7 Amazing Science-Backed Benefits Of Practicing Mindfulness

Up until a few years ago, I never believed that meditation, particularly practicing mindfulness meditation, will help me manage my anxiety and day-to-day stress. During the day, it becomes easy to lose touch with the present moment and worry about the past and the future. Mindfulness is a practice that purposefully keeps our attention in the present moment.

In recent years, many western researchers have been discussing the benefits of practicing meditation, focusing on mindfulness meditation at most. Many studies have shown that practicing mindfulness and accepting our reality as it is can help us stay happier and relaxed.

On the psychological side, mindfulness has been proven to improve mood, increase positivity, boost productivity, decrease anxiety and stress, and regulate emotions. Mindfulness can also help boost immunity and improve our heart health.

7 Benefits Of Practicing Mindfulness

A few weeks ago, I participated in a guided mindfulness meditation workshop where, for 30 minutes, we went through guided mindfulness meditation exercises. After I completed the workshop, I admit that I’ve never felt calmer and relaxed. Practicing mindfulness meditation has helped me reduce my stress and put me in a place where I feel more connected to my present moment than my thoughts.

Also Read: 21 Best Guided Sleep Meditation for Anxiety and Stress

These are my opinions, however, many studies scientifically prove the benefits of mindfulness. Some of the health benefits of mindfulness meditation can be:

1. Helps Reduce Stress

One of the most commonly reported benefits of mindfulness is that it helps reduce stress and anxiety. Stress and anxiety have become more common in the last year, itself. Mindfulness is a great tool to help effectively combat day-to-day stress and anxiety.

Mindfulness provides you with a way to help quiet the constant thoughts running rampant in your mind contributing to your stress. Many studies have shown that mindfulness can help us manage stress effectively and difficult emotions, hence reducing stress.

2. Helps Reduce Rumination

One study found that mindfulness can enhance positive emotions and can decrease ruminating thoughts. Mindfulness helps direct our attention to the present moment, effectively taking our mind away from negative thoughts running through our minds. It can also help improve behaviors such as compassion, forgiveness, and acceptance.

3. Helps Improve Physical Health

Another benefit of mindfulness is that it can improve our physical health. Practicing mindfulness can help:

• Manage chronic pain
• Support healthy or mindful eating
• Improve sleep patterns
• Boost immunity and heart health

With chronic pain comes feelings of frustration, uncertainty, and anger. Mindfulness can help deal with those feelings and emotions. A study reported that people with high mindfulness had better control over their behavior and emotions which improved their sleep quality and heart health.

4. Helps Increase Resilience

One other benefit of mindfulness is that it can help you build resilience and increase your ability to deal with difficult emotions. People with high mindfulness and awareness are more likely to cope easily with overwhelming emotions and have a greater sense of pulling themselves up from a setback.

People who practice mindfulness are more easily able to distract themselves from emotional disturbance and prevent themselves from overreacting to a situation.

5. Helps Improve Communication Skills

This is probably one of the most unexpected benefits of mindfulness but true nonetheless. Practicing mindfulness can help you not only improve your mental skills but your social skills as well. Some studies have found that practicing mindfulness can help increase relationship satisfaction and also improve our ability to communicate with others.

Another benefit of mindfulness is that it increases your empathy and compassion for others, maintains strong relationships, and promotes forgiveness – toward self and others.

6. Helps Improve Focus & Concentration

Mindfulness plays an important role in improving focus and concentration skills. People who practice mindfulness have higher job satisfaction, enhanced productivity, and know how to handle burnout. By practicing mindfulness, you essentially rewire your mind to find better ways to handle stress, hence improving your focus and concentration skills.

7. Helps Improve Overall Well Being

Being mindful can make it easier for you to enjoy the little things around you and become aware of your here and now. Mindfulness can help you become aware of your body and how you react to a particular situation.

I believe that mindfulness can help:

• Increase mental stamina
• Improve memory skills
• Increase creativity
• Enhance emotional intelligence

Once you’ve got a grasp on how mindfulness can help you, it can improve your quality of life as well.

Also Read: Unplug To Unwind: 5 Simple Ways To Unplug & Be More Mindful

Getting Started?

Mindfulness can be practiced in more than one way. You can practice mindfulness by:

• Sit quietly in a comfortable space and focus on your breathing or a mantra.
• Notice subtle itches and sensations of your body without judgment.
• Notice subtle senses like smell, sounds, sights, touches, etc without judgment.
• Allow your emotions to flow through you – accept them, name them, and then let them go.

Mindfulness can be practiced with the help of a guided practice or you can learn about mindfulness through videos or books.

Also Read: Best Mindfulness Books to Learn Mindfulness

Some mindfulness meditations solely focus on breathing exercises and you can cultivate them into your regular meditation practice or combine them with tai chi, yoga, or other relaxation exercises.

Also Read:

• Learning Mindfulness: How to take a Mindful Coffee Break
• Pebble Doodling For Mindfulness: Untangle your worries
• The 5-4-3-2-1 Mindfulness Tool to Deal With Your Anxiety| Learn it NOW

Mindfulness is all about going with the flow, so once you’ve established concentration, the flow of your thoughts and emotions, you can let them go without judgment. Pay attention to each sensation as they flow through you. Instead of latching onto a thought, idea, or emotion – notice what comes to your mind and how you react to it.

Mindfulness is a wonderful practice to connect with your inner self. Practicing mindfulness can help you improve your life for the better. For more information on mindfulness exercises, you can visit our website or write to us at info@calmsage.com.