What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment, with all of your senses. It is an awareness of yourself and everything around you. It is not something that we do naturally, it has to be developed. And the best tool for developing it is to practice meditation.

What is meditation?

Meditation is focusing your attention on something. What you focus on depends on the type of meditation. Mindfulness meditations tend to focus on the body and the breath, what we are sensing or feeling. More traditional meditations may focus on a mantra, candle, image, loving-kindness, compassion or simply our thoughts. It is a skill and, to develop it, it needs to be practiced.

What are the benefits?

There is now a huge amount of research showing the benefits of Mindfulness and Meditation, demonstrating it can:

• reduce stress and anxiety
• reduce stress-related health issues
• improve our concentration and memory
• develop thinking creatively and flexibly
• slow down aging
• and even build more brain cells.

Also shown are a range of emotional benefits.  It can:

• increase our positive emotions
• build resilience
• build empathy and emotional intelligence
• make us more accepting of ourselves and others
• increase emotional regulation and impulse control
• and lead to better relationships.

In conclusion, it leads to a happier life, both for yourself, and those around you.

Try it for yourself

Learn the science behind mindfulness and meditation, the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of this amazing skill, which has the potential to transform your life.