# data[].attributes.body
Introduction- Mindfulness is a path to becoming more self aware. There are three parts to becoming more self aware.

1.    Awareness of stresses in your life

2.    Awareness of triggers

3.    Awareness of what brings you calm
In order to better navigate the relative chaos of the world around us we need to be honest with ourselves. A good way to start this process is to understand the stress we carry in our lives. We must recognize that our stress is equal to the stress that others feel. Many factors contribute to our stress levels, family, work, daily commute, health, money etc. We live with these stresses everyday. what makes them so much harder to handle on some days and not others? There is no right answer for this, but it is usually when a few of them flare up at the same time we have a more challenging time dealing with them.
Triggers are events that make us more aware of our stresses or when one of our stresses becomes intensified. Unexpected expenses like car repairs, or a family member becoming ill are common triggers that make us more aware of the stress in our life. A supervisor asking us to work late could be enough to trigger anxiety or anger. Practicing mindfulness can help to make these events a little easier to accept.

A sense of calm can help you push through a difficult situation. Creating a list of practices you can use in different situations will help to make the situation bearable. In your list there be sure to have ways of practicing mindfulness in a variety of situations.

# data[].attributes.body
*Count to 10 – slowly count to 10, do it a few times if you need to.

*Monitored breathing – deep breathing on a count of 4. Inhale counting to 4, exhale counting to four, repeat.

*Affirmations – be kind to yourself. Remind yourself that you are fabulous, and you are doing the best you can at that moment. *Make a plan for a longer mindfulness practice in the next few days.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10-Minute Meditation For Beginners | Goodful

# data[].attributes.body
*Desk stretches- while sitting at your desk stretch you arms and shoulder areas. We hold a lot of tension in our neck and back area.

*Doodle- colour or doodle. It is very soothing and don’t worry about staying in the lines.

*Musical intervention- listen to some favourite songs, sing along and have fun with it.

*15 minute walk- walk around your workplace, get outside if possible.

*Dancing- dance like nobody is watching you. You can achieve this sitting or standing.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Take time for yourself as a creative activity to enjoy with your children with beautiful free printable mindfulness colouring pages for adults and kids. These free colouring pages are perfect for being in the moment and disconnecting from your busy day for a while.

These free mindful colouring for kids and adults are one of our favourite ways to take a relaxing tech break at home!

What Is Mindfulness

Mindfulness is an effective stress reduction method that focuses on being fully engaged and present in what you are doing.

Just as meditation does, mindfulness allows us to be aware of how we are feeling and what we are thinking, without becoming engaged in those emotions.

While mindfulness doesn't eliminate stress completely, it does encourage you to process your thoughts and feelings in a more calm and productive manner.

Mindful activities are ones that help us to be distraction-free and focused on the moment.

In the busy lives we lead these days, it is extremely therapeutic for adults and children to practice mindfulness activities on a regular basis.
Colouring in just happens to be a brilliant mindfulness activity!
Why Colouring Is Good For Mindfulness

We all know how good it feels to sit down and colour in. Whether it's a mandala, a geometric pattern or a scene from our favourite book, there's something about the act of colouring that can be truly therapeutic.

But did you know that there's actually science to back up the claim that colouring is good for you?

Studies have shown that colouring can help to reduce stress and anxiety.

For children, it also improves fine motor skills and coordination, helps to prepare them for school, improves confidence and self-esteem and develops creativity and self-expression.

So if you love colouring, the simple act of doing so regularly is worth adding to your regular self-care routine!

Colouring Pages For Practicing Mindfulness

The perfect mindfulness colouring sheets are those with intricate details, as they encourage us to focus carefully on what we are doing, thus becoming mindful of our actions.

This collection of printable mindfulness coloring pages will give you the chance to enjoy a creative break on your own or with family and friends.

Free Printable Colouring Pages For Adults

Don't underestimate the power of colouring in as an adult!

These free printable colouring in pages for adults will allow you a chance to disconnect from your busy day and spend some time focused, so you can let go of some of the stress you are holding onto.

Best of all, these beautiful colouring pages are a perfect way to enjoy a creativity break too!
Make sure you also check out these Christmas colouring sheets and Easter colouring pages too!

13 Printable Mindful Sheets from Diary of a Journal Planner

This complete the drawing mandala colouring sheet can be found at Kiddy Charts.

