What Actually is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness ebbs and flows in and out of popularity within our culture pretty consistently. While it gives us great sound bites like ‘very demure, very mindful’ sometimes there can be difficulty actually rooting into what mindfulness is. It is a practice that has been around for centuries. The origins of mindfulness are thought to be from Eastern practices of Buddhism, and gained popularity in the US in the 70s when Westerners studying the practices introduced it to the Western culture. This led to an increase in mindfulness practices which subsequently sparked an increase in meditation retreats. While there is a benefit to cultures sharing practices, since the 70s, mindfulness has been diluted through capitalism as well as social media. We wanted to provide a guide to help you really understand what mindfulness is in order to implement it intentionally into your practice as well as to honor this practice’s simplicity by cutting away all the misrepresentation that has surrounded it for decades. 

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is thought to have two key components; doing one thing at a time and being non-judgemental. By doing one thing at a time, we are bringing our focus into the here-and-now, choosing to pay attention and actively staying focused. It’s helpful to think of the example of tossing a ball in the air and catching it. When we mindfully do so, we are solely focusing on the rising and falling of the ball and the sensation of catching and releasing. 

By being non-judgemental, we want to simply remove our interpretation of what’s happening. If we think about tossing the ball and being non-judgemental, this would mean we aren’t analyzing if it was a ‘good’ toss or a ‘bad’ toss, we are simply removing the judgement. 

By removing the judgement and focusing on one thing at a time, we become more of an observer than an interpreter. This can have many benefits like decreased worry and anxiety. We want to practice the acceptance of our experiences as the way they are instead of thinking about what they ‘should’ be like. 

How to do you practice mindfulness?

Mindfulness is sometimes held synonymous with meditation. In reality, meditation is one way to practice mindfulness, but it isn’t the only way. We recommend starting small with however you choose to integrate mindfulness into your life, as it can feel a little unfamiliar and funky at first. Here are a list of common mindfulness practices that may feel more approachable to you:

1. Single Task; this is quite literally what it sounds like. We want to choose one task to complete at a time. Try to do it without a distraction like the TV or music. Try to focus on what this task feels like. If it’s something like washing dishes, what does it sound like? What is the water like? How does the soap smell? Really trying to slow down and notice things about the task you haven’t in the past. 

2. A Senses Scan; try to sit comfortably with paced breathing. Identify five things you’re looking at, four things you can hear, three body sensations, two smells, and the taste in your mouth. This brings awareness to our senses that we often have ignored. Again, remember not to judge.

3. Big Stretch; take a second to stretch out all of your body. One big stretch while noticing what it feels like from head to toes. Then when you release, also be aware of what that feels like. It can be helpful to do this a couple of times for awareness. 

Now that we’ve reviewed mindfulness and some practices, we encourage you to try it. If these don’t seem approachable, no worries, there are several ways to be mindful as long as you root back into the here-and-now while being non-judgmental. 

The information on this website is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical or psychological condition and is not a substitute for therapy. If you are experiencing an emergency please call/text 988 or go to your nearest emergency room.