05 May 4 Basic Elements Of The Mindfulness Practice

Here’s a cool mindfulness fact: There are 4 basic elements that you will explore with meditation! When you begin your journey with Aware’s meditation, you will come across these techniques or elements that we inculcate for a wholesome meditation.

The first element is to become mindful of your breath.

Breathing is an essential aspect of one’s being. Yet, we take this activity for granted without realizing its effects on our body. Breathing is very important for us to efficiently conduct our day to day activities without giving up on the sense of well-being. It can help relieve stress and calm our minds. Though breathing seems to be an indispensable and a natural form of exercise, you need to understand and master the techniques to make the most of it towards not just being alive but feeling one.

The next element is to explore body-scanning. 

Body scanning is a special and unique opportunity for us to become mindful of our body. It allows the mind to become aware of hidden pain or discomfort in the body. It helps us to stay attuned to our physical needs and sensations. This is really helpful in taking better care of our bodies and make healthier decisions with sleep, food and exercise.

Meditations that include body scanning, like Aware’s guided sessions, helps to draw out a source of pain or discomfort by bringing attention to it, without trying to change it. It is designed to counteract negative feelings towards and in our body, without any prejudice or judgment. Sometimes our feelings of anger or stress get’s transferred to the body as pain. This affects our balance in life and it is very important to correct and find both physical and mental relief through body scanning.

The next element is to mindscape. 

This means to become aware of your thoughts. Studies show that the brain uses 60% of energy to do simple activities, and this percentage increases when we try to focus really hard. 80 to 90% energy is consumed as we work each day. When we are so consumed by thinking on a daily basis, it becomes really hard to not let thoughts overpower us.

Thinking is the source of a problem. Negativity is the outcome of this source.

In order to live a fulfilled, healthy, happy and stress-free life, Aware’s meditation includes the aspect of mind-scaping, where we become totally aware of our thoughts and it’s patterns. It’s important because when we are asked to breathe and feel bodily sensations, we may get interrupted by our chattering thoughts.

So, we must become aware of our thoughts and you may try to label these thoughts as: memory or fantasy or critic or sad or happy, without any judgement on the thoughts or yourself. Then you will find the ability to let these thoughts go with mental noting where you simply note the thoughts, categorize them and then let it go.

Lastly, we can wind down.

Our meditation will end with us asking you to wind down and begin your day free of any distractions when you live in the moment.

Living in the moment means to be present, in the now,  feeling a deep connection with your mind and your body. This has to come with no distractions or negative emotions. That’s why we must wind down by asking your mind to be free. When we add breathing, body scanning and mindscaping, the mind has adapted( even if it’s only for 5 minutes) to let go of thoughts.  So, it’s only right that, after the first 3 elements, you feel blank when we ask you to think of something now. We always end by asking you to think of whatever you want to now, to challenge the mind and get amazing results!

Come and experience this calm, serene and present moment for yourself: