Manage Your Joint Pain
Mindfulness is the practice of bringing one’s attention to the present moment with an intention of openness and without judgment. Rather than letting thoughts of the past and future race through your mind, it is the awareness of what is happening right now. This can be intimidating, especially as we go into a new year. We often hear others talk about New Year’s resolutions. Mindfulness isn’t something that happens over night. It is a way of thinking that can help influence our daily behavior, how we see the world. It takes time and practice and when utilized it can be very rewarding. We often call the practice of mindfulness, ‘living in the moment’.
Before getting into how we can practice mindfulness, it is helpful to understand why we practice mindfulness.
- It helps reduce our stress and anxiety by calming the mental choas we can often experience, especially when we have a lot of responsibilties and outside forces that pull us in different directions.
- It can improve our emotional regulation by allowing us to recognize our emotional state and patterns of behavior, so we can accept or respond with out just reacting to challenges and difficulties.
- It can enhance our concentration and productivity because we train our mind to return to a single point of focus or activity which creates space for mental clarity.
- It can allow us to improve our overall well-being because this practice allows us to have quality sleep and fosters a more positive outlook on things.
So, how do we practice mindfulness?
- Try regularly meditating. It can do just 10 minutes a day, or even less. The practice of meditating can be done anywhere. It helps to be sitting in a comfortable space, quietly, focus on your breath. You can do this by closing your eyes or gazing towards one spot, breath in and out through your nose evenly, usually to the count of 4 or even more on both the inhale and exhale. Let the thoughts pass through you without judgment, until you can simply ‘be’. It may not happen when you first try, but as you continue practicing, it will begin to happen. Just as you don’t want to judge the thoughts during your session, try not to judge your overall meditation. There is no right or wrong way, it’s just what brings us calm.
- Do regular body scans. When you can, mentally scan your body from head to toe and recognize how you feel in all areas of your body. Are you hurt anywhere? Is there any discomfort? Is there a sense of relief anywhere? Just pay attention, as it will bring you back to yourself each time you scan.
- Practice mindful activity. When you play a sport, read a book, garden, walk anywhere, or anything else, focus on that specific activity. What do you see, hear, smell? When you eat, look at your food before you take a bite and pay attention to how it tastes, what the texture is and what it smells like. Chew your food slowly. Pay attention to how your hunger changes and stop before you feel completely full.
- Check in with yourself throughout the day. Notice how you’re breathing, how you’re moving, what you’re feeling. Are your shoulders or neck tense? Do you clench your teeth? As you check in, take a moment to relax and feel the present moment.
Finally, whatever you do throughout the day, there are some key things to keep in mind that will help you stay mindful. Bring your attention back to the here and now any time you feel your mind wander or you start to feel anxious or tense. Practice being more of an observer, than having judgment. Practice focusing on one activity, task or even your breath. Try having more acceptance towards things, than fighting what is. Acceptance doesn’t mean that we cannot change and grow, it just allows us the space to better understand so we can equip ourselves to better handle things we wish to handle ahead.
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