Memory, attention and self-control …

Research has shown how mindfulness practice can change areas of the brain associated with improved cognitive functioning and the ability to regulate emotions. In one study, after only 11 hours of mindfulness practice, structural changes were observed in participants’ brains around the anterior cingulate cortex, a part of the brain involved in monitoring our focus and self-control. In another study, participants had brain scans before and after an eight-week mindfulness-based stress-reduction programme. Compared to people who had not done the programme, researchers found increases in key areas of the brain associated with learning and memory processes as well as the ability to take on different perspectives. Whether it is remembering the keys on the way to work, ensuring that you remember to pick up the children from school or learning to use a new computer system, research demonstrates the effectiveness of using mindfulness to aid these vital brain processes. Mindfulness practice also helps to improve our attention, helping to enhance focus and avoid distractions. This is a welcomed benefit for many of us busy people, improving our efficiency by helping us to remain focused on one task at one time. Whether we are at work or at home, often we are surrounded by an ever-increasing number of mobile devices and other people demanding more and more of our attention. These days, it is as if our attention is being fractured into tinier and tinier pieces and mindfulness may provide us with the much-needed help to remain focused and to get stuff done, in a more effective and efficient way.

Stress, depression and anxiety …

Of course, stress is an inevitable part of our everyday lives, from pressing work deadlines or managing a busy household, and at times we may feel overwhelmed. Mindfulness researchers have shown that people who practise mindfulness experience a reduction in stress-related symptoms and an improvement in the way they respond to stress and manage it. They tend to use more helpful coping strategies when in stressful situations, whether at work or at home, helping them to be more productive with their time. And, even when your stress comes from something as scary as cancer, mindfulness has been shown to help people manage and reduce their stress levels in the face of this effectively, too.

Mindfulness practice supports the development of present moment awareness, which has been shown to help improve peoples’ perceived competence in handling stressful daily situations (such as an argument with a colleague or loved one or when making a mistake), based on their values, resulting in improvements in their health and general well-being. This is great news, given that these events can be toxic to our health for days at a time, if we do not handle them effectively. It can also help us with our perspective-taking and communication skills more generally, and as already mentioned it can help us to hold back from knee-jerk negative reactions, improving our social connectedness and relationships, which are crucial for human survival and our general well-being.

For people diagnosed with mood disorders, such as depression or anxiety, they are able to tolerate their distress more effectively and become more self-compassionate through training in mindfulness. The Government’s National Institute for Clinical Health and Excellence (NICE) continues to recommend that a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) be used for people with recurring episodes of depression. This is unsurprising, considering the results of one study that showed how MBCT was as effective as antidepressant medication in reducing reoccurrence of depression. In another study, which investigated the effects of a mindfulness-based course for 273 people, it was found that in one month following the course there was a 58 per cent reduction in anxiety and a 40 per cent reduction in stress.

Managing our fear response …

So, why do we experience improved well-being after being ‘mindful’? Well, further neurobiological changes within the brain may provide this explanation. Using brain imaging techniques, neuroscientists have observed changes in the ‘threat system’ of the brain following mindfulness practice. Studies have found that an eight-week mindfulness course reduces the reactivity and the density of neurons in the amygdala (the part of the brain associated with the ‘fight or flight response’ that triggers fear) and increases activity in areas of the prefrontal cortex that help regulate emotions, subsequently reducing stress.

Other research into the brain’s electrical signals has shown that ongoing mindfulness practice was associated with increased alpha wave activity, linked to relaxation and decreased anxiety. Using brain scan technology, scientists have also shown that other structural changes occur in the brain after mindfulness practice, with more connections between different areas of the brain and an increase in a protective nerve tissue called myelin, essential for healthy brain function. When we use mindfulness to help us to manage our moods and stress levels, observable changes are happening in the brain:

Changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing.

Sara Lazar, PhD, of the MGH Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Programme

Addiction and healthy eating …

Mindfulness can also be extremely beneficial for addictions. Mindfulness practice via a relapse prevention group has been shown to help people with addictions to manage their cravings more skilfully so that they were less likely to drink alcohol and use drugs. Similarly, mindfulness practice helps people to remain abstinent from cigarette smoking and has been shown to be five times more effective than a standard smoking cessation programme. A growing body of research is also showing how mindfulness can help people manage eating disorders and how it can assist with general weight management, dieting and losing weight. Mindful eating can help people to make heathier choices around what food they eat and manage the urges and impulses to eat more even when they may already be full.

Physical health, pain and ageing …

Not only does the use of mindfulness have benefits for our mental health and minds, but there has also been growing evidence supporting the use of mindfulness for improved immune system functioning and better physical health. Illness is something we all try to avoid and mindfulness may help you do just that. Research has shown that, even after eight weeks of mindfulness practice, people had changes in immune functioning with a greater antibody count. Mindfulness practice can also help you manage pain more effectively without the aid of painkillers. After a period of mindfulness practice, participants in research studies report lower pain intensity experiences, both in the laboratory and in real-life chronic conditions such as arthritis and back and neck pain. Research has shown decreased activity in areas of the brain involved in registering pain and increased activity in areas involved in regulating pain. Mindfulness may also be your best anti-ageing secret. Brain imaging has shown that mindfulness practice leads to an increase in grey matter in cortical regions of the brain associated with sensory, cognitive and emotional processing and slows down age-related thinning of the cortex. Further research has shown that people who practise mindfulness over a long period of time, by the time they reach their fifties, their brains appear 7.5 years younger than people who have not been practising.

