Are you craving inner peace? Do you feel as if no matter how much sleep you get, you’re still tired? Do you feel anxious and consumed by worry? What if I told you that mindful meditation can literally change your life and how you feel? and these practices can help you do just that. Mindfulness is a state of being fully present and aware of your thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and environment. It’s about paying attention to the moment, without judgment or criticism.
Meditation, on the other hand, is an exercise that can help you achieve mindfulness. There are two main types of meditation: focused attention and open monitoring. With focused attention, you concentrate on a single object, either internal or external. With open monitoring, you pay attention to whatever is happening in the present moment, without getting stuck on any particular thing.
Mindful meditation is the perfect combination of mindfulness and meditation. By practicing mindful meditation, you can develop self-awareness without self-judgment. You can learn to simply observe your emotions without being consumed by them. This means that you won’t let your thoughts control you and you won’t judge yourself for feeling a certain way.
Beginner Mindfulness Meditation Guidelines
• There’s no way to quiet your mind. Quieting your mind is not the goal. The goal is to be
aware of your mind.
• Your mind will wander. When practising mindfulness meditation, it’s normal for your
mind to wander and think about something that happened to you yesterday or your to-
do list, for example.
• As your mind wanders, simply bring it back to the present moment. This is the great
advantage of mindfulness meditation – learning to recognise when your mind has
wandered to the past or future so that you can bring it back to the present moment.
• Don’t judge yourself for your wandering mind. When you judge yourself, your mind is in
the past. Instead of judging or criticising yourself for letting your mind wander, simply
bring your mind back to your breath and your body in the present moment.
• Use your breath as an anchor to the present moment. Take deep breaths from your belly
as you complete mindfulness meditation exercises. Even during body scans or muscle
relaxation exercises, deep breathing is essential to connect your body and mind to the
present moment.
