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Mental Health at McMaster

McMaster Okanagan Office of Health & Well-being

What is Mindfulness?

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Mindfulness is paying attention, with an attitude of curiosity, to whatever we are doing in the moment. It is a non-judgemental awareness that uses all our senses and can be done anytime and anywhere — drinking our coffee, doing the dishes or even brushing our teeth.

Mindfulness is learning to inhabit the moment exactly as it is and to see things as they are, without trying to control it.

Mindfulness can help us develop the internal conditions (thoughts, feelings, sensations) that lead to long-term happiness/contentment so that we are not so vulnerable to the constantly changing external conditions of our life experiences.

Mindfulness and Meditation

Practicing meditation allows us to live more mindfully. It is an exercise or technique that helps build our mindfulness muscle.

It is when we set our intention to spend a period of time bringing our attention back, over and over again to an anchor or object of meditation (such as our breath). There are many ways you can meditate — such as a seated guided meditation, a visualization meditation, a walking meditation or an eating meditation.

Meditation has been shown to reduce anxiety and help improve our sleep and well-being.

Infographic about the 5 Top Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation. The first benefit is more patience. In our lightning-fast instant gratification culture, it’s easy to get distracted. Mindfulness teaches us to practice patience so it comes more naturally to us when we need it. The second benefit is better focus and productivity. It’s tempting to get caught up in social media, interruptions, and unhelpful thoughts. Mindfulness helps us recognize distracting thoughts or impulses and let them pass without indulging them. The third benefit is increased compassion. Mindfulness broadens compassion for ourselves and others by helping us suspend self-judgement and bring our attention back to the present moment. The fourth benefit is heightened body awareness. We tend to lose awareness of what our body is feeling when we get too busy or distracted. With mindful awareness, we can listen to our bodies and react in healthier, purposeful ways. The fifth benefit is less stress and anxiety. By learning how to be more choiceful about when to think about that, we can rewire our brains to reduce stress and anxiety.