What is Mindfulness? Technically you could say that Mindfulness is a living movement. It began over 2500 years ago as a Buddhist tradition and was then adopted Westernly in psychotherapy that greatly expands on this Buddhist tradition.
Defined by Mr. Webster himself; Mindfulness is described as ‘the quality or state of being conscious/aware of something’. He goes on further to say that mindfulness is ‘a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment; while calmly acknowledging & accepting one’s feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations’. It’s also thought to be a therapeutic technique used by many.
That’s deep right? I mean, I can barely begin to wrap my head around all of that. So, you want me to acknowledge my own feelings… and THEN accept them, at the same time make sure to take note on what’s going on up there in ‘ye old noggin’? Yeah, OKAY!
But how many times do we catch ourselves just going through the notions of life? How many times do we say we’re going to change that, and then end up right back where we started? Something so simple as feeling our own bodies can even the most challenging. I mean, we walk and talk all day – but when do we really FEEL the magic of ourselves?
I hadn’t really ever remembered experiencing this until I went to yoga. That was the first time I connected with my body. It didn’t matter whether I looked like the person next to me, or the other one. It didn’t matter whether I could physically do the entire practice. In that moment nothing mattered. Nothing mattered but myself.
Right there, laying on the floor at the end of the class. That was the FIRST time I had ever been present. I felt what it felt like to feel my entire body pressed into the earth. I felt what it felt like to feel my breath move through my entire body. I felt what it felt like to be still, yet fully aware. Do you know how liberating that is? It was so overwhelming (in the best way possible) that it brought me to tears. It was literally like I was right there, doing the practice – and yet I was also magically apart from my body, watching myself experience it and feeling the feels. What moved and what stayed still. What hurt and what didn’t.
This was my first experience with mindfulness.
So, what if we were to live every day like that first day I went to yoga. What if we paid attention on purpose and gave the gentle effort to continuously, consciously, be present with our experience of life?
What if, each day, we paid attention to the way we eat and savored the taste of our food with each and every bite? What if we truly allowed ourselves to feel the sensations of living? What if, each day, we allowed ourselves to take notice of the beauty within ourselves and our surroundings?
Today, I challenge you to pay attention! Be present and pay attention to your life on purpose! What do you notice that wasn’t there before?
