{"id":5502,"date":"2021-09-23T15:55:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-23T10:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/?p=5502"},"modified":"2022-06-11T18:17:55","modified_gmt":"2022-06-11T12:47:55","slug":"amazing-health-benefits-of-mindfulness-that-you-must-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/amazing-health-benefits-of-mindfulness-that-you-must-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazing Health Benefits of Mindfulness That You Must Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><b>Mindfulness is the practice of purposely focusing your attention on the present moment\u2014and accepting it without judgment. There are some incredible health benefits of mindfulness that you must know.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; color: #ff6600;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing.&#8221; &#8211; Jon Kabat-Zinn.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">We&#8217;re thriving in an extremely busy world &#8211; where we end up doing a hundred things (if not more!) on a daily basis! You read the newspaper while sipping your morning cup of tea, you fold the clothes while keeping a check on your kids, you fiddle through your social media feed while eating, and try to balance your work &amp; home chores simultaneously. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Well, this isn&#8217;t just your scene &#8211; because most of us are juggling through the same things!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">But while rushing through so many things, we often miss out on the little joys of life. We lose connection with our own selves and ignore the feelings of the present moment. Eventually, our actions start taking a toll on our bodies and minds, leaving us fatigued and stressed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">In order to avoid exhaustion and anxieties, we can make a little change that&#8217;ll bring a big difference to our lives &#8211; and that&#8217;s when we need to embrace mindfulness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"toc_container\" class=\"no_bullets\"><p class=\"toc_title\">Contents<\/p><ul class=\"toc_list\"><li><a href=\"#What_is_8216mindfulness8217\">What is &#8216;mindfulness&#8217;?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Health_benefits_of_mindfulness\">Health benefits of mindfulness:<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#1_Mindfulness_helps_in_anxiety_and_stress_management\">1. Mindfulness helps in anxiety and stress management.<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#2_Mindfulness_lowers_blood_pressure\">2. Mindfulness lowers blood pressure.<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#3_Mindfulness_improves_sleep\">3. Mindfulness improves sleep.<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#4_Mindfulness_reduces_eating_disorders\">4. Mindfulness reduces eating disorders.<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#5_Mindfulness_reduces_inflammation_and_pain\">5. Mindfulness reduces inflammation and pain.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n<h2><span id=\"What_is_8216mindfulness8217\"><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">What is &#8216;mindfulness&#8217;?<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we\u2019re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what\u2019s going on around us. Mindfulness is a quality that every human being already possesses, it\u2019s not something you have to conjure up, you just have to learn how to access it.&#8221; <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; This is an apt definition stated by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindful.org\/what-is-mindfulness\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mindful Org<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">In simpler words, mindfulness is essentially the practice of focusing on the present moment &#8211; bringing all our attention to the present, and accepting it without any judgment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the famous monk, <strong>Th\u00edch Nh\u1ea5t H\u1ea1nh<\/strong> had said,<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"> &#8220;Live the actual moment. Only this actual moment is life.&#8221;<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5932 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/benefits-of-mindfulness-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"benefits of mindfulness\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/benefits-of-mindfulness-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/benefits-of-mindfulness-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/benefits-of-mindfulness-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/benefits-of-mindfulness-600x900.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/benefits-of-mindfulness.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Health_benefits_of_mindfulness\"><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">Health benefits of mindfulness:<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">The roots of mindfulness can be found in ancient Buddhist practices, where we find it intrinsically attached to various meditation techniques that can help in bringing our focus to the present moment, without worrying about &#8216;what has happened in the past&#8217; or &#8216;what might happen in future&#8217;. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Meditation helps us to appreciate the moment &#8211; and helps us to realize the power of now. Thus, we tend to become more mindful of life through the path of mediation, getting closer to our inner self and finding joy, without hustling through life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Professor emeritus Jon Kabat-Zinn (founder and former director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center) demonstrated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/ways-to-practice-mindfulness-everyday\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">how practicing mindfulness<\/a> can improve physical as well as psychological health, making positive changes in a person&#8217;s life. He advocated the use of &#8216;mindful mediation&#8217; in mainstream medicine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2013, there was breakthrough <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/23541163\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">research at Massachusetts General Hospital<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, where a group of individuals suffering from generalized anxiety disorders was assigned to an 8-week group intervention with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) as advocated by Prof Jon, and the results were too good to be true!