Anti Stress quote colouring pages from Planes & Balloons

Colour your own printable bookmarks from Real Life At Home

Mermaid colouring pages from Red Ted Art

4 free colouring pages for adults from Midlife Healthy Living

Dreams matter colouring for grown-ups sheets from Red Ted Art

Printable Star Wars colouring page from Coloring Home

Free adult colouring pages from Art-Is-Fun

Inspirational colouring pages from In The Playroom

Quote colouring pages from Sum of Their Stories

Strawberry sugar skull printable from Natashalh

Floral colouring sheets from Gathering Beauty

Binder cover colouring pages from Divine Lifestyle

A-Z Printable monogram colouring pages from My Printable Home
Free Printable Colouring Pages For Kids

These free printable colouring pages for kids range from simple colouring printables of their favourite characters to inspiring quotes and sentiments to help them practice mindful colouring no matter their age.

Toy Story 4 Forky feelings colouring pages from Simple Everyday Mom

Love This Life printable page from Your Therapy Source

Flip Flop Colouring page from Real Life At Home

Hello cards for kids from Crafts On Sea

Toy Story 4 colouring pages from Made With Happy

Unicorn colouring pages from Natural Beach Living
Mindfulness Colouring Books

If you would rather not print your own colouring pages, there are some incredible mindfulness colouring books available that will keep you busy for hours on end.
Here are some of my favourites:
Other Mindfulness Activities to Try

There are many other creative activities that will help you practice mindfulness and to help keep kids busy at home. These are suited to children and adults and are a lot of fun, all while helping you to disconnect and reflect:
What mindfulness activities do you enjoy doing at home on your own or with your kids?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
70+ Printable Mindfulness Colouring Pages For Adults & Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Get creative with beautiful free printable mindfulness colouring pages for adults and kids. These free colouring pages are perfect for being in the moment.

# data[].attributes.body
*Be Artistic- create art in your favourite way. Draw, paint, knit, sing or write. Art allows you to express yourself without traditional structures.
*Get outside – plan a long walk around your neighbourhood. This does not need to be at a fast pace. *Exercise – hiking, jogging, sports, swimming. Whatever your preferred method to be active is, do it.
*Yoga – find a yoga studio or a video online. There is something for every level and style preference.
*Meditation – take some time to research a style of meditation that will work for you. There are many free videos available on YouTube.

*Be with people you love- they are the best people.

# data[].attributes.body
Time is not always available for a lengthy mindfulness activity. Close your eyes and count to 10. It helps in a pinch.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Illustration by Kathleen M.G. Howlett

Second of two parts
On a cold winter evening, six women and two men sat in silence in an office near Harvard Square, practicing mindfulness meditation.

Sitting upright, eyes closed, palms resting on their laps, feet flat on the floor, they listened as course instructor Suzanne Westbrook guided them to focus on the present by paying attention to their bodily sensations, thoughts, emotions, and especially their breath.

"Our mind wanders all the time, either reviewing the past or planning for the future," said Westbrook, who before retiring last June was an internal-medicine doctor caring for Harvard students. "Mindfulness teaches you the skill of paying attention to the present by noticing when your mind wanders off. Come back to your breath. It's a place where we can rest and settle our minds."

The class she taught was part of an eight-week program aimed at reducing stress.

Studies say that eight in 10 Americans experience stress in their daily lives and have a hard time relaxing their bodies and calming their minds, which puts them at high risk of heart disease, stroke, and other illnesses. Of the myriad offerings aimed at fighting stress, from exercise to yoga to meditation, mindfulness meditation has become the hottest commodity in the wellness universe.

Modeled after the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program created in 1979 by Jon Kabat-Zinn to help counter stress, chronic pain, and other ailments, mindfulness courses these days can be found in venues ranging from schools to prisons to sports teams. Even the U.S. Army recently adopted it to "improve military resilience."

Harvard offers several mindfulness and meditation classes, including a spring break retreat held in March for students through the Center for Wellness and Health Promotion. The Office of Work/Life offers programs to managers and staff, as well as weekly drop-in meditation sessions on campus, online guided meditation resources, and even a meditation phone line, 4-CALM (at 617.384.2256).

"We were tasked to find ways for the community to cope with stress. And at the same time, so much research was coming out on the benefits of mindfulness and meditation," said Jeanne Mahon, director of the wellness center. "We keep offering mindfulness and meditation because of the feedback. People appreciate to have the chance for self-reflection and learn about new ways to be in relationships with themselves."

