Imagine waking up in the mornings feeling refreshed, ready for whatever the day brings, able to focus on your daily tasks and the people around you, without constantly feeling distracted, anxious, or irritable. What would it take to get you to such a relaxed and peaceful state of mind? A two-week vacation in Tahiti? A visit to an all-day spa? A twenty thousand dollar raise?
But there are some things that money just can’t buy. Something as simple (and free) as meditating for twenty minutes a day or taking a quiet walk through the woods or immersing yourself in restful sounds can bring you a peace of mind you didn’t think possible. And you don’t have to join an ashram or change your religion to learn these simple, ancient practices of mindfulness.
What Is Mindfulness?
“Be here now.” – Baba Ram Das (Richard Alpert)
Mindfulness, a component of all forms of meditation, is the intense and unconditional concentration on the present moment, stripped of outside distractions, random thoughts, or negative emotions. Whether it’s focusing intently on the textures and flavors of a meal, on the feel of wet sand on your toes, or on the birdsongs in your own backyard, being-in-the-moment allows you to slow down and enjoy each daily experience to the fullest. Over time, practitioners of mindfulness become more compassionate towards others and better able to handle the ups and downs of life.
No matter how cluttered your life is with details and demands, you can always carve out a few minutes each day to sit comfortably and quietly, cut off from the noise and nonsense. Let your head drop a bit, lower your eyelids, and breathe slowly in and out, in and out. If your mind wanders back to all that noise and nonsense, or you start “thinking” about the rest of your day, calmly bring your mental focus back to being aware of nothing but the moment.
Ways to Meditate
“If you are too busy to meditate, you are too busy.” – Mahareshi Mahesh Yogi
Mindfulness and meditation are two sides of the same coin. Like yoga, they have their roots in ancient Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist traditions from the Far East. Starting in the 1960s, these practices were introduced in the western world as a secular means of reducing stress and achieving inner calm.
While there are common elements to the different kinds of mindful mediation, it’s good to explore how which type might be better suited to your personality and lifestyle. For instance, spiritual meditation, like prayer, requires silence and is often enhanced with aromas like incense. Focused meditation concentrates on using the senses – staring at a candle flame, listening to your breathing – to keep your mind from wandering. Movement meditation, whether yoga, tai chi, or gentle dance, is beneficial for people who prefer action to sitting still.
Chanting meditation, whether using a personal mantra or sound like “om” repetitively, would appeal to someone who doesn’t enjoy complete silence or trying to focus on their breathing. The best-known and most-studied form of meditation is Transcendental Meditation, which is more structured than other forms, and appeals to serious practitioners.
A Breath of Fresh Air
“The world is too much with us; late and soon, / Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers --/ Little we see in Nature that is ours…” -- William Wordsworth
Spending “quality time” outdoors is good for everyone’s physical and mental health, no matter their age – not just children on school vacation. A 2001 government survey found that Americans spend 87% of their time indoors and 6% enclosed in a vehicle. But our species did not evolve physically and psychologically to spend so much time cut off from the outdoors, a stranger to Nature.
A specific type of mindfulness meditation is the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku – “forest bathing.” It is not a brisk “nature walk” or a grueling hike – it is a quiet, slow stroll focusing only on the therapeutic sights, sounds and smells of the oxygen-rich outdoor world. Blood pressure, heart rate, and stress hormones drop, and immune function increases, which brings on feelings of relaxation and well-being.
By being mindfully focused on the natural setting and their place in it, whether it’s an empty shoreline or a snowy woods, people who practice shinrin-yoku are less likely to be mentally obsessing over squabbles at home or problems at work for a brief period, thereby reducing depression and anxiety.
Mindfulness Here and Now
“Each morning we are born again. What we do today matters most.” – Buddha
Here on the South Coast, the Buzzards Bay Coalition has teamed up with Anchor Yoga of Mattapoisett to host free “Mindfulness Walks” at our many conservation areas, nature reserves and parks. These walks are conducted in a deliberately slow pace in social silence – without digital devices. To find one near you, go to savebuzzardsbay.org/discover/events.
In addition to offering classes in many types of yoga and meditation, Anchor Yoga offers a ten-session course in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), which introduces participants to the art and science of living mindfully, using meditation and mindful movement to cultivate awareness and reduce stress.
The MBSR course was first developed at the UMass Medical School and is now used in more than 200 medical centers, hospitals and clinics worldwide. The program teaches participants to develop “present moment awareness,” and to discover each person’s habitual response to stress and how to change those responses, allowing them to react more patiently and compassionately with themselves, loved ones and other people in their lives. MBSR is particularly helpful for anyone suffering from pain/medical issues, job or family stresses, anxiety or depression. To learn more, go to anchoryoga.com.
Music of the Spheres
“Paradise is not a place. It’s a state of consciousness.” – Sri Chinmoy
Psychoacoustics is the study off the effects of sound on the human nervous system, and how certain sounds can speed up healing, reduce stress and enhance learning.
Many of us have dozed off or “zoned out” listening to the repetitive sound of ocean waves. And all of us have been rattled by the sudden shriek of a siren, a blaring car horn, a child screaming or an alarm-clock buzzing loudly. Sounds can soothe us or stress us, sending our hearts hammering and our blood pressure ratcheting. And, increasingly, our lives are being disrupted by the incessant “dinging” of our cell phones 24/7, which keeps our stress hormones elevated.
A Gong Bath “sound meditation” is a form of mindfulness meditation that’s growing in popularity, employing sound waves that resonate with our brain waves to bring them into synchronicity. Think of it as a “sound massage” that penetrates every cell in your body. Unlike listening to structured music, immersing yourself in the abstract vibration of gongs allows your brainwaves to shift from normal beta waves (waking consciousness) to beta waves (relaxed consciousness) and then to theta waves (meditative state).
The Sandywoods Center for the Arts in Tiverton offers Gong Sound Bath sessions on a monthly basis, incorporating gongs, crystal and metal bowls, bells , and chimes to restore a sense of peace and relaxation. The Center also offers classes in JourneyDance, an active mindfulness exercise to get out of your thoughts and into your body-awareness. To learn more, go to sandywood.org/classes.
Spread the Love
“If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.” – Pema Chodron
By uncluttering your mind and focusing on the moment, you are better able to be patient and to react with kindness towards others. It increases self-awareness about your own behaviors and negative reactions. Mindfulness also improves your ability to learn, remember, and pay attention, no matter the task.
Most importantly, practicing mindfulness has proven benefits to your health, both physical and mental. Stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline have negative effects on your body – elevated blood pressure, headaches, muscle stiffness and cumulative damage to your body’s cardiovascular and immune systems. They also interfere with your memory and ability to learn.
When your mind reaches a more relaxed state, your body releases the “happy hormones,” endorphins like dopamine and serotonin. These natural opiates relieve pain and stress, and trigger feelings of euphoria, self-confidence and invigoration, thereby decreasing depression and anxiety. Over time, practicing mindfulness helps people overcome self-destructive behaviors, like overeating or substance dependency, and negative patterns of thinking that lead to insomnia, relationship conflicts, and psychosomatic disorders.
In addition, mindfulness meditation allows you to focus on “loving-kindness,” compassionate thoughts for those who are grieving, struggling or suffering, both near and far, as well as on forgiveness for them – and yourself.
Imagine a world where everyone wakes up in the mornings feeling refreshed, ready for whatever the day brings, able to focus on daily tasks and the people around them, without constantly feeling distracted, anxious, or irritable. Start practicing mindfulness.
