What is Mindfulness - Mindfuel Inspirations

What is Mindfulness?

I have to confess to a slightly unconventional approach to all of this…

I came to the concept of mindfulness initially around the mid 2000s when my friends started talking about it. I bought the books and tried the CDs, but only dabbled inconsistently. During the ten years of my PhD I tried to practise more regularly, but really only came to it as a regular commitment during the Covid 19 lockdown period, finding that it enriched my life significantly, and I have grown into it ever since.

So much so that, in 2023, I decided to push myself to learn more and immerse more in mindfulness by signing up to become a mindfulness teacher through an excellent course run by Mindfulness Now. I learnt much about what mindfulness was, what it wasn’t, and the many health and wellbeing benefits it can bring.

Importantly, as well as learning what I liked about it, I learned what I did not like, and so from that has emerged my own “take” on the practice of mindfulness and, more to the point, how I deliver it.

I am not one for what I regard as “over-soothing” - this type of delivery actually has quite the opposite effect on me. And since there is plenty of evidence which supports the benefits that a regular mindfulness practice can bring, in my view this requires a clear, no-nonsense and down-to-earth approach to delivery.

Equally, it’s important for mindfulness to fit in with busy lives, so it requires realistic and achievable commitment from my clients. Starting small, building bigger in time and with practice. Working with the client to tailor sessions and courses to their own needs through preliminary meetings and detailed discussions. These are the elements which are most important.

With that in mind, I work to deliver something very practical, something that clients and individuals can identify with and use in real life.

Mindfulness is the practice of paying full attention to the present moment, to one’s thoughts, feelings and body sensations, as well as what’s happening around us, which means that you are not engaging in the past and regretting previous actions, neither are you trying to work out what’s going to happen in the future. You are just here. Right now.

We only have room for a small amount in our mind – when you focus on the present moment, noticing what is here, there is no room for past memories or future worries.

Cultivating this awareness has been shown to mitigate stress, anxiety and depression, and improve creativity and concentration. Awareness of one’s feelings also provides an early warning system through which to defuse reactivity and instead replace it with a considered response to a situation, also allowing you to know your own habits, and so be able to spot signs that you may be about to go into a negative spiral, and take steps to prevent it.

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The neuroscience behind mindfulness

I have to confess to a slightly unconventional approach to all of this…

I came to the concept of mindfulness initially around the mid 2000s when my friends started talking about it. I bought the books and tried the CDs, but only dabbled inconsistently. During the ten years of my PhD I tried to practise more regularly, but really only came to it as a regular commitment during the Covid 19 lockdown period, finding that it enriched my life significantly, and I have grown into it ever since.

So much so that, in 2023, I decided to push myself to learn more and immerse more in mindfulness by signing up to become a mindfulness teacher through an excellent course run by Mindfulness Now. I learnt much about what mindfulness was, what it wasn’t, and the many health and wellbeing benefits it can bring.

Importantly, as well as learning what I liked about it, I learned what I did not like, and so from that has emerged my own “take” on the practice of mindfulness and, more to the point, how I deliver it.

I am not one for what I regard as “over-soothing” - this type of delivery actually has quite the opposite effect on me. And since there is plenty of evidence which supports the benefits that a regular mindfulness practice can bring, in my view this requires a clear, no-nonsense and down-to-earth approach to delivery.

Equally, it’s important for mindfulness to fit in with busy lives, so it requires realistic and achievable commitment from my clients. Starting small, building bigger in time and with practice. Working with the client to tailor sessions and courses to their own needs through preliminary meetings and detailed discussions. These are the elements which are most important.

With that in mind, I work to deliver something very practical, something that clients and individuals can identify with and use in real life.

Modern research has shown that a regular mindfulness practice physically changes the brain for the better, offering lasting benefits such as:

Stronger Emotional Regulation:

Boosting grey matter in the hippocampus (responsible for memory and learning) and reducing the size of the amygdala (the fight or flight response area).

Becoming more aware of one’s own behavioural traits to be able to take steps to improve these where necessary.

Enhanced Focus and Decision-Making:

A regular practice helps to create a strengthened prefrontal cortex, which allows for improved critical thinking, sharper focus, and more effective leadership.

Reduced Stress Responses:

A regular mindfulness practice has been shown to reduce cortisol levels (the body's primary stress hormone), helping individuals to remain calmer and more resilient under pressure.

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"Mindfulness without the fluff"