Mindfulness. No doubt, you’ve recently heard or read the word because it’s everywhere. But amidst all that buzz, you may find yourself wondering, “What exactly is this thing called mindfulness?” Because sometimes it’s difficult to extract true meaning from all that noise and chatter.

So, let’s keep it simple. Here, a few basics that explain mindfulness...

Mindfulness boils down to paying attention and noticing, without judgment, our feelings, thoughts, and the sensations we experience at any given moment in time. When mindful, we tune into the present rather than mulling over the past or dreaming of the future. The ability to practice mindfulness lies within each one of us. But we may need to dig deep to find and then nurture that ability.

Oftentimes, we confuse mindfulness and meditation as one and the same. And though the two are securely linked, they’re not inextricably entwined.

We can practice meditation to increase mindfulness.

We can practice mindfulness in almost every task we complete in our daily lives.

Sounds easy enough, right? But for those of us caught in the mad shuffle of modern-day life, mindfulness can easily get bumped to the side. We often switch to autopilot as we rip through that endless to-do list.

Some consider anything linked to Eastern medicine as hocus pocus. And the practice of mindfulness originates from religious and spiritual institutions in the East. But through the years, mindfulness has transformed into a non-religious practice, fairly common in Western culture. Good old, modern-day clinical research now links a multitude of physical and mental health benefits to mindfulness.

Since the 1970s, clinical psychology and psychiatry practices have used therapeutic applications based on mindfulness to reduce depression, stress, and anxiety. Mindfulness can help minimize rumination and worry, both of which contribute to mental health issues. As well, mental health practitioners apply mindfulness techniques to encourage healthy aging, weight management, and athletic performance.

Further research shows that mindfulness can bolster the immune system and reduce inflammation linked to the development of chronic health conditions. Mindfulness also can improve sleep quality. In addition, it has been connected to a lowered risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

But there’s more…

Mindfulness can positively impact attention, concentration, and working memory. Those who practice mindfulness find it easier to block out distractions. In a study at the University of California, Santa Barbara, researchers determined that an eight-minute mindfulness practice can significantly enhance concentration. And a group of students that undertook a two-week course in mindfulness improved their GRE scores by a 16 percentile point increase.

Perhaps most significantly, mindfulness practice can intensify our feelings of compassion. Those practicing mindfulness are more likely to help someone in need and understand the suffering of others.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, who developed the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, emphasizes that mindfulness is, “not really about sitting in the full lotus, pretending you’re a statue in a British museum. "It’s about living your life as if it really mattered, moment by moment by moment by moment.”

The easiest way to begin is taking tiny steps that incorporate mindfulness into your daily life. Those steps can include:

1. Focusing on your breath. When overwhelmed or consumed with negative emotion, try taking control of the situation by noticing your breath. Think about how the air feels when it enters your lungs then escapes through your nose. Try breathing in for four counts, holding your breath for four counts, then exhaling for four counts.
   
   
2. Concentrating on your surroundings. Take a moment or two to observe the details of your environment in any given moment. What do you see? What can you hear? What do you smell? All these details can escape our attention much too easily. You build a sense of presence when you take a minute to take notice.
   
   
3. Tuning into your senses. Notice how your body feels. Think about how the water feels as it lands on your skin in the shower. Notice how your head feels when it rests on your pillow. Scan through your body one part at a time and notice how each part feels.
   
   
4. Thinking about the food you eat. Look at what you’re eating. Feel its weight in your palm. Consider how it tastes. Take a few moments to enjoy each bite. Don’t simply devour.

So, is mindfulness for you? The only way to know is by giving it a try. Take two weeks and incorporate mindfulness into your life. That’s just enough time to transform action into habit. Then, take one more mindful moment to think about how mindfulness made you feel. You’ll know if it’s right.

Do you have additional ideas for incorporating mindfulness into daily life? Please share!