Mindfulness & Meditation

To say that mindfulness practices have changed my own life is not an exaggeration. Already into my healing and sobriety journey, but still feeling stuck - ungrounded, lonely, without purpose, I noticed that many of those thriving in their recovery mentioned how central meditation was to them. I had dabbled in the past, but didn't really see how sitting and focusing on my breath was going to help. But it got to the point where I couldn't deny the difference it was making to other people and I decided to give it a deeper try - thank goodness I did!

Mindfulness can be described as "being aware in the present moment, with non-judgement or kindness". When we are mindful, we are paying attention to our current experience, without being lost ruminating about the past, or worrying about the future. We are free to notice the feeling of sun on our face, the taste of our coffee, the blossom on the tree. And the type of noticing we do, is with non-judgement or kindness. For example, when we notice we are experiencing an emotion, such as stress or worry, we don't judge ourselves for having the emotion, we treat ourselves kindly and we let it just pass through. 

Meditation is one way we can practice mindfulness - taking dedicated time to sit (or lie, stand or walk!) and focus on an anchor such as our breath, body, or sounds around us, we train the brain to come back to the present moment again and again, and develop the skills of mindfulness we can take into our day. It's not about getting rid of thoughts - its's about noticing we are having thoughts so we can get less stuck in them and let them go, like clouds moving through the sky. We can also go deeper into our hearts with meditation practices such as metta (loving kindness).

The benefits of mindfulness are widespread and there is a lot of scientific evidence to support this. But I'd like to share with you the top benefits I found for myself personally - those which inspired me to go on and become a meditation teacher - training under some of the world's best teachers including Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield.

1. The ability to be with my emotions - no escaping into a bottle, no need to run away. Even the most painful, the grief, the sadness - I can be the container that holds them all, allowing them, knowing that they do naturally pass through.
2. Not needing to listen to every thought in my head - I can recognise that thoughts are often automatic, repetitive, and not always true - with a greater power to recognise when I've got caught up in them, I can thank them for their perspective but let them go!
3. Finding joy in the present moment - I'm much more aware of the changing seasons and beauty they bring, I notice and appreciate the warm water of my bath, when I walk in nature I can take pleasure in it because my mind isn't lost somewhere else - this is worth gold!
4. Self-love - spending time with myself in the quiet, giving myself loving kindness, and understanding that I don't need to seek external validation has greatly increased my sense of self-worth
5. Community - finding others on the mindfulness journey or even listening to a guided meditation helped me grow my sense of inter-connectedness and decrease that sense of loneliness I had felt for so long.

If you'd like to explore the benefits mindfulness can bring, book a one to one session below or subscribe for updates about upcoming meditations and courses.