Mindfulness, part 1: What is mindfulness?
You may have heard the term “mindfulness” and thought of it as some new fad. But, in fact, it has been practiced for centuries in many spiritual traditions.
Although it’s historically rooted in Buddhist meditative disciplines, the practice of mindfulness has a universal application to many of the activities we do every day. More specifically, mindful living can help us change the way we engage in healthy habits such as eating and exercise.
This three-part series is a brief intro to what mindfulness is and how to get started.
What is mindfulness?
First, a bit about me: As a psychologist for the MultiCare Center for Weight Loss and Wellness, I am one piece of the puzzle to help patients better understand their needs and expectations for bariatric surgery.
I work to help patients identify what challenges might come up before and after surgery — such as depression, anxiety and emotional eating — and then create a plan to improve their success. Mindfulness is often part of that plan.
Mindfulness has deep connections with the Buddhist tradition as a disciplined practice of becoming aware of whatever is happening in the moment. Over time, an individual develops a non-reactive, compassionate and accepting stance to life. Mindfulness is about being with all our thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations each moment without filters or judgments.
Jon Kabat- Zinn, PhD, is well-known for bringing mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and the public. In 1979, he founded the world-renowned Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and in 1995 the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society. Dr. Kabat-Zinn has written several books and developed guided meditation programs easy for people to follow.
It can be easy to think about mindfulness as something you just do when stressed, but it is so much more. It’s not just a tool, but also a lifestyle. Mindfulness is taking an experience “one moment at a time” by observing and not reacting to the experience in a certain way.
When was the last time you did absolutely nothing? Or just stay focused on one task at a time? For example, as I write this I am thinking about lunch at the same time. Our minds are constantly going and sometimes we are taken for a ride, especially when we are experiencing a negative thought or emotion.
Imagine what your experience might be if you were able to let your thoughts, feelings or body sensations just be what they are rather than trying to change them.
Our three-part series about mindfulness continues next week with Mindfulness, part 2: Is mindfulness for me?
The MultiCare Center for Weight Loss & Wellness supports you before, during and after the weight loss journey.
