We hear more and more about mindfulnessin recent years, but what is it really about and how can it be a great resource for your well-being, both psychological and physical?
It is a practice based on awareness of the present moment, which involves paying nonjudgmental attention to our thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations. Its main objective is to create a state of mental calmclarity, useful for reducing stress and managing difficult situations better.
Many associate it with yoga and use its techniques as complement to normal psychological therapies. For these reasons, more and more people are interested in embarking on a journey and integrating this practice into daily life.
However, there are not always centers available nearby, or many times our timetables are not compatible, which is why there is the possibility of following a online mindfulness course.
This is ideal for those who have short while or doesn't know who to turn to in their city, without wanting to miss the opportunity to learn a useful and effective tool for themselves 360° wellbeing.
What is mindfulness and what is the difference with yoga
As we mentioned, mindfulness comes up often associated with yoga and there are those who confuse the two practices, which are sometimes complementary. These are, as one might imagine, two very different techniques, which above all have distinct objectives.
Mindfulness is a meditation technique based on awareness of the present: that is, his goal is to pay attention to his own experience in the here and now, without judgment, simply observing and taking note of it.
There are different ways of performing this practice: through classical sitting meditationthe meditative walk or through the conscious breathing.
Yoga, on the other hand, is an older practice than mindfulness and is focused on combination of physical exercises, breathing and meditation. This activity, in fact, can be considered more as a form of physical exercise which helps improve the health of the body and mind.
Therefore mindfulness has as its specific objective that of awareness and awareness, while yoga is more body oriented through which to also cure the mind and therefore has a greater physical component.
Mindfulness against stress and psychological discomfort
In modern society the stress it is one of the worst evils that leads to problems both on a psychological level, but also has consequences on people's physical health due to hormonal imbalance And difficulty resting.
Various solutions can be adopted against this evil and one of these is precisely the mindfulnesswhich also has the advantage of being naturalhas no contraindications and can be done at any time of the day.
Practicing this type of meditation is extremely useful because it pushes the person to become aware of their emotions, of the present moment, and thus leads to having a greater control.
This also leads to increase your psychological resilience and strengthen the ability to reduce the intensity of bad emotions.
It therefore helps the correct emotional response to stress, reduces cortisol levels and brings benefits on a psychological level. Mindfulness is, in fact, a lot also useful against anxiety and depressionhelps improve the quality of sleep and mood in general.
An excellent health ally
Body and mind are extremely linked, this is something now known and verified. Improving psychological health brings benefits to the body and vice versa, which is why mindfulness is a practice capable of also bring benefits to your physical healthalthough there are no exercises that require movement.
The first obvious thing, for example, is that this practice is capable of reduce a person's stress. This means that cortisol levels are lowereda harmful hormone if it is excessive and can lead to problems such as hypertension and heart disease.
Furthermore, mindfulness improves quality of sleep thanks to its ability to reduce the ruminationor the tendency to always repeat the same negative thoughts, which leads to little and bad rest.
Being able to rest well is not only beneficial for your lifestyle and your ability to stay focused, but it helps also prevent disorders such as obesity, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases and infections.
In conclusion
Mindfulness is a meditation practice that is based on awareness of the present momentaimed at creating a state of mental calm and reducing stress.
Unlike yoga, this practice focuses on becoming aware of the present moment, of one's thoughts and emotions, managing to arrive at a greater capacity for resilience.
This practice is therefore an excellent tool for combating stress and psychological discomfort, and consequently it is also an excellent support for physical well-being and health in general, offering a 360° support for our well-being.