Is mindfulness, living in the here and now, really everything that people expect? With a little time and practice it can be.
It doesn’t matter what your reason was for getting into mindfulness in the first place, becoming more mindful could change you in ways you’ve never even considered. Many people begin their journey into mindfulness to help reduce stress and anxiety. It starts with short mediation sessions and grows into a way of life.
As we begin to incorporate mindfulness into our everyday lives, it starts to change us. Through mindfulness we learn to communicate better, control our emotions, we gain more energy—our lives improve. Those suffering from depression or anxiety have been able to stop taking medications that they previously would have never been able to live a normal life without.
The practice of mindfulness can get us out of our own heads by teaching us to focus on our body and being aware of our surroundings, it helps us to appreciated the here and now. With all of the distractions we face in today’s society, living in the moment is something that anyone can appreciate.
Even children can understand the importance of mindfulness after being exposed to the practice. There have been multiple studies on mindfulness involving children; in one case students were taught mindfulness in the classroom for a 4-week period, when the course ended 74% of students said that they would continue practicing mindfulness in the future. This study shows that even children can recognize the impact of living mindfully.
For those who continually practice mindful living, the difference it can make can be life-changing—you just have to allow yourself to live in the moment.
