What is mindfulness and what is it not?

By Karyn Dowdall Kawartha

Mindfulness is a term often used to describe the process of paying attention.

Paying attention is indeed an aspect of the practice of mindfulness but does not fully describe its meaning or purpose. Mindfulness is not about sitting in cross-legged in a meditation pose and visualizing a sandy beach or listening to music. It is not a focus on images or stories. Rather, it involves the understanding of the functions of our brain, through which we can differentiate and integrate our thoughts, feelings and emotions.

The brain stem is responsible for our physical sensations. Heart rate, temperature and the fight or flight responses are functions of this area of the brain. The limbic system is responsible for emotions and our sense of connection to others. The cortex brings in the senses to help us pay attention and understand the outside world. The prefrontal cortex helps us to integrate all of these various functions. This capacity for integration, allows us to calm ourselves down in times of stress, or pump ourselves up when it’s time to get motivated.

The reason it is important to know the different functions of the mind is because we can separate ourselves from our experiences. We know that an emotion is a specific function of the limbic system and a thought is generated in the prefrontal cortex — they do not come from a force outside of ourselves. We therefore have some control over how we experience them.

The practice of mindfulness involves paying attention to our experience in the moment. We notice how our bodies are responding to our environment and what emotions and thoughts are present. With this particular awareness, we can start to practice integration. We can use our thoughts to control our breath. Slowing down the breath will slow down the heart rate. Slowing the heart rate tames a negative emotion. Controlling negative emotions allows for more control over our thoughts. Through mindfulness we notice and control our thoughts, feelings and emotions in a collaborative manner.

You do not need to attend a yoga class or a personal development workshop to practice mindfulness. You can do the practice on your own or perhaps with the help of an app on your smartphone. The key to mindfulness is practicing. You have to do it, for it to work. Try it using my favourite mindfulness app called the Insight Timer. Go to www.insighttimer.com to give it a try. Do it daily and notice how you can fine-tune your ability to calm yourself down in stressful situations or get focused and pumped to get things done.

Published in https://www.mykawartha.com/opinion-story/8849472-what-is-mindfulness-and-what-is-it-not-/

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