Well, hello fall season! I see the leaves changing, I feel the cool breeze, I smell the pumpkin spice. I notice you, and I’m delighted to create space to exist alongside you.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness. A straightforward word to represent what has the capacity to be a profound practice and experience. Mindfulness - a thousand-year-old historical practice from Pacific and Asian cultures - has its roots in both secular and religious societies and traditions, ranging from Buddhism, to Hinduism, to Islam, to non-religious meditation. In the twenty-first century west, our understanding of mindfulness and its therapeutic uses has branched out into such realms as Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT).

Ever heard the phrase, “Come on, live in the moment!” I sure have! Living within the bounds of a capitalist and materialist society, we often have a learned tendency to exist within the mind more so than within the body. Daily tasks can demand of us to prance along from one thought to the next in an attempt to analyze and understand the world around us, and prepare for what’s next. We may not appreciate - or even notice - the feelings of joy, sadness, excitement, disappointment, grief, and pleasure we experience throughout the day, because, well, our minds may be in the drivers’ seat while our bodies serve as the vehicle. And before we know it, the work day or school day is done and we’re left with a small window of time to “wind down” our minds and return to our body to sleep, and we’ve missed many opportunities to truly experience and make space for “glimmers” of the emotional human experience of daily life. But what if we instead drew more focus to these glimmers?

What isn’t mindfulness?

I’m so glad you asked! In order to be mindful we don’t have to (nor should we) relinquish ourselves of our responsibilities to school, work, family, friends, ourselves, and beyond. Nor do we have to schedule 30-minute segments of our day to meditation or mindful yoga (even though that sounds lovely to me!). We can learn to strike a balance between granting the mind the drivers’ seat, and granting the body the driver’s seat throughout our day-to-day life.

Let’s look at two mindfulness myths:

1. “Mindfulness means to meditate.” It can! But it surely doesn’t have to. Meditation is somewhat of a more formal way to practice mindfulness, however, there are countless informal - and often more accessible - ways to practice mindfulness throughout your day. We’ll discuss some examples soon.

2. “To be mindful means to have an empty mind.” Nope! Ever tried to simply not think? That’s kind of like asking water not to be wet. Our brains are inherently our thinkers, and let’s thank them for that. The intention of mindfulness is not to not think - it is to make space to simply focus on something in the present, in the here and now with kindness and non-judgement.

Pockets of mindfulness for daily living

An accessible way to begin to conceptualize mindfulness is to connect inwards with the senses: smell, taste, touch, sound, and sight. Think about the below examples:

● Notice the feeling of the floor beneath your feet when you get out of bed in the morning.

● Notice the taste of your toothpaste.

● Smell the air as you step outside.

● Take a deep breath in, noticing the feeling of air filling your lungs, followed by a deep breath out.

● Listen to your favourite tune, appreciating the vocals and/or the instruments.

● While eating a snack or meal, focus on the taste/texture of it.

● Observe the clouds as they move slowly through the sky.

● Notice how your words sound as you speak them.

As we begin to exercise the muscle that is mindful practice, we might also begin to make space to experience emotions and feelings. For example, when receiving exciting news, we might practice noticing how this excitement feels, where we feel it in the body, and allowing our bodies and minds to fully experience this excitement before moving on to another thought or emotional experience.

How can mindfulness fit into therapy?

It’s important to be aware that just as therapeutic approaches are not one-size-fits-all, neither are mindfulness approaches. However, here are some ways that mindfulness may fit into one’s therapeutic journey:

1. Your therapist may invite you to begin a session with a mindful moment. Our days can be busy, and they can demand different parts of us than the parts of us which would like to request some focus during therapy. Beginning with a Mindful Body Scan or a guided breath exercise may serve to support us in transitioning from one experience or frame of mind to the next.

2. Your therapist may invite you to notice and name a certain feeling or emotion. This can serve to make space to experience the feeling, and subsequently work towards making meaning of it. This may be followed by inviting you to check in with the body, and notice how this emotion feels physically.

3. Your therapist might invite you to draw attention to your posture, facial expression, or body position. The key is drawing attention to these experiences with curiosity rather than with judgement. For example, your therapist may say, “I notice that your posture has changed and that you’re hugging your knees to your chest. I wonder if we can make some gentle space to notice your physical experience at this moment.” One’s initial reaction may be to change the posture - perhaps due to discomfort with being observed - while a more curious approach may be noticing the posture and what it signifies for you. Does it feel warm and comforting? Let’s notice that comfort and warmth.

As you close out your review of this article, might we try a mindful moment? I invite you to relax your gaze, soften your shoulders, and welcome a few mindful breaths with a sweet practice below. Thanks for being here.