More than 750 students have participated in mindfulness and meditation programs since 2012, said Mahon.

Part of mindfulness' appeal lies in the fact that it's secular. Buddhist monks have used mindfulness exercises as forms of meditation for more than 2,600 years, seeing them as one of the paths to enlightenment. But in the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program, mindfulness is stripped of religious undertones.

Mindfulness' popularity has been bolstered by a growing body of research showing that it reduces stress and anxiety, improves attention and memory, and promotes self-regulation and empathy. A few years ago, a study by Sara Lazar, a neuroscientist and assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and assistant researcher in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, was the first to document that mindfulness meditation can change the brain's gray matter and brain regions linked with memory, the sense of self, and regulation of emotions. New research by Benjamin Shapero and Gaëlle Desbordes is exploring how mindfulness can help depression.

The pioneer of scientific research on meditation, Herbert Benson, extolled its benefits on the human body - reduced blood pressure, heart rate, and brain activity - as early as 1975. He helped demystify meditation by calling it the "relaxation response." Benson is director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Mind/Body Medicine Distinguished Professor of Medicine at HMS.

In the 1980s, mindfulness had yet to become a buzzword, recalls Paul Fulton, a clinical psychologist who has practiced Zen and insight meditation (vipassana) for more than 40 years. In the mid-1980s, when he was working on his doctoral dissertation on the nature of "self" among Buddhist monks, speaking of mindfulness in a medical context among scientists was "disreputable," he recalled.

"Gradually because of the research, it became chic, no longer disreputable," said Fulton, a lecturer in psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at HMS and co-founder of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy. "And now you can't step a foot out of the house without being barraged by mindfulness."

Melanie Denham, head coach of Harvard women's rugby team, recently attended a mindfulness workshop, intrigued by the idea of incorporating the techniques into her players' training regimen to help them cope with the pressures of "expectation and performance."

"In and out of the classroom, these student-athletes are immersed in a highly competitive culture," said Denham. "This is stressful. This kind of training can develop a more-skillful mind and a sense of focus and well-being that can help them better maintain control and awareness of their thoughts, emotions, and presence in the moment."

The growing interest in the field is reflected in Harvard's course catalog. This spring, Lazar is teaching "Cognitive Neuroscience of Meditation," Ezer Vierba leads an expository freshmen writing course on "Buddhism, Mindfulness, and the Practical Mind," and Metta McGarvey teaches "Mindfulness for Educators" at the Graduate School of Education.

Due to high demand, McGarvey, who holds a doctorate in human development and psychology, teaches a three-day workshop for educators. It offers tools to enhance their work and their focus through breathing practices and self-compassion exercises.

Mindfulness meditation made easy

Settle in

Find a quiet space. Using a cushion or chair, sit up straight but not stiff; allow your head and shoulders to rest comfortably; place your hands on the tops of your legs with upper arms at your side.

Now breathe

Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and relax. Feel the fall and rise of your chest and the expansion and contraction of your belly. With each breath notice the coolness as it enters and the warmth as it exits. Don't control the breath but follow its natural flow.

Stay focused

Thoughts will try to pull your attention away from the breath. Notice them, but don't pass judgment. Gently return your focus to your breath. Some people count their breaths as a way to stay focused.

Take 10

A daily practice will provide the most benefits. It can be 10 minutes per day, however, 20 minutes twice a day is often recommended for maximum benefit.

"A lot of them are working in really tough environments, with all kinds of pressures," said McGarvey. "The rates of burnout in some of the more challenging environments are very high."

Ayesha Hood, a police officer from Baltimore who is interested in running a day care center, attended McGarvey's workshop last fall, and found it helpful. "As a police officer, I live in high stress, and as a public servant, I tend to neglect myself," she said. "I want to calm myself and be conscious about it."

Christine O'Shaughnessy, a former investment bank executive who lead workshops at Harvard, said, "All day we're bombarded with social media, colleagues, work, children, etc. We don't have time to spend it in quiet reflection. But if you practice it at least once a day, you'll have a better day."

To skeptics who still view mindfulness as hippie-dippy poppycock, O'Shaughnessy has four words: "Give it a try." When she first signed up for a mindfulness workshop in 1999, she said she was skeptical too. But once she realized she was becoming calmer and less stressed, she converted. She eventually quit her job and became a mindfulness instructor. (She recently launched a free meditation app.)

"Doing mindfulness is like a fitness routine for your brain," she said. "It keeps your brain healthy."

