So What's All This Mindfulness Stuff About Anyway?

There's a lot of buzz around mindfulness these days. Up until last year, I'd never heard of the practice. A week doesn't go by without an article popping up into my social media streams telling the virtues of mindfulness meditative practice and the advantages of it in personal and work lives. Some of which are mentioned in this article.

“Mindfulness is about being fully awake in our lives. It is about perceiving the exquisite vividness of each moment. We also gain immediate access to our own powerful inner resources for insight, transformation, and healing.” –  Jon Kabat-Zinn

But what is mindfulness? It's a practice that was initiated by Jon Kabat-Zinn based upon traditional Buddhist meditation techniques. A definition of mindfulness, which I found to resonate with me, is the capacity to be aware and present with kindness and without judgement. I've been using short (2-3 minutes) mindfulness practices with my clients as part of my coaching practice, to allow them to be mentally present at the start of a session.

Mindfulness: The capacity to be aware and present with kindness and without judgement.

So why I am telling you all this? Well, up until just over a year ago, I was the complete antithesis of mindfulness. My mother, sisters, brother and my wife would always comment that I couldn't still for more than 2 minutes. I 'd always need to be doing something. I never knew how to just 'be'. From school, through college and universities, I'd always hear comments about me rushing everything. And again during my professional life, I was always at a high, frantic pace. But for me, if I wasn’t 'doing' something, I wasn't being productive. At work, if I didn't have that feeling of pressure to deliver, I did not feel as if my work would be of a high standard.

As part of my coaching training, I was introduced to mindfulness, thought that's not what I knew it as back then. It was about calming the mind to be in the present and now, to be wholly available for my clients in order to service them to the best of my abilities. I'd always considered meditation a bit of peculiar practice and thought it was for the very devout amongst us. Having a scientific background, I was quite intrigued by the mechanics behind mindfulness, and it's basis for resilience and happiness. As I read further, I found that more and more people were drawn to it. Mindfulness was being used in companies such as Google, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Intel and Britain's National Health Service (NHS), to help reduce stress, help drive performance, be healthier and happier. 

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”  – Albert Einstein

I recently attended a 3-day mindfulness retreat in a beautiful area of South Devon on the River Dart, based at Sharpham House. I was anxious initially, as I would NOT have the use of my phone (or any digital technology for that matter) for the duration. But that turned out to be a blessing. We were a group of 16 strangers who were lead through three 30 minute mindfulness meditations a day, long period's of silence (eating each breakfast and one lunch in complete silence) and silent mindful walks. As humans, we find silences (especially with strangers) awkward and have that need to fill them with 'chit-chat', but this urge was put aside with this practice. I was just shocked and impressed with myself that I could actually sit completely still for 30 minutes without moving.

So what? I think we all asked this question at the beginning. But as the 3 days unfolded and we learned more about and practiced mindfulness, we began to really be present with the nature around us (I'm a real townie at heart). I started to appreciate the different shades of green in the meadows; I could hear the sheep and lambs bleating to each other; I could single out the different birdsongs; I could taste each mouthful of food I ate; I could listen attentively to those around me; I could hear my own heartbeat.

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller ​

What the practice showed me was that taking this learning back into your day-to-day life, by being attentive, you could learn to be so much more aware of everything that you usually take for granted; relationships, friendships, work life, health, diet and the environment. So rather than always 'doing', learn to start 'being'. 

I've continued to do mindful meditations since my return, managing daily 30 minute sessions. I've also used some recommended practice meditations from the book 'Mindfulness, A Practical Guide To Finding Peace In A Frantic World' by Mark Williams and Danny Penman. I'm also trying to do everyday activities a little more mindfully; like brushing my teeth, taking a shower, making a cup of tea or even just walking.

With the minimal mindfulness I had done to date since last year (mostly whilst running on the treadmill), I found those periods led me to be my most creative. I'm hoping that with a mindfulness practice, I'll start reaping the benefits of leading a less stressful life, become even more resilient, be healthier and even happier. I hope to tell you more about my journey with mindfulness as it progresses over time. 

Mindfulness is like a gym workout for your brain, and as such, needs to be done regularly for you to see the benefits. With this all in mind, what do you think mindfulness could do for you?

Rakish Rana is an executive life coach specialising in working with successful and determined people, who are unhappy or dissatisfied with their lives, to help them find happiness and purpose.