What happens is that our mind spends a lot more energy to be in multitasking mode and ends up getting exhausted at the end of the day as it is jumping from activity to activity. In reality, the mind does one thing at a time, is that we create the illusion of quickly switching actions and it follows. Much of the daily stress comes from this rush to do “multiple things at once”. Therefore, doing one activity at a time is much better for performance and also to rest your mind.
Let's give some examples of multitasking:
– answer the email or WhatsApp and walk;
– attend the meeting and respond to messages;
– walking or driving while talking on the cell phone;
– read a text while listening to music;
– watching TV and reading a book;
– preparing dinner, putting the clothes to wash and watching the children in the living room, etc.
And how is your day to day? What activities do you do at the same time?
The result can be tiredness, frustration, irritation, bad mood, confused mind, or in a word: stress. When we focus our attention on one task at a time, irritation tends to subside and we are often more engaged and delighted to do it.
O mindfulness – can be translated as mindfulness – is an ability to be aware of the present moment. Often, we need to develop and rescue this ability, especially these days when we have many options for distractions. Taking a break from these stimuli and turning your attention to yourself, inside you and your body, is mindfulness training.
The basic principle of this practice is to bring your attention to your breath, being aware of the air going in and out of your body, noticing the sensations of just breathing in the moment. Breathing, body and mind is all it takes to practice mindfulness.
How about taking a break from reading and breathing? Bring your attention to the air going in and out of your body, noticing how you are in this moment. If you are sitting, note the points of support (feet on the floor, hips on the chair, backrest). In a busy and over-stimulated world, taking short breaks throughout the day can be refreshing. This attitude brings an opening to bring attention to yourself, breaking the cycle of the famous autopilot, in which we don't even notice what we're doing, eating, talking or where we're going, reaching the end of the day without even noticing what happened.
Mindfulness is to be experienced and explored by everyone, and to feel the benefits of bringing this practice into your life, inserting, developing and integrating skills every day and with small steps at a time.
“Mindfulness is the awareness that arises when we pay attention, with purpose, in the present moment and without judgment.”
Jon Kabat-Zinn
Many studies prove the benefits of developing this practice when integrated into your life, Jim Hopper lists some:
– more understanding of lived experiences, being aware and with greater clarity of what happens in our mind;
– more attention and less distraction, increasing focus maintenance;
– more joy in life, for being aware of pleasant moments, which I didn't even notice before because I was thinking about the past or the future;
– better mind-body integration, as many of us live only in our heads and forget about the body, ignoring its signals. Mindfulness helps us to be aware of the body and mind.
Shall we start practicing as soon as we wake up? Still in bed, when you wake up, take three conscious breaths, noticing the air going in and out of your body, just feeling the sensations that these breaths give you.
Thich Nhat Hanh, in his book “Silence – The Power of Stillness in a Noisy World”, suggests that, as you breathe, say this sentence mentally: “When I wake up this morning, I will smile. Brand new twenty-four hours are waiting for me. I promise to live them intensely and learn to look at everything around me with eyes of compassion.”
Try to insert this activity into your daily life and be aware of your breathing.
Good practice!