Mindfulness practitioners admit the practice can offer challenges. It requires consistency because its effects can be better felt over time, and discipline to train the wandering mind to keep coming back to the present, without judgment. A 2014 study said that many people would rather apply electroshocks to themselves than be alone with their thoughts. Another study showed that most people find it hard to focus on the present and that the mind's wandering can lead to stress and even suffering.

Related

Despite the rising acceptance of mindfulness, many people still think the practice involves emptying their minds, taking mini-naps, or going into trances. Beginners often fall asleep, feel uncomfortable, struggle with difficult thoughts or emotions, and become bored or distracted. Adepts recommend practicing the process in a group with an instructor.

After the training session led by Westbrook, one participant said she couldn't stop thinking about what was for dinner during the meditation practice; others nodded in agreement. Westbrook reassured her, saying that mindfulness is not about stopping thoughts or emotions, but instead about noticing them without judgment. Mindfulness builds resilience and awareness to help people learn how to ride life's ups and downs and live happier and healthier lives, said Westbrook, who, after helping heal the bodies of thousands of patients in 36 years as a doctor, plans to devote her second career to caring for people's spirits and souls, maybe as a chaplain.

"Mindfulness is not about being positive all the time or a bubblegum sort of happiness - la, la, la," she said. "It's about noticing what happens moment to moment, the easy and the difficult, and the painful and the joyful. It's about building a muscle to be present and awake in your life."

For more information about the Mindfulness & Meditation program at Harvard University, visit its website. For a list of spring courses for Harvard faculty and staff, visit the Mindfulness at Work Program website.

Health & Medicine

Health & Medicine

Harvard file photos

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Less stress, clearer thoughts with mindfulness meditation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Rooted in Buddhism, mindfulness meditation has developed a prominent perch in the self-help movement. Its popularity has been fueled by research that indicates mindfulness often reduces stress and promotes emotional well-being.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
There's no shortage of mindfulness and meditation apps these days, promising to help you combat anxiety, sleep better, hone your focus, and more. In fact, the Wall Street Journal reports that more than 2,000 new meditation apps launched between 2015 and 2018, and offerings have only increased as a result of higher demand during the pandemic-according to the New York Times, mindfulness apps surged in 2020. We took the overwhelm out of finding the most valuable and easy-to-use meditation apps that are available free and narrowed it down to these four apps.

4 Free Meditation Apps We're Happy We Downloaded

Available for iOS, Android, and web

Entry price: Free

Insight Timer has a huge library of content: over 80,000 free guided meditations from over 10,000 teachers on topics like stress, relationships, healing, sleep, creativity, and more.

Right from the beginning, the app feels like a global community-the world map on the home screen shows a collective of 18 million meditators, and announces, "741k today, 7k now." After you finish a meditation, you'll learn exactly how many people were meditating "with you" during that time-and by setting your location, you can even see meditators nearby and what tracks they're listening to.

Once you find a teacher you enjoy-like Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Sharon Salzberg, or Rhonda Magee -you can follow them to make sure you don't miss any new content. You can also tune in to free talks for life advice and inspiration. For those craving real-time interactions, Insight Timer offers live events every hour of the day to join on a whim or plan into your schedule.

You can even sign up to Circle for Teams, one of their newer offerings, which allows you to create circles (read: groups) to meditate in real-time with friends or colleagues.

If you prefer a quieter meditation, however, you can simply set a timer and meditate to intermittent bells, calming ambient noise, or soothing music.

Depending on your preferences, Insight Timer's extensive collection can be either a blessing or a curse-an endless list of choices that leave you overwhelmed or a buffet of tempting options to sink your teeth into.

Paid option: For $60 per year (with a 30-day free trial), you get access to courses with well-known teachers, the ability to download meditations and listen offline, and advanced player functions like repeat mode and fast forward and rewind.

Available for iOS, Android, and web

Entry price: Free

Smiling Mind hits the sweet spot for a free mindfulness app in so many ways.

The not-for-profit app features hundreds of meditations, enough to keep you engaged without overwhelming you with choice. They are organized into structured programs like Mindful Foundations (35 sessions), Sleep (6 sessions), Digital Detox (8 sessions), and Stress Management (10 sessions), but you have the flexibility to choose where to start and to easily jump between programs. Most meditations are in the five- to fifteen-minute range, with a few practices up to 45 minutes for advanced meditators. Smiling Mind also offers bite-sized meditations between 2 to 5 minutes for moments when you're in need of a quick, mindful pause in the day.

