Team Blogs - Mindfulness Association

Taking a Pause

Jacky Seery — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 16:28:56 +0000

Why might you want to take a pause?

At the Mindfulness Association we believe in the benefit of bringing Mindfulness into daily life. This means learning to be mindful throughout our day as well as periods of sitting practice. By incorporating daily life practices such as ‘Taking in the Good’, a 3 Stage Breathing Space, or a Mini Movement Practice, we are able to pause, check in with how we are and take a moment to respond differently to a situation or the rest of our day, rather than being on autopilot at the mercy of our habitual behaviour.

In a nutshell, research informs us that these are the benefits that can be gained by taking a pause.

Helps to clear the mind
Improves creativity
Let’s you slow down and become more focused
Improves your productivity
Improves the quality of your decision making
Reduces stress and feeling overwhelmed
Increases quality of life and feelings of well-being

In today’s fast-paced world, the idea of taking a pause might seem counterproductive. However, we live in a past paced world where we have pressure on us to complete activities and be productive. However, there’s growing recognition that hitting the pause button is not only beneficial but essential for both mental and physical health. Here’s why taking a pause can be the key to unlocking greater well-being and success.

Boosts Mental Clarity and Creativity

When we’re constantly on the go, our minds become cluttered with information, to-do lists, and stress. Pausing gives our brains the space to process what’s happening around us, leading to greater mental clarity. This clarity allows for better decision-making and problem-solving.

Creativity often thrives in moments of rest. How often have you noticed that many of your ideas come from resting in the bath or whilst taking a walk? Many of the world’s greatest thinkers, artists, and innovators—such as Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs—regularly took breaks to let their minds wander. A brief pause can open the floodgates to new ideas and creative solutions.

Reduces Stress and Prevents Burnout

One of the most significant benefits of pausing is its ability to reduce stress. Taking time to step away from the demands of work and life can prevent the buildup of chronic stress, which is linked to a host of health problems such as anxiety, depression, and heart disease. A well-timed break allows your body to reset, promoting a sense of calm and relaxation. A Mindfulness practice can help us to recognise when we need a break in those times when we notice the little signs of overload, like feeling tired, stress. Sometimes the body can signal it needs a rest by communicating through contractions, tightness and pain.

Regular pauses also help prevent burnout, a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. By giving yourself the permission to rest, you can maintain energy levels and stay productive in the long run.

Improves Focus and Productivity

It may seem counterintuitive, but taking breaks can actually improve your productivity. Studies show that the human brain can only maintain focused attention for about 90 minutes at a time. After that, mental fatigue sets in, and productivity starts to decline.

A short pause—whether it’s a five-minute stretch or a 15-minute walk—can restore your focus, allowing you to return to your tasks with renewed energy, improved concentration allowing you to work more efficiently.

Enhances Emotional Well-Being

Pausing isn’t just about improving mental clarity; it also plays a crucial role in emotional health. When we take time to reflect, we become more in tune with our emotions and thoughts. This self-awareness can help us identify sources of stress, frustration, or dissatisfaction, and address them more effectively.

Taking a pause also gives us an opportunity to practice gratitude and mindfulness. By being present in the moment, we can appreciate the small joys in life, which enhances our overall sense of happiness and contentment.

Supports Physical Health

Taking a pause isn’t just good for your mind; it’s also beneficial for your body. Sitting for long periods without a break can lead to physical discomfort and health problems such as back pain, poor posture, and even cardiovascular issues.

By taking regular breaks to stretch, move, or walk, you improve circulation and boost your overall physical well-being. Pausing to engage in activities like yoga or deep breathing can also lower blood pressure and reduce muscle tension.

We have a series of guided Mini Meditations which you can use to begin your pause.

We begin with Taking a Pause.

Take a pause with one of our guided mini meditations on YouTube

Whatever our lifestyle is like, taking time to stop and breathe can bring about moments of stillness where we find clarity, creativity, and renewal. Whether it’s a short break during the workday or a more extended period of reflection, integrating regular pauses into your routine can lead to improved mental, emotional, and physical well-being. So, give yourself permission to pause and let us know how you get on.

