Mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe asks the question when is the last time you did absolutely nothing for 10 whole minutes? Not texting, talking or even thinking? He describes the transformative power of doing just that: Refreshing your mind for 10 minutes a day. Well worth a watch…
Mark Williams, D Phil, is a Professor of Clinical Psychology and Research Fellow at the University of Oxford. He helped develop Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy which as I have documented in previous posts has been shown to improve performance in sport.
This video has been very useful for days when I have little time to practice. It be a great starting point for new comers to mindfulness as it is short and gives clear instruction. You could convert this to your MP3 and practice on your way to work for example or sit for ten minutes in the morning or evening.
In this video the renowned Jon Kabat Zinn focuses the attention on the body and feeling. This can be viewed as the second building block on which to base awareness, the breath being the first.
The breath is one of the primary tools for being mindful. For beginners the breath can be the easiest means of remaining in the present moment.
In this video the renowned Jon Kabat Zinn provides a mindfulness instruction based around the focus on the breath.
The breath was a great starting point for me and I view it as the first building block of full awareness in the moment. I first mastered the breath by practicing this sitting once per day until I was fully comfortable with it. I then moved in turn to the other control tools (feeling, seeing and hearing) eventually becoming fully present in the now, during my sittings, through awareness of all the bodily senses at once.
If you feel you do not have time to dedicate a whole 20 minutes to sitting why not download the video to your MP3/iPod and listen whilst on the bus to work for example.
Remember mindfulness is a difficult discipline to master so be patient with your practice, stay positive and always be kind to yourself.
mindfulliving 