Help Needed - Has anyone Tried Mindfulness??

girish_ph
girish_ph Posts: 148 Member
edited January 1 in Fitness and Exercise
I have just come across mindfulness. Here is my history.

I have a tendency to get depressed and/or angry. I have mood swings. I am also a chronic smoker. I have heard that mindfulness can help me. What I want to know is this -

- Has anyone any experiencxe of mindfulness? Is it good?

- What are the exerxcizes? Is there a web-based course available that u can recommend?

Need Help. Thanks

Replies

  • girish_ph
    girish_ph Posts: 148 Member
    Bump
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,038 Member
    Bump. Sounds interesting and useful to us all... where did you come across it?
  • Skinny_minny_mo
    Skinny_minny_mo Posts: 1,272 Member
    sounds intriguing but havent a clue what it is!
  • rmcannell
    rmcannell Posts: 23 Member
    Are you talking about Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction?

    If so, I will say that I have found it extremely helpful, personally. I have a chronic illness that has completely derailed my life, leading to much physical and emotional stress. Anyway, it's been good for me.

    Depending on your personality, you may be able to find programs that are more logical (one of the guys at Google has done some writing about mindfulness, from an engineer's perspective) or more emotional.

    In a very small nutshell - because I have a lot of animals waiting on me for their food! - MBSR programs incorporate meditation of various kinds with yoga and positive thinking exercises aimed at focusing your awareness on the present moment and not constantly stressing about the past or the future (which we're very good at doing). You can use these skills to create or reinforce coping strategies that are positive rather than negative. They teach you to notice the things in your life that are causing you pain and stress, and then to approach those things in a non judgmental way.

    It does sound a little froo-froo, but there is quite a lot of research over many years that has shown it to be effective for many populations. I am an excessively rational person, and getting into meditation and positive thinking was a little weird, but like I said, has helped me reduce pain and emotional stress extremely well.

    Generally speaking, it's best to attend classes in person. If that is not possible where you live, you can pick up a MBSR workbook online that helps you learn on your own. I think at this point folks probably also have some CDs out, at least for leading you through some of the meditation exercises.

    http://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-Based-Stress-Reduction-Workbook/dp/1572247088
  • Inforthelonghaul
    Inforthelonghaul Posts: 33
    Basically it's a type of meditation.

    Do some research, you don't need a book/DVD or any external aid, just yourself and the right mindset.

    I practise most days and find it incredibly relaxing and refreshing, though it took quite a while to reach 'mindfulness as a state', persevere and you will attain.
  • girish_ph
    girish_ph Posts: 148 Member
    Thank You folks. I am contemplating mindfulness to resolve a lot of emotional baggage and to help in stopping smoking. Let me try it. Any one else has any experience with it?
  • healthittakestime
    healthittakestime Posts: 4
    Mindfulness is great, I think you should definitely give it a try. It helped one of my friends to quit smoking.

    I meditate for 30 minutes a day and I wouldn't be without it now. It's a good idea to get some guided meditations, and Jon Kabat Zinn's books and meditations are probably the best to start with.

    Let me know how it goes! x
  • girish_ph
    girish_ph Posts: 148 Member

    Generally speaking, it's best to attend classes in person. If that is not possible where you live, you can pick up a MBSR workbook online that helps you learn on your own. I think at this point folks probably also have some CDs out, at least for leading you through some of the meditation exercises.

    http://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-Based-Stress-Reduction-Workbook/dp/1572247088

    Thanks. Just bought the book on my kindle. I hope it will help me
  • bethfartman
    bethfartman Posts: 363 Member
    You should read this; I have tried to practice mindfulness meditation in my day-to-day life for the past 10 years or so and this book introduced me to it-
    http://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Mindfulness-Introduction-Practice-Meditation/dp/0807012394
    Thich Nhat Hanh is amazing. I think it really helped me quite smoking a couple years ago, just being aware of what you're doing moment to moment is pretty powerful.
  • bethfartman
    bethfartman Posts: 363 Member
    Oh, and I personally don't think you need to take any sort of class. It's a really simple concept, it just takes practice.
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