Jenna Zaffino [00:00:05]:
Hi, everyone. I'm Jenna, and this is Mindfulness 101. Do you ever feel like you're rushing through the day, your mind a 1000000 places at one time? As soon as you get a handle on one thing, you're moving to the next and you're barely aware of the present moment. This is not uncommon for human beings, especially in the time of our lives right now with rapid fire information coming at us from a 1000000 different sources. But the good news is mindfulness can help us cut through the noise and make sense of all of the things we need to think about throughout the day and maybe even get rid of some of the things we don't. Mindfulness in its most basic form is being present. It's paying attention to what's happening around you, noticing the different elements and various responses, but doing it without judgment. Being aware of your thoughts, feelings, and any bodily sensations that come up as a response to the things that are happening in your environment and observing it almost like you would a busy street.
Jenna Zaffino [00:01:12]:
You can see the cars, you can see the people walking, but you're just watching it. You're not trying to control the traffic. Mindfulness is about focusing in and it's about being with that present moment without having to make sense of it all. It's just slowing down enough to note what's happening. Let's talk about why we should practice mindfulness. Our minds have the natural tendency to wander and think about the future. Sometimes this can be great for planning and goal setting and hope and other times it can be really stressful. When we practice mindfulness, we're literally training our attention to react more calmly to the things that might come up in our mind and to appreciate the things that are happening right now.
Jenna Zaffino [00:02:02]:
Let's think about how we can simply integrate mindfulness into our daily lives because most of us think it involves sitting in a meditation chair and taking a long time. We don't know actually how to become mindful, but it's much simpler and easier than you think. We wanna start with just a few minutes a day. Just taking some time to pause. Maybe it's with your morning coffee, maybe it's just a second to look outside and notice the trees. Your objective is to have a moment to check-in with yourself. What is my body feeling? When I breathe, how does my chest rise and fall? What is the temperature in the room? What do I notice that's interesting for me to look at? There are so many benefits to taking these very simple and brief pauses that it becomes worth it to make the time. Studies show that mindfulness can reduce your stress, improve your focus, enhance your sleep quality, and even boost your mood.
Jenna Zaffino [00:03:16]:
The key, like anything, is consistency. Just like building strength in a muscle, mindfulness takes practice. You might not feel a dramatic shift with one small practice of paying attention. However, with just a few minutes a day, you'll start to build up that muscle that maybe even craves some moments of peace. It starts to become acquainted with a greater sense of calm and clarity and appreciation for what's happening right now. Thank you for joining me for this brief introduction to mindfulness, I wanna encourage you to look through the Mindful Compass library and choose a practice that looks interesting to you. Their are short form and a little bit longer practices there for you, and they're all designed to help you tune in to build your mindful muscle. Remember, you are strong and resilient and the small moments matter.
Jenna Zaffino [00:04:11]:
I'll see you next time.
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