Mindfulness contributes to emotional well-being .
Mindfulness is a concept that refers to full awareness . The idea appears in the field of Buddhism and psychology .
In the field of Buddhism, mindfulness refers to a faculty necessary to achieve enlightenment . It is about being aware of one's actions, motivations and thoughts .
When lies, resentment and greed are eliminated from the mind , the individual enters the state of enlightenment. Mindfulness, in this framework, is essential to be connected to the present and the reality of things , moving away from deceptions.
According to the teachings of Buddha , it is important to develop mindfulness on a daily basis. That is why the person must always pay attention to their feelings and perceptions (mental health) and the functions of their body (body awareness).
Mindfulness according to modern psychology
Starting from these Buddhist notions, modern psychology also arrived at mindfulness. Mindfulness is considered to reduce anxiety , minimize obsessive-compulsive disorders, and combat depression.
Mindfulness, in this framework, is based on attention to actions without attachments or judgments . The objective is for the subject to "live in the present" , leaving the past behind and avoiding excessive worry or fear about the future.
Psychologists, in short, understand mindfulness as the ability to place yourself in the present , paying full attention to what you are experiencing. It is important not to stay with only a part of what is happening, but to understand the present in its entirety and not divert attention to thoughts about the past or the future.
With mindfulness you can advance self-awareness .
Your advantages
Currently, there are different centers and specialists that offer mindfulness sessions to those who want to enjoy the advantages that this type of action brings. We are referring to benefits such as the following, in addition to those already mentioned:
- Improve your ability to concentrate.
- Helps increase memory.
- It develops, considerably, what emotional intelligence is.
- It is also maintained that it improves the quality of life of people who suffer from personality disorders, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress...
Mindfulness helps in anger management as it allows you to maintain peace of mind.
Tips for practicing mindfulness
It is considered that to practice mindfulness you must follow a series of important guidelines:
- It should be practiced for half an hour every day. However, you can start with sessions that last about 10 or 15 minutes and then increase the time until reaching 30 minutes.
- It should be carried out in a room where the person is very comfortable, where there is silence and where there is an optimal temperature. Specifically, this should be between 18º and 25º.
- It is important not to have the phone at hand; If you are in the same room, unless it is turned off or without sound to prevent it from interrupting the session.
- You should wear clothes that are not tight and that offer great comfort.
- No less important is that to practice mindfulness you can play music in the background. In that case, it should be noted that it must be relaxing and have cycles that are repetitive.
Often associated with yoga and meditation , mindfulness requires calm and relaxation. Conscious breathing, in this framework, contributes to mental balance and stress reduction.
Other relaxation techniques can also be used. Contemplation and connection with nature are other well-being rituals that help with mindfulness.
The perspective of neurobiology
Neurobiology is the specialty that analyzes cellular functioning in the circuits that enable the processing of information and the regulation of behavior. Various studies carried out by experts in this area have found positive effects of mindfulness at different levels.
It is stated, for example, that mindfulness helps activate neural networks . The technique favors concentration, since it allows you to reach deep levels with a reduced effort in terms of attention. This is due to the traces that mindfulness leaves in the brain.
Research has shown, in this sense, that regular meditation increases the thickness of the cerebral cortex. That is why it can be argued that mindfulness causes benefits at a biological level .
Although it is a matter of debate, there are those who maintain that mindfulness can be applied clinically to treat different conditions. This position states that mindfulness helps relieve pain and can be useful in the treatment of addictions, cerebrovascular diseases, and anxiety disorders.
It must be clarified, however, that the conclusions of these studies are not definitive . Critics of mindfulness state that they are often directly driven to justify the practices. Likewise, they warn that they are carried out in small populations.
Nor can we avoid considering that the notion of mindfulness is too broad and imprecise. Under this concept, as we already indicated throughout the article, quite diverse actions and principles are grouped, so referring to their clinical or biological effects is risky.