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Here are some of the health benefits of being mindful that everyone should be aware of:<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"1_Mindfulness_helps_in_anxiety_and_stress_management\"><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">1. Mindfulness helps in anxiety and stress management.<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">As we already discussed, managing too much in our daily lives leads to anxiety. If we can take a step back, pause for a while and focus on doing one thing at a time &#8211; it&#8217;ll help in reducing the stress. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">We&#8217;ll be more mindful of our actions that way, giving our 100% in whatever we do, rather than splitting our attention on diverse paths. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">You can keep a note of the things that need to be done, take small steps in doing them, and indulge in a short break between two chores.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"2_Mindfulness_lowers_blood_pressure\"><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">2. Mindfulness lowers blood pressure.<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">It has been clinically proven that those who have a more mindful approach towards life have their Blood Pressure in control than those who don&#8217;t.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Hypertension or high blood pressure is commonly known as a &#8216;silent killer&#8217;, and doctors usually prescribe long-term medicines for this. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">However, researchers have stated that patients with borderline high blood pressure following a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mindfulness-based_stress_reduction\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction<\/a> (MBSR) program have successfully reduced their blood pressure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"3_Mindfulness_improves_sleep\"><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">3. Mindfulness improves sleep.<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Insomnia and sleeplessness are common in today&#8217;s date. Our mind is mostly cluttered with a lot of information, and we are always entangled in our thoughts that we can&#8217;t let go of. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Meditation can help in decluttering the mind and channeling our thoughts into actions, as and when needed. This would also help us to become more mindful of our actions. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Researchers have proved that mindfulness can immensely improve the quality of sleep by supplying us with the mental resources needed to calm down the nervous system, as we prepare to sleep.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"4_Mindfulness_reduces_eating_disorders\"><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">4. Mindfulness reduces eating disorders.<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">When we are stressed, we end up consuming a lot of junk food. I&#8217;m sure you must have gulped down a tub of ice cream while crying over a heartbreak! Or binged on a pizza by yourself as you struggled with your presentation! <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">We tend to seek comfort from food whenever we are emotionally struggling, but once we become mindful of life, we tend to become more conscious of what we consume and start focusing on the well-being of our bodies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"5_Mindfulness_reduces_inflammation_and_pain\"><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">5. Mindfulness reduces inflammation and pain.<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2013\/01\/130116163536.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison neuroscientists<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it has been observed that mindfulness meditation techniques can help in controlling chronic inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and asthma. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People suffering from such diseases have got adequate results from a change in lifestyle, which is almost as good as allopathic medication. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It has also been proved that most of these chronic inflammatory diseases lead to psychological stress, and once we indulge in mindfulness, we can slowly get rid of the stress as mentioned earlier.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">It might sound extremely overwhelming, but mindfulness is all about practice. You can choose to do any task, and be mindful towards it &#8211; whether you&#8217;re making a cup of coffee or taking a shower, reading a book or working on a spreadsheet, playing with your kids, or listening to music &#8211; it can be anything, but all you have to do is, be in the moment. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Enjoy what you have chosen to do, and give all of yourself into it. Start by bringing your attention to the sensations in your body and breathe consciously.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">It&#8217;ll take some time for you to get a hold of your mind and breath, but you&#8217;ll soon ace at it. Take at least 10 minutes a day for meditating, as that&#8217;s the first step towards mindful living.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">We hope that you\u2019ll soon get to embrace the goodness of living in the moment.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mindfulness is the practice of purposely focusing your attention on the present moment\u2014and accepting it without judgment. There are some incredible health benefits of mindfulness that you must know. &#8220;Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing.&#8221; &#8211; Jon Kabat-Zinn. We&#8217;re thriving in an extremely busy world &#8211; where we end up [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[656,706,688],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5502"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5502"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5933,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5502\/revisions\/5933"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}