Jacky Seery

World Mindfulness Day

Jacky Seery — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 14:07:26 +0000

Knowing What is Happening While it is Happening

Our definition of Mindfulness from the founder of the Mindfulness Association – Rob Nairn

World Mindfulness Day has been celebrated on the 12th September since 2011 as a way of raising awareness of the benefits of mindfulness. People from all backgrounds across the world have come together on this day as a mark of respect to what Mindfulness brings into the world.

World Mindfulness Day is a time to remind ourselves of the power of being present. In today’s fast-paced world, Mindfulness helps us stay grounded, focused, and in tune with ourselves and the environment around us.

How to Celebrate World Mindfulness Day

World Mindfulness Day offers the perfect occasion to pause, reflect, and start (or deepen) your mindfulness practice. Here are some simple ways to get involved:

JOIN OUR FREE DAILY MEDITATIONS at – 10:30AM & 7:00 PM (weekdays)

Join us for a free guided practice online with one of our tutors

1. Practice a Mindful Meditation

Set aside 10-15 minutes to sit quietly and focus on your breath. Notice the sensation of the air entering and leaving your body, and if your mind starts to wander (which it inevitably will), gently bring it back to the breath. This small act of stillness can have a profound effect on your mental clarity and emotional state. There are 2 mini practices below for you to try. Or you can try a longer practice of around 25 minutes from a wide selection of our practices here.

2. Take a Mindful Walk

Spend time outdoors, fully engaging with your surroundings. Notice the feeling of the ground beneath your feet, the sound of birds, the rustle of leaves in the wind, or the warmth of the sun on your skin. Walking mindfully helps you reconnect with nature and yourself.

3. Practice Mindful Eating

Instead of rushing through a meal, take time to savour every bite. Pay attention to the texture, flavour, and aroma of your food. This practice not only enhances your appreciation of the meal but also promotes better digestion and a healthier relationship with food.

4. Do a Body Scan

A body scan is a form of mindfulness meditation where you mentally scan your body, from your toes to your head, checking in with how each part feels. This helps you become more aware of physical sensations, tension, or areas of relaxation.

5. Reflect with Gratitude

At the end of the day, take a moment to reflect on what you’re grateful for. This simple practice can shift your focus from what’s lacking in your life to the abundance you already have, cultivating a more positive mindset.

6. Pause with a Smile – 3 minutes

Try this 3 minute mini meditation and become aware of what you notice and how it feels taking in the good

7. Pause with the breath – 7 minutes

Try this mini meditation to help calm your nervous system.

Mindfulness Resources

We have a wide range of Free Mindfulness Resources Here

World Mindfulness Day: A Moment to Pause, Reflect, and Be Present

In today’s fast-paced world, where multitasking has become second nature and the constant stream of notifications can leave us feeling overwhelmed, there’s a growing need for moments of calm and clarity. World Mindfulness Day serves as a reminder of the importance of slowing down, paying attention to the present moment, and nurturing our mental well-being.

Whether you’re new to mindfulness or have been practicing for years, World Mindfulness Day is an opportunity for all of us to reflect on how mindfulness can enrich our lives.

What Is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness, in its simplest form, is the practice of being fully present in the moment, and noticing any preference that we have about what is happening in the present moment. It’s about focusing on the now — your thoughts, feelings, sensations, and surroundings — rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. It’s a powerful tool that can help reduce stress, improve mental clarity, and enhance overall well-being.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, a pioneer in the modern mindfulness movement, defines mindfulness as “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.” The beauty of mindfulness is that it can be practiced anywhere, at any time, whether you’re taking a mindful walk in nature, eating a meal slowly and savouring each bite, or simply focusing on your breath.

The Importance of Mindfulness in Modern Life

Our modern world is busier than ever, with technology keeping us connected 24/7 and personal and professional demands pulling us in countless directions. This constant engagement can lead to burnout, anxiety, and a sense of being disconnected from ourselves.

