an object or some element of sensory perception to free the mind from harmful thoughts, the mindfulness proposes to attend to the present moment without judging it.
Of Buddhist origin, mindfulness was popularized in the West in the 70s by Jon Kabat-Zinn , professor of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts, who began to apply it in a therapeutic way to patients with physical and psychological problems, chronic pain or stress.
This practice has a pragmatic approach and is disconnected from religious beliefs or concrete philosophies of life and is proposed as a tool to improve people’s quality of life.
How to practice mindfulness
Seeks to achieve a deep state of consciousness during the sessions. For this, specific techniques are used that aim to make the conscience relax and not make judgments of sensations, feelings or thoughts.
Its objective is to separate the person from his thoughts so that he recognizes them and can doubt the mental patterns. A fundamental weight is given to the “here and now” through full attention to the present moment.
Benefits
- Practicing half an hour a day of mindfulness relieves symptoms of depression or anxiety, according to research published in the “Journal of Internal Medicine”
- Improves memory, ability to concentrate, self-awareness and emotional intelligence
- It brings calm and serenity
- It is associated with the improvement in creativity and in the perception of loneliness in the case of the elderly
- Help you sleep better at night
you should know that…
- It is beneficial if performed under a correct training guideline
- It is not harmless in all cases, because those who suffer a deep personal crisis such as a duel or a serious depressive state can use mindfulness as a preventive measure, as a punctual strategy within a much higher therapy, but not as a treatment
- Must be voluntary, not imposed
