Mindfulness Meditation
How aware are you?
The mind has a mind of its own. No matter how much you focus your attention on any one thing, your mind will very quickly veer off to something else. Mindfulness meditation is the practice of developing an awareness of where the mind has gone to and bringing your fullest attention back to whatever is going on at this moment.
The Benefits of Mindful Meditation
The act of repeatedly noticing where the mind is and bringing your focus back to the present moment creates a sense of calm and enhances the ability to tolerate even unpleasant things. Over time, the practice helps us to experience thoughts and feelings as they really are, and not through the criticisms, judgements and labels that the mind is always and automatically trying to put on things.
Regular practice in mindfulness meditation can help to reduce stress and anxiety, it prevents relapse from depression and greatly assists with the management of pain.
Other benefits of meditation include:
- Greater energy and productivity
- Improved self-esteem
- Less self-criticism
- The ability to view situations more objectively and less judgmentally
- Feel calmer
Mindfulness Meditation in Therapy
Mindfulness and CBT go very well together. Ask your clinician if you would like to add a mindfulness meditation component into your ongoing therapy work and Shift Cognitive Therapy