Mindfulness provides an antidote to this overload. By practicing mindfulness regularly, we can:

Reduce Stress: Research shows that mindfulness-based practices can significantly lower levels of stress and anxiety by helping us manage our responses to life’s challenges.
Improve Focus and Concentration: Mindfulness helps train our attention, making it easier to stay focused on tasks without becoming distracted.
Enhance Emotional Regulation: By being more aware of our emotions in the moment, we can respond more thoughtfully rather than reacting impulsively.
Boost Creativity: Taking time to be mindful opens up space for creativity and new ideas to flow.
Cultivate Compassion: Mindfulness encourages a non-judgmental awareness of ourselves and others, promoting empathy and compassion.

Mindfulness in Everyday Life

While World Mindfulness Day is an excellent opportunity to immerse yourself in mindfulness, the goal is to make it a part of your everyday life. Mindfulness doesn’t require a special setting or equipment; it can be integrated into your daily routine in small, manageable ways.

Here are a few ideas for cultivating mindfulness every day:

Morning Mindfulness: Start your day with a few deep breaths, setting a positive tone for the hours ahead.
Mindful Commute: Whether you’re driving, walking, or taking public transportation, use this time to observe your surroundings without the distraction of phones or music.
Mindful Work: Take a break during the workday to move and stretch, breathe, and re-center your focus. Even a 5-minute mindfulness practice can make a difference.
Mindful Conversations: Practice listening fully when someone is speaking, without interrupting or planning your response. This fosters deeper connections and understanding.

Conclusion

World Mindfulness Day is a powerful reminder of the importance of slowing down and living in the present moment. It’s a day to cultivate inner peace, connect with ourselves and others, and embrace the simplicity of being present.

So, this September 12th, take a moment to pause. Whether it’s a deep breath, a mindful walk, or a heartfelt reflection, let mindfulness guide you toward a calmer, more centred life. You might just discover that peace isn’t something you have to chase — it’s something that’s already here, waiting for you to notice.

Happy World Mindfulness Day!

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Did You Have an Imaginary Friend?

Kristine Mackenzie-Janson — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 19:16:57 +0000

Did you used to have an imaginary friend when you were a child? Do you still?

I asked this question not so long ago in a group of mindfulness and compassion practitioners, and there was laughter in the room in response. A few brave hands went up, but judging by the response, it seemed I had asked a bit of a silly question.

Now this one. Do you ever hear the voice in your head of someone you met in your childhood – maybe the classroom bully, or a mean teacher, a critical parent or a stranger who out of the blue said something unkind that you still remember word for word, all these years later? For some people this may not come so clearly as a voice with words, but as a sinking feeling of ‘I’ll never manage that’, or ‘you see, here I go again’ – but with a similar flavour to what you encountered all those years ago.

Looking at my own experience, there are several voices from the past that pop up on occasion to remind me of my limitations and shortcomings, and who predict a negative outcome. I wouldn’t exactly call these ‘imaginary friends’, but ‘imaginary bullies’ would be quite an accurate term, as the original owners of these voices have long left my life, yet here their message pops up again, unbidden.

Luckily, not only have they become quieter over the years and I usually recognise them quite quickly as unhelpful input, but also, they’re not the only voices! There are many more helpful and encouraging sources, although getting them to come to the foreground took some practice. But wow, what a difference it can make to have some supportive, kind and encouraging voices to lean into! Particularly when in challenging moments or tricky times, it can make all the difference when there’s an inner compassionate friend to turn to. Actual friends are super helpful too, of course, but not always available at 3am in the morning when I wake up with worries, or in unexpected situations where a response is needed pretty much immediately.

We use our imagination all the time, and often unconsciously: imagining the worst scenario, replaying the conversation that didn’t go as we hoped, hearing negative predictions based on those voices from the past. How about accessing some freedom of choice here?

The first thing we can do, is use our mindfulness skills to become aware of these patterns playing out, and bringing our attention back to something neutral in the present moment – the sounds around us, the breath coming and going, the sensations of feet on the ground.

