Mindfulness & Meditation
Life today is often fast paced, busy, and stressful. In your day-to-day shuffle, you might experience an increasing sense of pressure, complexity and information overload, which can contribute to challenges in mental and physical health.
In the therapy setting, we can develop, practice, and integrate mindfulness into your daily life as a tool to manage stressors. The practice of mindfulness invites you to stop, breath, observe, and connect with your inner experience (UCLA MARC).
WHAT IS THE PRACTICE OF MINDFULNESS?
Mindfulness can be explained as paying attention to present moment experiences with openness, curiosity, and a willingness to be with what is (UCLA MARC). The ways in which you can integrate mindfulness into daily life spans the use of a variety of tools and techniques; including, but not limited to, meditation, breath work, yoga, time in nature, and can include activities such as mindful eating, walking, and waiting.
MINDFULNESS AND THE BRAIN?
Research has shown that mindfulness can physically change parts of the brain and impact mental health in a positive way. Mindfulness has been shown to thicken the brain in areas that are in charge of decision making, emotional flexibility, and empathy (UCLA MARC). The integration of mindfulness into your daily life can increase your attention and focus, help with anxiety and depression, and decrease emotional reactivity, while fostering overall well-being.