Mindfulness

Lately, I have found myself thinking a lot about mindfulness. Being mindful has many definitions, but what I think it boils down to is living and thinking in the present moment. How many times during the day do you think about your next appointment or meeting, what you have to do tomorrow or this weekend, or what has happened in the past. All of these thoughts are based on the past or the future, not the present.

I find myself in this fast-paced life of school, work and living near Los Angeles craving a slower pace. Mindfulness helps me slow things down and calm my mind. I recenlty took a big step towards mindfulness by making a conscious effort to stop checking my social media networks. These networks often serve as a distraction when I need to focus on my studies, my work, or my patients. After two weeks of "being off" social media, I already feel more connected to the people in my life and most importantly myself.

Some other mindfulness practices I have are breathing exercises like meditation and yoga. I also practice mindful eating. During mindful eating, I really focus on the nourishing food that is going into my body. I put down my cell phone, turn off the TV and focus on chewing my food as many as 50 times each bite. Eating can be a very social part of our lives and that's fine, but I try to find at least one meal per day where I eat alone and focus entirely on my chewing and the nourishment of my body from that food.

By practicing mindfulness I am more relaxed, I can more easily solve problems that come my way, I can handle stressful situations with less stress and more efficiency. 

How do you add mindfulness to you life?

If you are looking for more information on mindfulness, check out the following blog. I follow this blog regularly and it gives me a lot of different tools to incorporate mindfulness into all aspects of my life. Mindful Influence Blog

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