Downloaded by over 5.5 million people, the app also has a variety of specialized programs for families, children and teens of various ages, healthcare workers, and educators (including curricula they can use in the classroom); all developed with the help of psychologists and health professionals.

While you could use a meditation app as a temporary break from your hectic life, Smiling Mind wants you to take your mindfulness practice off the cushion and into the rest of your day. Interspersed with some of the meditation programs are instructions for "activities" like Journaling Exercise, Go Offline, Where Did My Food Come From, and Count Your Senses. In the Count Your Senses activity, for example, the audio prompts you to bring your attention to your senses by counting things that can be seen, felt, heard, smelled and tasted.

Smiling Mind was originally created for kids, so they offer a robust selection of kid- and youth-appropriate mindfulness sessions.

Created by a nonprofit by the same name, Smiling Mind is entirely free-so you don't have the distraction of paid content that's inaccessible to you as a free user. The app wants to put a "smile on your mind"-and it might just succeed.

Paid option: None

Available for iOS and Android

Entry price: Free

If all the research on mindfulness has persuaded you that you need to meditate, the UCLA Mindful app could be a good place to start.

Developed by the Mindful Awareness Research Center at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the app features about a dozen meditations of different types in English and Spanish. You can learn to focus on your breath, your body, or sounds; work with difficult emotions; and cultivate loving-kindness in sessions ranging from 3 to 19 minutes long.

If you're new to mindfulness, you might choose to take advantage of their Getting Started section, which offers information on what mindfulness is, how to choose a meditation, which posture is best for your practice, and what research-backed benefits you might expect from it.

As a bonus, the app also offers longer meditations that it calls "podcasts." These are half-hour audio recordings of meditations that include talks, typically by UCLA Director of Mindfulness Education Diana Winston, before and after the meditation, as well as plenty of silent practice time.

If you're looking for an app that is heavily grounded in the science of mindfulness, you can put your trust in UCLA Mindful.

Paid option: None

Available for iOS and Android

Entry price: Free

The Healthy Minds Program app wants to help you develop the skills for a healthy mind-by strengthening mental focus, decreasing stress, and growing resilience, compassion, and better immune health.

Founded by neuroscientist Dr. Richard Davidson (who also founded the research institute Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison), the app integrates neuroscience and research-based techniques with meditation training to increase overall well-being.

The framework of the app's mindfulness and well-being training is organized into four pillars: Awareness, Connection, Insight, and Purpose. Each pillar consists of three to five parts, and each part contains three series and multiple sessions within. For the Connection pillar, for example, the Innate Self-Worth series includes five sessions packaged to foster self-worth (think sessions like Practice Seeing the Good In Ourselves, and Learn Negativity Bias). You have a choice of either a Sitting or Active type of practice-"active" practices include guidance for being mindful while you exercise, or during your commute-and you can customize the length of time (five minutes to 30 minutes).

The app offers a collection of 27 meditations outside their four-pillar wellness framework, including one-minute Micro Practices for when you're in need of a brief respite.

At times the podcast-style app may encourage more thinking compared to typical guided meditations, but for the listener who is seeking guided meditations with the greater goal to increase awareness, cognition, and well-being, Healthy Minds Program app may be just the ticket.

Paid option: None

When we meditate, we inject far-reaching and long-lasting benefits into our lives: We lower our stress levels, we get to know our pain, we connect better, we improve our focus, and we're kinder to ourselves. Let us walk you through the basics in our new mindful guide on how to meditate. Read More

Practicing gratitude has incredible effects, from improving our mental health to boosting our relationships with others. Explore ways you can be more appreciative in our mindful guide to gratitude. Read More

Mindful writing can lead you on the path of inner discovery. It can be the place where your experience meets your mindfulness practice, a place to encounter the twists and turns of your emotional life-and a bit of solid ground to stand on. Read More

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Free Meditation Apps Worthy of Your Attention

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We scoured the app stores to find the most popular, educational, and easy-to-use free meditation apps available.

# data[].attributes.body
Build groups of peers that you can connect with for support. Social media can be helpful for this!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Integrating Mindfulness in Your Classroom Curriculum

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Make mindfulness a part of classroom learning by integrating it into curriculum-themed activities through exercises in breathing, sensory experience, guided imagery, and movement.