As we have said, it is not just in health and clinical settings that mindfulness has been proven extraordinarily advantageous and profitable. It has also proven helpful with general sleep problems and can also dramatically improve focus, attention, concentration, creativity and performance in business, sports and exercise, as well as bringing more satisfaction to many areas of our daily activities, such as work and our relationships with friends, colleagues and loved ones.

How beautiful to have something so simple that can bring so much benefit and relief to our lives and to the lives of those around us.

… meditation

Contrary to popular assumptions and belief, mindfulness does not have to be practised as a formal meditation. Although highly effective, meditation is simply a way to practise, cultivate and reinforce the principles of mindfulness as one way of being, which is all about an increased awareness of your present moment experience; an acceptance towards yourself and your experience and the world around you. We promise you will not have to sit crossed-legged in the lotus position or chant to monotone sounds for hours on end to practise or benefit from mindfulness, unless you want to. We want to show you how you can incorporate mindfulness into your busy life, while you are on-the-go.

… subject to time constraints

Many of our busy clients often tell us that they simply do not have the time to practise mindfulness. Well, they have since discovered, as you will too, that nothing could be further from the truth and this is exactly what this book is all about! Mindfulness is abundant and infinite; it is there with you in every moment in which you live, and it is with you right now as you read the pages of this book. There is ample time and opportunity to practise mindfulness in any moment of your life. It is often best practised during activities that you would usually do habitually, on autopilot mode – such as checking and sending emails on your phone, getting dressed, brushing your teeth, taking a shower, standing in a queue, waiting for a train – so we are certain that you will have lots of opportunities to practise.

… dependent on surroundings

As we have already said, people often say that they are too busy, have too much going on or are surrounded by too many noisy and demanding people, either in the office or at home, for them to take themselves away to find a quiet place to practise mindfulness. It may surprise you to know that we have a lot to be mindful of while surrounded by our noisy or demanding environments. We are going to show you how much opportunity you have to be able to practise mindfulness amidst your busy and stressful life just as it is.

… relaxation

Although mindfulness practice may bring a deeper sense of relaxation and calmness (along with other improvements to your levels of functioning, performing, productivity and creativity in general), it is very important to remember that all these are simply fortunate and welcomed by-products of practising mindfulness. Relaxation and the other improvements listed above are not the goal of mindfulness practice (they may arise as an outcome, especially when we lessen our preoccupation with them); the aim is to cultivate a present moment awareness, a new perspective and a new way of carrying yourself through your busy life.

… losing control, escaping reality, going into a trance, becoming complacent and navel-gazing

This is a very common early misconception that we hear often from our busy clients. In fact, mindfulness is the complete opposite of this assumption. Mindfulness is all about facing reality head-on and becoming more connected with your life experience. With practice, you will become more attuned to yourself and the world around you. You will be more conscious to the changeability of your emotions and you will start to understand yourself with accuracy and clarity, feeling more in control of yourself and your actions. An array of alternative options and ideas will then open up for you, for you to choose to move on, ensuring that you have the best opportunity to act in your interest and move towards what truly matters to you in any context of your life.

… selfish, lazy and a waste of time

Many of us feel that we would be selfish or lazy if we spent time on practices for self-development. We believe that we simply cannot look after ourselves until everyone else and everything else is attended to first. Well, again, nothing could be further from the truth on both accounts.

First, mindfulness takes effort and a lot of discipline (there is nothing lazy about it) – it is about cultivating the most profound paradigm shift in our way of being that is known to mankind, and that certainly is not easy. Years of reinforced habits, which may not be serving us so well, are being observed with each practice, while new, and possibly more helpful, habits are being established at the same time.

Second, and further to all this, if we believe that we cannot take time out for ourselves to help us cope better and de-stress until everything else is attended to first (which will never actually be achieved), then it would be fair to say that we run the risk of burnout, leaving us totally immobilised to give any more of ourselves, our time, our attention and our energy to others and the work and relationships that we consider important to us.

Selfishness and laziness (should they arise for you) are both experiences to be observed within mindfulness practice and the very act of observing them leaves us with the choice of whether or not we want to act on them.

… clearing your mind of thoughts

This is a common incorrect assumption that captures the very essence of what mindfulness is all about. Mindfulness is about noticing and being open to all our experiences, including our thoughts. There is no agenda of clearing thoughts from your mind, but just awareness of what thoughts are present in your mind at any given moment. If you try to clear your mind of thoughts, you will soon know about it because you will become frustrated immediately – it is impossible! Distraction by our thoughts is inevitable within mindfulness practice and not a sign of failure. Each distraction is another opportunity to cultivate present moment awareness (mindfulness). Once you’ve noticed that you are distracted, you can congratulate yourself, as that’s what mindfulness is.

… a quick fix to all my problems

Practising mindfulness is by no means a guarantee to get rid of or fix all the undesirable experiences in your life (if that were possible, we promise we would definitely be writing about that now instead). It is more a technique for understanding these as part of the ever-changing ‘weather’ of our experiences, and that it is often the very resistance to what we perceive as problems or problematic emotions that cause us greater suffering, and may even prolong them.

Mindfulness is to be cultivated and grown as a way of being, over time – there is no agenda (apart from cultivating more awareness of your experience) and no end goal. The very practice of mindfulness may bring with it frustration, disappointment, discouragement, stress, despondence and even anxiety. It is all about bringing an awareness and an acceptance to our experience and with that you are more likely to experience less frequent and intense episodes of undesirable feelings, simply as a welcomed by-product.