Slow Down and Smell the Roses: Tips for Mindfulness

Are you living such a fast-paced life that you barely notice the things you are doing each moment? For example, if you drink coffee in the mornings, do you just slurp it down without even tasting it? If you drive to the office, do you remember the actual drive or just arriving and getting out of the car? How about the drive home? I have been guilty of all of these things – and more – until I decided to make some serious and challenging lifestyle changes!

Were you aware that being a mindful person is healthy from a psychological standpoint? Being mindful involves being aware in each second, each moment, of what you are experiencing. Being mindful is not judging yourself – just noticing without being critical in a negative manner. This puts you in a position to make some very positive changes. 
 
You can imagine that these practices would slow you down and help you function in a more balanced manner. This will also have a positive impact on your physical health, as it is so closely connected to your mental health. So, it stands to reason that even on the job, your performance would be better and from the company’s perspective, this would help lower negative stress on our health, and thereby potentially save money on absenteeism, illness, etc.

For a more comprehensive description of using mindfulness techniques for your mental health, please go here. Of course, Dr. Joseph Mercola chimes in on this subject, too, in his article, entitled Techniques for Practicing Mindfulness and Meditation. This is a great read – he gives multiple and practical techniques to help you understand mindfulness and how to practice it. He also explains the difference between mindfulness and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), an important distinction to understand. While mindfulness is applicable to just about all aspects of life, Dr. Mercola thinks of EFT as “targeted stress relief.”

Dr. Mark Hyman, Director of the Institute for Functional Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, discusses meditation – a powerful type of mindfulness practice – along with Emily Fletcher. Watch his video here. Read also my earlier article on Meditation – Fact or Fiction?

Since I direct many of my teachings to the subject of treating addiction and prevention holistically, you might be interested in how holistic practices such as mindfulness can help in the national crisis of heroin addiction still raging across America and the globe. If so, please consider taking this course: Treating Heroin Addiction Naturally. You might be surprised at how well holistic approaches work – perhaps even better than medication and talk therapy!

As always, please visit Health and Wellness Online, LLC for interesting articles and courses. Even if you are not seeking continuing education credits, you will find them interesting, relevant, and full of evidence-based, scientific information.