The Ageless Benefits of Mindfulness
Mindfulness is ageless. Plain and simple. It’s the practice of stepping back and observing the moment without judgment. This is something that most of my adult friends have difficulty understanding because...it’s simple. Too simple. We’re so used to facing each day (and night) with our minds running a mile a minute focusing on our mental checklist: Do I need to buy groceries…what’s going to happen at work today…are my kids safe…did I leave the oven on?
When it comes to our kids, though, they take to mindfulness like a fish to water because of the very fact that it is simple. It’s so obvious to them. They’re accustomed to living in the present moment and find that the practice works because…it feels good. In other words, children are experts at listening to the signs their bodies tell them.
So perhaps it’s time to learn from our children and listen to our bodies and in doing so, promote a healthy mind, body and brain.
THE AGELESS BENEFITS OF MINDFULNESS:
Reduces stress: Stress is our body's fight or flight response. When we are in fight or flight, our body goes through a series of changes, such as an increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, shallow breathing, a weakened immune system, clotting of the blood platelets and a decrease in anti-ageing hormones. Yikes! With a mindfulness practice, the body's stress response shifts. Over time, the practiced state of calm becomes normalized and leads to a reduction in the stress hormones, thus decreasing anxiety, decreasing inflammation, strengthening the immune system, increasing anti-ageing hormones, and normalizing blood pressure.
Improves learning capacity and cognition: Mindfulness activates our brains learning center - the prefrontal cortex. Studies have shown that it helps to improve the brain’s grey matter density, which is the substance responsible for processing information. By exercising the brain’s learning center we see marked improvement in the following areas: a clearer focus, sound decisions, a greater capacity for problem solving, and a crucial curiosity in the surrounding environment leading to a deeper desire to learn.
Improves communication and compassion: We’ve all had that conversation where we thought “What did you just say to me?” or “Did I just say that?!” and reacted immediately leading to what is known as an argument. When looking back we realize that some of those arguments may have escalated out of proportion. What the practice of mindfulness does in those circumstances is allow us to reflect rather than react immediately. We start to get used to taking that mindful pause before speaking. This in turn leads to better relationships, better communication, more compassion, and even better public speaking skills.
Improves mental well being: The inner workings of our mind are an ageless phenomenon. In other words, mental health has no age bias, and it’s important to give ourselves the best tools possible. One of the beautiful things about mindfulness is that it is free, non-invasive, and ever-present. It simply starts with a focus on the breath. As discussed earlier, studies have revealed that a consistent mindfulness practice has shown remarkable improvement in the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain associated with positive activity. In the process of stepping back and simply observing the thoughts, over time the practitioner starts to notice that their thoughts come and go. They stop self-identifying with those thoughts, and in doing so develop the potential for self-regulating their emotions promoting a deeper sense of calm. It’s not a “quick-fix” or a fix of any kind. It’s simply another tool to promote a state of calm and increase their association to the quality of joy. As always, no person is built the same and it is important to consult with your doctor in regard to any focused plan for mental health and well being.
So enjoy that extra breath and see where it takes you!
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As writers, we know that there's no "one size fits all" approach to getting the job done. There’s just the idea in our head and the blank page in front of us. However, over the centuries, various tools and techniques have been developed, tested, and refined by writers who have experimented with what works and what doesn't.