{"id":30479,"date":"2021-10-07T16:13:02","date_gmt":"2021-10-07T08:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.smart.com.ph\/?p=3485"},"modified":"2021-10-07T16:13:02","modified_gmt":"2021-10-07T08:13:02","slug":"why-mindfulness-matters-now-more-than-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartcommunications-develop.go-vip.net\/?p=30479","title":{"rendered":"Why Mindfulness Matters Now More Than Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mindfulness<\/strong> is the practice of maintaining awareness, from the way you think, feel, see, and breathe, in every situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oxford Mindfulness Centre <\/strong>describes mindfulness as the way of paying attention to our experience in the present moment, with curiosity, compassion, and acceptance.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the American Psychological Association<\/strong> discusses it as a moment-to-moment awareness of one\u2019s experience without judgment.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means that mindfulness is a practice wherein one digests everything without criticism, leaving a blank slate for insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s all about finding the calm in everyday activities and taking the opportunity to be aware of your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does mindfulness exactly help?<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In our current situation, with the pandemic and all, some of us get stressed and distracted whenever something unexpected happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We feel angry, frustrated, confused, and scared. Sometimes we feel there\u2019s nothing to look forward to. Some have lost friends, family, jobs, businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some couldn\u2019t cope with the changes that COVID made – the work or school setting, health guidelines, and even something as simple as going out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of these may induce a greater amount of stress and anxiety, which isn\u2019t what we really need right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A clinical study<\/a> made in 2003 highlighted that higher levels of mindfulness showed great results in reducing mood disturbance and stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was further discussed by a study<\/a> made in 2008, saying that practicing mindfulness may reduce psychological distress which helps with emotion regulation<\/a>, nonattachment<\/a>, and reduces rumination.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another research by Carmody & Baer<\/a> has also proved that mindfulness based meditation improves well-being. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practicing mindfulness, especially now, helps us acknowledge the situation and accept it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By doing this, we see a clearer picture of our problems and possible solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than focusing on negative things that hinder progress, or thinking of the problems that the future brings, we focus on now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how can one practice mindfulness?<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first step to applying mindfulness into our daily lives is to make time for mindfulness meditation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Jon Kabat-Zinn first introduced the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction<\/a> (initially named Stress Reduction Clinic) in 1979, its goal was to help people reduce stress, chronic pain, and anxiety through mindfulness meditation and yoga. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A great way to start your journey towards mindfulness is to set aside around at least 10 to 45 minutes <\/a>of your busy schedule to practice mindfulness meditation<\/em><\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find the most quiet or peaceful place in your house, sit comfortably, and focus on your breath.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mindfulness discusses how we often ruminate (dwell on the past) and worry too much for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After starting this exercise, your attention will most likely divert to other thoughts, and that\u2019s normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once this happens, conclude your thought and redirect your focus to your breath. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This practice<\/a> helps you become more aware of what occupies your mind and in turn, helps you control your immediate judgment towards things that will probably cause stress and anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mindfulness can also be practiced throughout your daily activities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practicing mindfulness at work<\/a> can improve your focus and efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When working, notice how your mind explores other projects or tasks. Whenever you\u2019re distracted, simply bring back your attention to your current activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may also incorporate mindfulness towards interpersonal communication, whether it be towards your colleagues, friends, or family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practicing mindfulness communication<\/a> means staying present in the conversation, carefully listening to what they\u2019re saying without any judgments, and being compassionate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you wish to strive towards mindfulness, here are some apps you can use<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1.   The Mindfulness App<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start your journey with a 5-day introduction to mindfulness. With an option for timed sessions and push notifications, you can easily build and maintain a routine. The premium version of this app gives you access to 250+ guided sessions from renowned experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.   MyLife\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With over 4.5 million downloads, this app was founded with a mission to help build emotional strength and confidence. MyLife offers a tailored mindfulness journey based on the user\u2019s current feelings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.   Insight Timer<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With over 200 topics and 100,000 guided meditations, this app is very useful if you are looking to start practicing mindfulness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.   10% Happier<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their range of experts, along with a library of 500+ guided meditations will certainly get you started<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5.   Mindfulness Daily<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this app, you can schedule your sessions early in the morning and during short breaks throughout your day<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Download the Gigalife App<\/a> to avail of data promos you can use to download these apps and backup your app data so you can track your progress towards mindfulness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mindfulness is the practice of maintaining awareness, from the way you think, feel, see, and breathe, in every situation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":30465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[131,161,34,35,201],"class_list":["post-30479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-gigalife","tag-mindfulness","tag-smart","tag-smart-blog","tag-smart-giga-life"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/smartcommunications-develop.go-vip.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Article-Image15-1200x900px-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartcommunications-develop.go-vip.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartcommunications-develop.go-vip.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartcommunications-develop.go-vip.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartcommunications-develop.go-vip.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartcommunications-develop.go-vip.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/smartcommunications-develop.go-vip.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartcommunications-develop.go-vip.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartcommunications-develop.go-vip.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartcommunications-develop.go-vip.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartcommunications-develop.go-vip.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}