Mindfulness, mindfulness, mindfulness. I keep seeing this word. I thought it was time I had a look into it.
Mindfulness is just what it sounds like. Being more self-aware and living in the moment. The practice of mindfulness is being fully aware of your surroundings and quieting all the noise and just focusing on what is happening right then.
I downloaded an app to my phone which actually guides you through different meditations and has lots of different things you can look into. There are things on there from an addiction expert to help you give up smoking and other things there’s daily meditation activities. I have just done a free trial on this app but you can pay a monthly subscription and get a lot more out of it. So far I have found plenty to play around with without signing up for the monthly subscription.
It is surprising how much your mind jumps around when you try and not think about anything. “What am I going to cook tonight”, “what have I got for the school lunches”, “what time do I have to be at work tomorrow”. So many thoughts keep jumping in!
Just from trying the daily meditation I have found it quite good for trying to quiet my mind and just focus on the now. Of course, reality does inevitably creep back in (or smack you in the face) and I did have my toddler yelling “MUM!!!” when I was about halfway through the guided mediation. I still felt quite relaxed so I am taking that as a win!
I have changed my meditation time to first thing in the morning while everyone is still asleep and that seems to be a lot better. According to the experts you get better at meditation the more you do it so practice is key. I am definitely a novice but I would say it’s worth a go.
If any of our patients are able to take their focus off their pain even a little bit I would say it’s worth 10 minutes a day.
