Search Results for 'Mindfulness'

Yoga and mindfulness have several benefits for children and young people’s physical and mental health.

Our evolved brain is more concerned with our safety and obtaining resources than with our happiness. This can lead to a narrowing of our perception. For example, if while shopping you are received well in five shops but the sales assistant in the sixth shop is unpleasant, what will you remember about your shopping trip later that evening, the five pleasant sales assistants or the unpleasant one?

AROMATHERAPY TO ENHANCE YOUR HEALTH AND YOUR HOME

Our mental attitudes, beliefs, and expectations can have a big influence on whether we thrive and prosper or stagnate and decline. Rick Hanson, an eminent neuropsychologist, describes how the brain has a negativity bias designed to keep us safe rather than happy. He says that this makes our brain like Velcro for bad experience and Teflon for good experience. An example of this negativity can be seen in how we often relate to ourselves with harsh attitudes of self-criticism. But a harsh self-critical inner voice can undermine our self-confidence and self- esteem and lead to feelings of guilt and shame that undermine our mental wellbeing. This often results in higher levels of stress, anxiety, and low mood.

Manage the racing mind

Mindfulness is effective because it allows us to step out of autopilot, where we are out of touch with our thoughts and feelings and barely register the taste of the food we eat or the sensation of the cool breeze on our face as we walk down the street. Instead, mindfulness trains us to notice each moment with curiosity and kindness.

There are currently hundreds of mindfulness courses and workshops available up and down the country. But it is worth asking whether they are all the same and of similar quality. Dominic Cogan unpacks the meaning of mindfulness.

It’s the new year and the time when a lot of us are eager to set new goals for ourselves whether it is to lose weight, become fit again, or perhaps to get more enjoyment out of life. Many sign up for gym memberships or join a sports club to overcome that sluggish feeling that seems to develop as a result of the winter weather or maybe a bit of over-indulgence over the Christmas holidays. It can also be a time when people are willing to try out new approaches such as mindfulness to help with stress or chronic pain.

What is awareness? This is such a simple question and yet no one can give an answer.