Mindfulness

“Mindfulness is a way of befriending ourselves and our experience.”

— Jon Kabat-Zinn

Mindfulness is about developing the capacity to be curious and attentive to our present moment experience. It can be cultivated in a variety of practices and often leads to positive changes by being more present to self, while developing confidence in making healthy choices in our day-to-day lives.

Research shows that incorporating mindfulness provides the following benefits:

  • Creating curiosity and less reactivity

  • Better regulation of cravings and triggers

  • Reduced trauma reactions

  • Allowing our system to evaluate and respond

  • Improved attention and concentration

  • Boosting the body’s immune system to fight disease

  • Reduced addictive tendencies with substances and behaviours

  • Increased sexual pleasure

  • Altering the actual structure of the brain

  • More joy in relationships

Mindfulness and The Brain

Becoming attuned to our inner experience, and not judging what we are experiencing takes practice. Most of us have been trained through culture and environment to focus on external ways of avoiding or managing our emotions and feelings. These types of coping strategies then become embedded neuropathways in our brain. 

The cool thing is, with practice we can start to move from living in our back brain (the reactive brain) to our front brain (the thoughtful present brain), and be present with ourselves and our experience in the moment.

Not to sound like too much of a brain nerd, I do love teaching clients what is happening in their brains and nervous systems. Some of the deepest brain structures are involved in this neuropathway re-organization and strengthen the ventral medial prefrontal cortex – basically, the spot between our eyebrows – with mindful practice this part of the brain that gains strength and familiarity so we are able to attune, tend to and care for our internal experience.  The power of neuroplasticity! The ability to be in tune with our inner experience without reaching outside of ourselves, is one that happens with practice, intention and experimenting

Important Considerations for those with a trauma history or those who experience dissociation, it may be of value to work in a compassionate and thoughtful approach to help become comfortable with your internal experiences and body. Mindfulness and dissociation are rival brain activities, which means we will work at a pace that allows central nervous systems to become comfortable in this process. Otherwise, individuals move out of their window too fast and risk increasing trauma and dissociative responses (Forner, 2020).

 If you’re interested in developing a mindful way in day-to-day life, please contact me.