But we can take this one step further and begin to cultivate compassionate imagery that can support and encourage in moments when we need it most. Compassionate imagery has the potential to become a powerful source of kindness that we can access in tricky moments, giving us more resilience. This can take the form of a supportive, compassionate being, but also other forms, such as a place where you feel safe and supported, and free to be completely yourself. Version of the safe place exercise are used in a range of contexts and often reported as highly effective, such as in this research with traumatised refugees. Previous participants of compassion courses with the Mindfulness Association have also found this, like one participant who found that her safe place changed each time and over time. The place became one where the door was left open rather than closed (at first this felt safer), and a place where she felt she had everything she needed, food, warmth, comfort. One of her ‘compassionate beings’ was close by and on hand if needed. This place became a part of her ‘mindfulness toolkit’, and she loved to return here and remember that this safe place was right here within her, during stressful times.

Of course, just imagining is not likely to change our circumstances as if by magic. But whether we are aware of it or not, our imagination does have a direct impact on our emotional wellbeing and our physical nervous system – and with practice we can guide this into a helpful direction. Like Jon Kabat Zinn often says: we can’t stop the waves, but we can learn to surf!

Message from the tutor:

Teachings on compassion and practices of compassionate imagery have made a real difference in my life. I used to have a very harsh self-critic, and while that tendency is still there, it usually doesn’t take long before I can access a more helpful response. The practices that are on the menu in this weekend are varied and potent, and it’s been a delight to both introduce people to new ways of meeting themselves with kindness, as well as see people connect with practices they’d tried before but that for some reason hadn’t ‘clicked’ yet. I’d love to discover how the experience of this weekend could make a difference for your sense of resilience!

Rediscovering Poetry Through Mindfulness

Fay Adams — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 08:00:18 +0000

The way I was taught to approach poetry at school, although fascinating in its own way, didn’t foster a long-term love of it. I remember there being so many things I was supposed to be able to say about a poem – about alliteration, rhyme, pentameter, simile, metaphor… More frustratingly I was supposed to ‘get’ the poem intellectually, and many times I didn’t.

But in recent years, I’ve rediscovered poetry through mindfulness and this is a whole new world!

Poetry is an available and priceless source of life-wisdom. It’s sad that so many miss out on this because they think they have to understand the poem from the head. When we receive our natural response to a poem mindfully ‘doors open up in the air,’ as American poet Jane Hirshfield puts it.

When we sit mindfully and allow the words, images, sounds and feel of a poem to drop into our mind/body/heart, we will notice natural responses moving within us – attraction, repulsion, insight, sadness, confoundedness, love… Amazingly, these arise autonomously, even when we don’t intellectually understand what is being said. In this way we discover the gold hidden in the often opaque words. Many poems have a gift to give us and, tantalisingly, the gift can be different for each receiver. But many poems also hold universal life-wisdom which then speaks to the well of wisdom within each of us. I love the feeling when the wisdom in a poem unites with my own inner knowing! Hearing the words, I feel the kindling of recognition stirring within me, feelings or sensations constellate and something is woken up from slumber, an inner light turns on and a bit of magic has sparkled into my present moment.

In this way poetry speaks to us at a depth that is rare and very precious. We can take this gift of light with us then, into our daily life and our mindfulness sits. Perhaps as little poetic mantras (a line or phrase from a poem), as instructions for living well or as instruction for practice itself. My notebooks and kitchen cupboards carry many scribbled reminders. My texts, emails and cards to others are sometimes sprinkled with what I hope are appropriate poetic quotes, to bring comfort, empowerment or wisdom.

