How Mindfulness Might Benefit You

How to Reconcile Awareness with Overload

For many years I, like many of you, have juggled a lot of balls.  Family, household, marital relationship, education, business, altruism – and I’ve loved it.  The more I did, the more accomplished I felt.  The more my children and later, grandchildren accomplished, the more we contributed and the more fulfilled I felt.

Then, I started getting migraines. The headaches didn’t just creep in but swooped and if you’ve ever had them before, you know, they can be disabling. Maybe for you, it’s something else, maybe neck pain or a tick. Stress and all the years of overload come back to haunt you and the things you thought made you who you were, start kicking you in the rear.

After trying to handle it on my own, I went to a neurologist, who at least has them under control.  He prescribed Vitamins and Minerals, medication and Neurotherapy. I’m very appreciative to have it under control after 10 years, but the medication comes with its own set of problems, so I’ve put into practice some of the things we encourage as lifestyle changes for our customers. That is; regular exercise and stress reduction, fewer electronics and more time outdoors.

“Be happy in the moment, that’s enough.  Each moment is all we need, not more.” Mother Teresa

Mindfulness is an awareness of our feelings, thoughts, and experiences, without judgment.  I don’t know about you, I can be pretty aware, but judgment is a struggle for me.  So I am a work in process in my “mindful practice.”  Telling myself “that’s okay” is pretty standard for me.

Mindfulness is not exclusive to Eastern religions.  Everyone can practice mindfulness and grow spiritually.  Organized religion, Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism all practice it in prayer and philosophy; you don’t have to be a member of a specific religion to practice mindfulness.

Cathy Sykora

Cathy Sykora

Founder, The Health Coach Group

Cathy helps health coaches build and maintain successful businesses that improve the lives of others.

The Benefits

Doctors are even prescribing mindfulness to alleviate symptoms causing physical repercussions.  Pain, anxiety, stress, and depression have been found to improve with the practice of mindfulness.

  • Fewer symptoms of depression
  • Reduction of stress
  • Boosts memory
  • increased focus
  • less emotional reaction
  • more cognitive flexibility (self-observation)
  • satisfaction in relationships
  • fear regulation
  • intuition
  • self-insight
  • morality

Mindfulness has been studied through empirical research and has been shown to enhance ALL function in the middle prefrontal lobe area of the brain.  Mindfulness has even been shown to have numerous medical benefits including immune function.

This is pretty new research and they’re still going back and forth over just how much is changed by mindfulness.  I’ve attached some additional reading from the US Department of Health and Human Services.  It shows research on different conditions that’s been conducted and the results.  If you have something like pain management, ulcerative colitis, fibromyalgia, or Multiple Sclerosis, I highly recommend clicking on the link and taking a peek at the research.  It’s pretty easy to read and understand.

So…what are we waiting for?  Not too many pills that can offer a list like this.

 

Next Week:

How to let go of our need to multitask and embrace Mindfulness.

 

What is your experience with Mindfulness in the busyness of your world?  Please share in the comments below.

 

 

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