Mindfulness: Making Moments Matter
Excerpt from Canadian Virtual Hospice. To read full article please click here.
Mindfulness is a practice that helps you connect with what you are experiencing in the present. Research has shown that mindfulness can positively affect your sense of well-being, even in the midst of illness. By focusing on your breath, you can find balance in the midst of distractions, demands and suffering. Mindfulness can help you live fully in the moment without getting stuck in it. Mindfulness comes from the spiritual traditions of the East, where it has been taught and practiced for thousands of years. In the West, mindfulness has played a greater role in healthcare, especially during the past three decades.
Practices for cultivating mindfulness
There are many practices for cultivating mindfulness, and it may take a while to find which work best for you. The ones you choose will affect the amount of time you need each day for them. Generally you may wish to spend 15 to 45 minutes a day on the practices that suit you. Regular practice will gradually begin to affect how you experience life. You may begin to notice moments of centredness or inner spaciousness. These are not things to strive for, but they may occur as you practice.
The following briefly describe a variety of practices for cultivating mindfulness:
Belly breathing
Sit or lie in a comfortable position (with your eyes closed, if you wish). Bring your attention to your belly. As you inhale, feel how your belly expands. When you exhale, feel how your belly relaxes. Continue to be with each in-breath and out-breath, riding the waves of your breathing. When you notice that your mind has wandered, bring your attention back to your breath and the rising and falling of your belly. Continue practicing for at least five minutes. You can also tune into your breathing from time to time during the day. Become aware of your thoughts and feelings at these moments, without judging them or yourself.
Sitting meditation
Sit on a chair with your feet flat on the floor, your spine straight, and your hands on your thighs or touching lightly in your lap. Begin by focusing on your breath. When your mind wanders, notice where it goes and gently bring your attention back to your belly and your breath. Continue for at least 10 minutes.
When keeping your attention on your breath becomes easier, you can expand your sitting meditation in any of the following ways:
- Sitting with the body as a whole: Bring your awareness to your body as a whole as you sit.
- Sitting with sound: Listen to sounds without labelling or judging them. Hear the silences between sounds, too.
- Sitting with thoughts and feelings: Notice your thoughts come and go. Observe them as objects or events in your mind without getting caught up in their content. Note what each thought is about and what feelings go with it. Be aware of how thoughts move on if you don’t get involved in them and how some thoughts keep coming back.
- Sitting with choiceless awareness: Just sit without focus or expectation. Be completely open to whatever comes into your awareness. Let it come and go, observing in stillness. Allow yourself simply to “be,” moment by moment.
Body scan
Lie or sit in a comfortable place and allow your eyes to close gently. Feel the rising and falling of your belly with each in-breath and out-breath. Begin the body scan by feeling your body’s points of contact with what you are lying or sitting on. Then bring your attention to your toes of your left foot, feeling the sensations in that region. If you don’t feel anything, just be aware of that. Slowly bring your attention to each region of your body – left toes, left foot, left calf, left thigh, left buttocks, right toes, right foot, right calf, right thigh, right buttocks, pelvis, lower back and abdomen, upper back and chest, both shoulders, fingers on each hand, both arms, neck and throat, face, back of the head, and top of the head.
Breathe into and out of each region of your body, observing the sensations you are experiencing. When you notice that your attention has wandered, bring your mind back to your breath and the region you are focusing on.
Walking meditation
Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and bring your attention to your breath for a few moments. As you begin to walk, notice how your weight shifts as you raise one foot and step forward. Be fully aware of that foot contacting the ground and your weight shifting to it, while you lift your other foot and step forward.
If possible, coordinate your footsteps with your breathing. Try inhaling while you raise the heel of one foot, exhaling when it is raised, inhaling as you move the foot forward, and exhaling as you place it firmly on the ground. Then repeat inhaling and exhaling as you raise, pause, move and plant your other foot.
You could also take two or more steps with each in-breath and out-breath. Choose a pace that allows you to pay attention to both your breathing and your walking. A suitable pace helps you to be fully present with each step and each breath. When your mind wanders, draw your attention back to what you are experiencing while you breath and walk.
Observing the sensations that arise from breathing and walking is at the heart of this meditation and is a good place to start. However, you can expand the meditation by opening your senses to everything around you. Using your breathing and walking as an anchor, bring your awareness to everything you see, touch and sense. Notice the thoughts and feelings that arise from these connections.
Loving-kindness meditation
Begin by calming your mind with mindful breathing. Then consciously offer love and kindness toward yourself by inwardly saying words such as: “May I be at peace. May I be free from anger. May my heart be open. May I be filled with compassion. May I be healed. May I be a source of healing for others.”
Continue by wishing other people well. Picture a person in your mind’s eye and hold him or her in your heart. Inwardly direct words, such as the following, toward that person: “May you be happy. May you be free from pain and suffering. May you experience love and joy.” End by coming back to your own body and breath. Enjoy the sense of connection you have with yourself and others.
