SLOW DOWN AND smell the roses…
Why you should try to live a more centred life, drum out the noise and reach a Zen state.
indfulness means being present. You can achieve it by meditating, through some religious practices, or simply by being aware of the present moment, according to mind, body and wellbeing specialist, Noa Belling. “Thinking a lot is part of most peoples’ daily lives. It takes you out of the present moment and into your thoughts, such as daydreaming, planning, analysing, criticising or worrying. Mindfulness teaches you to focus more clearly on the present moment, as opposed to silencing your thoughts,” she explains. Essentially, this helps you to dwell less on your thoughts and carefully consider your direct, sensory experience of the world: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste and your intuition.
Notice the suNset
We often get so caught up in our thoughts that we lose sight of how beautiful moments are. By practising minfulness, the opposite is true. Noa affirms that when you live in the moment, sensory experiences, such as watching a captivating sunset, become more vivid. “When your attention is caught up in your thoughts about everything but that, it can cloud the raw data of your sensory experience, and can cause you to feel less grounded and less in touch with your surroundings and others,” she says. Studies have also linked overuse of beta brainwaves (the ones you use to think) with emotional challenges such as depression and anxiety. Mindfulness offers a great way to feel more grounded, especially in the age of technology. If you’re concerned that being in a state of calm will affect your productivity levels because you’re so used to operating in a heightened state of awareness, Noa assures, even though mindfulness teaches the art of quieting the mind, it also optimises the function of your brain, resulting in sharper, clearer and more astute thinking. One way to measure this is in terms of brainwave frequencies. “With mindfulness, our brainwaves slow down to calmer, alpha frequencies, as well as dipping into theta frequencies (associated with dreaming, insight and creativity). You can also tune into a super-fast frequency called gamma, in which brain function synchronises and optimises to give you experiences such as big-picture, super-insightful and intelligent thinking. Some refer to these gamma frequencies as ‘being in the zone’. It’s when everything seems to flow,” she says. So, not only will you experience life more vividly; but you’ll also use your brain more effectively.
Be stiLL AND GRoW
Mindfulness has numerous, proven benefits, which Noa lists as follows:
1 PhYsi cAL
It improves your immunity, as well as your heart and gut health. It can also stabilise your energy levels and consistently leave you feeling more vital and energised.
2 e M otioNAL
It stimulates feel-good biochemistry, such as serotonin, which is responsible for calm and peaceful feelings, dopamine, which sparks your zest for life, and oxytocin, which allows you to feel intimately connected to others. Oxytocin is stimulated when mindfulness includes a loving or kindness component, such as deliberately extending your heartfelt feelings to others.
3 M e N tAL AND sPi Ri tuAL
Besides optimising your brain, as mentioned earlier, mindfulness is a fundamental method employed by many spiritual traditions as a vehicle for connecting with higher consciousness or something greater than ourselves.
PRActisiNG MiNDFuLNess
Meditating can be as informal and simple as taking mindful moments now and again throughout your day. “You might do this by pausing for as little as 30 seconds to take in your surroundings more fully with your senses. Look around, reach out and touch something, listen to sounds, notice smells and tastes, or listen to your heart and gut for guidance on how to address a stressful situation. This can shift you, noticeably, into a more mindful state,” she says. In her book, The Mindful Body, Noa explores the link between bodily awareness and presence. “Another way to be present is to make contact with your physical self. You can do this in many ways, such as pausing to notice how you’re breathing, then concentrating on doing it more deeply and steadily.” She also recommends using self-supportive touch. “Placing a hand on your chest is emotionally soothing, or you could carry out a body scan to find tense spots, and then take a few moments to stretch out these areas or give them a brief massage to release tension and increase your ability to focus in a calmer, clearer way.” She refers to these mini breaks throughout the day, as “mindful body moments”.
Mindfulness is a useful way to navigate life because you do it with intention. “If an experience feels wholesome and positive, you’ll be more likely to stick with it,” says Noa. “It’s also important to make time for present-focused activities, such as spending quality, face-to-face time with the important people in your life. You can also nourish your senses by, for example, spending time in nature, or challenging yourself to have a screen-free day sometimes, in exchange for some good old fashioned living.”
Your nervous system thrives on real-time, as opposed to screen time. “I’m not denying the benefits of modern technology, or advocating trying to avoid it or minimise it drastically,” she adds. “Use tech to your advantage, as long as you set aside enough quality time when you can enjoy real, sensory and soul-fulfilling experiences.”
““When we live in the moment, our sensory experience
becomes more vivid