One of my ongoing goals (for about a year now) is practicing mindfulness in my day-to-day. In my line of work, we place a big emphasis on working on mindfulness with clients. As I began to see the positive effects that it was having on those I worked with, I thought it might be time to start practicing what I preach, and so my own journey into mindful living began. To give some background, there are two beautiful things about mindfulness that really stick out to me. First, it doesn't always have to be a "sunshine and rainbows" sort of practice- sometimes, mindfulness simply means recognizing a negative feeling you might be having, and asking yourself about it, without shaming yourself or putting yourself down for feeling it- where did it come from? Why am I having this reaction? How is this going to affect me right now, as well as in the future? Being able to practice mindfulness in a negative situation has been a game changer for me- it allows me to actually feel an emotion, have a reaction, evaluate within myself, and move forward.
The second beautiful thing about mindfulness is that it creates real, very tangible life changes, without a large amount of effort. A perfect example of this is with eating. Mindfulness in eating means full awareness of your food- think about the visual aspects, the texture, colors, and so on. How does it smell? What are the reactions it's creating in your body? Is this food going to nourish you?
And more while you're eating- how is this food making me feel? How does it taste? How does it feel on my tongue?
Mindful eating can be such an important tool when trying to lose weight- it allows us to really get in touch with our body, and create a healthy partnership with food that breaks the abusive cycle of food as a coping mechanism or means of enjoyment.
Does anyone have any experience practicing mindfulness? If so, how has it changed things for you?
The second beautiful thing about mindfulness is that it creates real, very tangible life changes, without a large amount of effort. A perfect example of this is with eating. Mindfulness in eating means full awareness of your food- think about the visual aspects, the texture, colors, and so on. How does it smell? What are the reactions it's creating in your body? Is this food going to nourish you?
And more while you're eating- how is this food making me feel? How does it taste? How does it feel on my tongue?
Mindful eating can be such an important tool when trying to lose weight- it allows us to really get in touch with our body, and create a healthy partnership with food that breaks the abusive cycle of food as a coping mechanism or means of enjoyment.
Does anyone have any experience practicing mindfulness? If so, how has it changed things for you?