# data[].attributes.body
Turn off and tune it for a short time on a daily basis. Be present in the moment and focus on a pleasant thought.

# data[].attributes.body
A1.1 demonstrate an understanding of the importance of resilience and perseverance in
school, life, and work – why it is helpful to acquire skills for adapting to change,
persevering in the face of adversity, learning from mistakes, and thinking positively
about setbacks – and analyse how developing resilience and perseverance can help
them in all areas of their lives

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Harvard Health article
Practices for Improving Emotional and Physical Well-Being

It's a busy world. You fold the laundry while keeping one eye on the kids and another on the television. You plan your day while listening to the radio and commuting to work, and then plan your weekend. But in the rush to accomplish necessary tasks, you may find yourself losing your connection with the present moment-missing out on what you're doing and how you're feeling. Did you notice whether you felt well-rested this morning or that forsythia is in bloom along your route to work?

Mindfulness is the practice of purposely focusing your attention on the present moment-and accepting it without judgment. Mindfulness is now being examined scientifically and has been found to be a key element in stress reduction and overall happiness.

With over 25,000 licensed counselors, BetterHelp has a therapist that fits your needs. It's easy, affordable, and convenient.

Online-Therapy.com is a complete toolbox of support, when you need it, on your schedule. It only takes a few minutes to sign up.

Teen Counseling is an online therapy service for teens and young adults. Connect with your counselor by video, phone, or chat.

What are the benefits of mindfulness?

The cultivation of mindfulness has roots in Buddhism, but most religions include some type of prayer or meditation technique that helps shift your thoughts away from your usual preoccupations toward an appreciation of the moment and a larger perspective on life.

Professor emeritus Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder and former director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, helped to bring the practice of mindfulness meditation into mainstream medicine and demonstrated that practicing mindfulness can bring improvements in both physical and psychological symptoms as well as positive changes in health, attitudes, and behaviors.

Mindfulness improves well-being. Increasing your capacity for mindfulness supports many attitudes that contribute to a satisfied life. Being mindful makes it easier to savor the pleasures in life as they occur, helps you become fully engaged in activities, and creates a greater capacity to deal with adverse events. By focusing on the here and now, many people who practice mindfulness find that they are less likely to get caught up in worries about the future or regrets over the past, are less preoccupied with concerns about success and self-esteem, and are better able to form deep connections with others.

Mindfulness improves physical health. If greater well-being isn't enough of an incentive, scientists have discovered that mindfulness techniques help improve physical health in a number of ways. Mindfulness can: help relieve stress, treat heart disease, lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, , improve sleep, and alleviate gastrointestinal difficulties.

Mindfulness improves mental health. In recent years, psychotherapists have turned to mindfulness meditation as an important element in the treatment of a number of problems, including: depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, couples' conflicts, anxiety disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

How does mindfulness work?

Some experts believe that mindfulness works, in part, by helping people to accept their experiences-including painful emotions-rather than react to them with aversion and avoidance.

It's become increasingly common for mindfulness meditation to be combined with psychotherapy, especially cognitive behavioral therapy. This development makes good sense, since both meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy share the common goal of helping people gain perspective on irrational, maladaptive, and self-defeating thoughts.

Mindfulness techniques

There is more than one way to practice mindfulness, but the goal of any mindfulness technique is to achieve a state of alert, focused relaxation by deliberately paying attention to thoughts and sensations without judgment. This allows the mind to refocus on the present moment. All mindfulness techniques are a form of meditation.

Basic mindfulness meditation - Sit quietly and focus on your natural breathing or on a word or "mantra" that you repeat silently. Allow thoughts to come and go without judgment and return to your focus on breath or mantra.

Body sensations - Notice subtle body sensations such as an itch or tingling without judgment and let them pass. Notice each part of your body in succession from head to toe.

Sensory - Notice sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches. Name them "sight," "sound," "smell," "taste," or "touch" without judgment and let them go.

Emotions - Allow emotions to be present without judgment. Practice a steady and relaxed naming of emotions: "joy," "anger," "frustration." Accept the presence of the emotions without judgment and let them go.

Urge surfing - Cope with cravings (for addictive substances or behaviors) and allow them to pass. Notice how your body feels as the craving enters. Replace the wish for the craving to go away with the certain knowledge that it will subside.

Mindfulness meditation and other practices

Mindfulness can be cultivated through mindfulness meditation, a systematic method of focusing your attention. You can learn to meditate on your own, following instructions in books or on tape. However, you may benefit from the support of an instructor or group to answer questions and help you stay motivated. Look for someone using meditation in a way compatible with your beliefs and goals.

