Friday, November 16, 2012

What is Mindfulness

Personal health care should start with self care which permits you to exert some control over your own well being. Mindfulness is increasingly popular as a way taking an active role in enhancing your state of health, competence and happiness.

There are several definitions of mindfulness including:

Paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally (Kabat-Zinn, 1994) and more simply:

Keeping one’s consciousness alive to the present reality (Hanh, 1976; cited in Brown & Ryan, 2003)

The following is extracted from the Mindfulness Yoga website:

Mindfulness has expanded from its spiritual roots to become a technique that many physicians are advocating to deal with stress related conditions that frequently lead to pain and illnesses ranging from relatively mild to very severe. Psychologists have found that mindfulness offers a way of examining compulsive thinking and introducing ways and means that counter obsessive thinking. It has become apparent that many people are not really controlling their thoughts so much as being possessed by their thoughts.

Please Click Here to visit the Mindfulness Yoga Website

Because mindfulness is proving to be such an excellent means of relieving stress and the suffering and diseases associated with it, it is becoming increasingly popular. It is delivered by professional people in medical centres in the United States and elsewhere and some large businesses have realised how beneficial it can be for their executives and others that they are introducing in house courses. At a time when so many stress related conditions are treated with prescription drugs, and others are self medicating with substance abuse, or turning to alcohol, it is great to be able to report that less invasive and very successful other treatments are available.

Fortunately there is no shortage of natural health advice.

It is unfortunate that as world economies have grown stress related illnesses have grown disproportionately. In such circumstances it is good to know that there are sensible alternatives to this modern phenomenon. Mindfulness has been shown to be one of the best techniques to counter this trend and is proving to be of enormous benefit to individuals, and in many instances, the companies they work for.


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