At its best poetry encourages a blooming of our humanity and contemplative potential. I have been struck by how, in poetry books and on websites, we can find a compendium of spiritual insight to rival any religious tome. Interesting that in the West many of us think of ourselves as living in a secular world, and yet the ancient mystical insights of the world’s contemplative traditions are popular and at our fingertips like never before. Bookshops and online stores stock the likes of Rumi, Hafiz, Kabir, Teresa of Avila and St. Francis of Assisi. Meanwhile more recent poets craft words that are full of a new more contemporary flavour of deep humanity and mysticism – I’m thinking Mary Oliver, Pablo Neruda, Jeff Foster, T. S. Elliot to name but a few.

Each time I start a new Mystical Poetry meets Mindfulness course, I find myself suggesting that we back-peddle away from a technical, analytical style of looking at poetry. Instead, we practice ‘receiving our response’ to a poem. American poet Billy Collins guides us in this beautifully by saying the following:

I ask them to take a poem

and hold it up to the light

like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem

and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem’s room

and feel the walls for a light switch.

These instructions light me up with a sense of the magic that poetry can bring, when we receive it with our whole being. This is why I think that poetry and mindfulness are a match made in heaven!

Let me finish with a line that I just found written in my diary:

‘We need as human beings, the vessel and the lantern that poetry offers.’ (Jane Hirshfield)

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Fay’s new Mindfulness & Mystical Poetry course begins on September 12th. It’s a 6 week online course, on a Thursday Evening.

Mindfulness Meets Mystical Poetry – Sept-Oct

The Healing Power of Compassion in Nature

Fay Adams — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 15:35:37 +0000

Nourishing the Givers

In our fast-paced world many of us find ourselves feeling drained and in need of our own nurturing. When I feel this way I head to Aconbury Wood, near my home because I know that one powerful and deeply enjoyable way to replenish energy and restore balance is through seeking solace in nature. The combination of mindfulness, compassion and nature immersion offers a myriad of benefits, backed by both ancient wisdom and contemporary research.

I am always a little surprised, though perhaps I shouldn’t be, by how some timeless, relaxed time in nature seems to set me to rights. I don’t have to make it happen – apart from getting myself to Aconbury Wood. Once there, nature does the work of untangling my mind and softening my muscles. I return to work or parenting or supporting parents with a touch more resilience and a sense of perspective. This has the power to make all the difference.

And I find that if I practice with a compassionate intention in nature the effect is magnified. It’s all about dropping out of my head and into my heart. The world really does look different from here, but I often forget this until Aconbury Wood works its magic. When facing moments of tension in my home, or the suffering of my parents, I then have the ability to remain open and kind, and not be swallowed up by it all.

For those who spend much of their time working hard and giving to others, practising mindful compassion in nature can be especially rejuvenating. This practice can prevent burnout, enhance emotional resilience, and provide a fresh perspective on roles and responsibilities when returning home.

Mindfulness, the practice of staying present and fully engaging with the moment, helps us to calm our minds and reduce stress. Compassion, the act of recognizing and wanting to alleviate the suffering of others, is a cornerstone of many spiritual and philosophical traditions. When combined, mindful compassion not only enhances our well-being but also deepens our connection to ourselves and others.

Nature, with its inherent tranquility and beauty, provides the perfect backdrop for mindful compassion practices. The natural environment encourages us to slow down, breathe deeply, and immerse ourselves in the present moment.

The benefits of this immersive experience in nature is not just anecdotal but is supported by scientific research both in terms of mindfulness and compassion. For example the Journal of Environmental Psychology revealed that individuals who engaged in mindful walks in nature experienced improved mood and emotional well-being compared to those who walked in urban settings. This suggests that nature amplifies the benefits of mindfulness, making it a potent tool for emotional regulation. Research published in Frontiers in Psychology indicates that practicing mindfulness in nature can increase feelings of connectedness and compassion. The study found that nature exposure enhances our empathy towards others and fosters a greater sense of community.

So if you feel that your batteries are running low and that now is the time to gift yourself the space and time to breathe deep and reconnect with yourself, join us in the beautiful surrounds of Samye Ling for a compassion and nature bath!

Fay

Join Fay for a weekend of compassion in Nature in the beautiful and gentle surroundings of Samye Ling in the south of Scotland. 16-18 August.