Topic Tuesday 2: Mindfulness Psychologist *CLOSED*

Thank you CherryBomb and hello to everyone. Firstly I thought I'd introduce myself. I'm BeMindful and I'm a mindfulness psychologist in private practice. I practice and teach a lot of mindfulness and yoga. I also teach a mindfulness course. In fact, I have just come home from Thailand where I was on a yoga retreat. Mindfulness is pretty popular at the moment and I'm here to answer any questions or concerns you might have about mindfulness.

Thanks BeMindful, for those of us who might not know what it is, can you tell us a bit about it?

Sure thing CherryBomb. Mindfulness is a way of being and self-observation. It teaches you to switch from your normal mode of functioning and enables present moment awareness. Mindfulness has been loosely defined as awareness (in Eastern traditions) but it is much deeper than that. Mindfulness is actually quite difficult to define as it is an experiential concept. That is you have to get out of your normal mode of doing and just be in the moment. There are many techniques in which you can practice and experience mindfulness for yourself.

Do I need to practice regularly at a set time and how many days in a week would work best?

Thanks Annabelle, good question!

If you are painting or walking you are likely to be in a relaxed state. Which is great. However you might be distracted and not entirely aware of your thoughts. For example, if you are painting with mindfulness I would recommend paying precise attention to each brush stroke and how you are actually painting (e.g., quickly or how tense is your grip on the paint brush). So when you are actively being mindful during an activity it requires a lot of focus.

Annabelle:

In response to your second question about classes. If you are in Melbourne you can call Mindfulgym on 9429 6110. If you are not in Melboure, and if this is ok with you, please let me know where you are located and I will try and point you in the right direction.

Hello Shiva and thanks for your post.

Regular mindfulness practice is important. Many people ask me this question as we all live very busy lives and it can be hard to find time to fit practice in. My recomendation is to set realistic goals regarding your practice. Consistency is also necessary when it comes to mindfulness. Five minutes per day is actually better than one hour once per week. Start with what you can do and slowly increase it. Also sincerity is a key aspect. Understand what your are doing and why you practice. If you know what and why you are doing practising mindfulness you are much more likely to maintain your practice in the long term.

You don't have to practice mindfulness at the same time each day. However starting mindfulness practice at the same time will help your mind and body to get into a regular pattern of practice. In other words, it might be a little easier if you do keep the time similar.