If you have a medical condition, you may prefer a medically oriented program that incorporates meditation. Ask your physician or hospital about local groups. Insurance companies increasingly cover the cost of meditation instruction.

Getting started on your own

Some types of meditation primarily involve concentration-repeating a phrase or focusing on the sensation of breathing, allowing the parade of thoughts that inevitably arise to come and go. Concentration meditation techniques, as well as other activities such as tai chi or yoga, can induce the well-known relaxation response, which is very valuable in reducing the body's response to stress.

Mindfulness meditation builds upon concentration practices. Here's how it works:

Go with the flow. In mindfulness meditation, once you establish concentration, you observe the flow of inner thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations without judging them as good or bad.

Pay attention. You also notice external sensations such as sounds, sights, and touch that make up your moment-to-moment experience. The challenge is not to latch onto a particular idea, emotion, or sensation, or to get caught in thinking about the past or the future. Instead, you watch what comes and goes in your mind and discover which mental habits produce a feeling of well-being or suffering.

Stay with it. At times, this process may not seem relaxing at all, but over time it provides a key to greater happiness and self-awareness as you become comfortable with a wider and wider range of your experiences.

Practice acceptance

Above all, mindfulness practice involves accepting whatever arises in your awareness at each moment. It involves being kind and forgiving toward yourself.

Some tips to keep in mind:

Gently redirect. If your mind wanders into planning, daydreaming, or criticism, notice where it has gone and gently redirect it to sensations in the present.

Try and try again. If you miss your intended meditation session, simply start again.

By practicing accepting your experience during meditation, it becomes easier to accept whatever comes your way during the rest of your day.

Cultivate mindfulness informally

In addition to formal meditation, you can also cultivate mindfulness informally by focusing your attention on your moment-to-moment sensations during everyday activities. This is done by single-tasking-doing one thing at a time and giving it your full attention. As you floss your teeth, pet the dog, or eat an apple, slow down the process and be fully present as it unfolds and involves all of your senses.

Mindfulness exercises

If mindfulness meditation appeals to you, going to a class or listening to a meditation tape can be a good way to start. In the meantime, here are two mindfulness exercises you can try on your own.

Basic mindfulness meditation

This exercise teaches basic mindfulness meditation.

Sit on a straight-backed chair or cross-legged on the floor.

Focus on an aspect of your breathing, such as the sensations of air flowing into your nostrils and out of your mouth, or your belly rising and falling as you inhale and exhale.

Once you've narrowed your concentration in this way, begin to widen your focus. Become aware of sounds, sensations, and your ideas.

Embrace and consider each thought or sensation without judging it good or bad. If your mind starts to race, return your focus to your breathing. Then expand your awareness again.

Learning to stay in the present

A less formal approach to mindfulness can also help you to stay in the present and fully participate in your life. You can choose any task or moment to practice informal mindfulness, whether you are eating, showering, walking, touching a partner, or playing with a child or grandchild. Attending to these points will help:

Start by bringing your attention to the sensations in your body

Breathe in through your nose, allowing the air downward into your lower belly. Let your abdomen expand fully.

Now breathe out through your mouth

Notice the sensations of each inhalation and exhalation

Proceed with the task at hand slowly and with full deliberation

Engage your senses fully. Notice each sight, touch, and sound so that you savor every sensation.

When you notice that your mind has wandered from the task at hand, gently bring your attention back to the sensations of the moment.

Invest in yourself

The effects of mindfulness meditation tend to be dose-related - the more you do, the more effect it usually has. Most people find that it takes at least 20 minutes for the mind to begin to settle, so this is a reasonable way to start. If you're ready for a more serious commitment, Jon Kabat-Zinn recommends 45 minutes of meditation at least six days a week. But you can get started by practicing the techniques described here for shorter periods.

Adapted with permission from Positive Psychology: Harnessing the Power of Happiness, Personal Strength, and Mindfulness, a special health report published by Harvard Health Publishing.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Harvard Health article It's a busy world. You fold the laundry while keeping one eye on the kids and another on the television. You plan your day while listening to the radio and commuting to work, and then plan your weekend.

# data[].attributes.body
During a lunch or snack break pay close attention to all your senses. How does your food smell, taste and feel? Does it have a satisfying crunch or a warm soothing quality?