Mindfulness Training is Accessible to Everyone

04 Jan Mindfulness Training is Accessible to Everyone

The essence of mindfulness training is learning to focus attention and engage the world in the present moment with a curious and open mind.

Mindfulness meditation is the core of mindfulness training. There is often resistance to learning meditation because people feel that their minds are too busy and they cannot possibly quiet their minds. This is a fallacy: we all have busy minds; quieting the mind is not necessary to practice meditation. Rather, having a mind that is calm is one of the goals of mindfulness meditation.

The primary effort in mindfulness meditation is simply directing awareness to an object; as thoughts and feelings arise and draw attention to them, you simply redirect your awareness to the object of mediation. Repeat as needed.

However tightly wound you may be, simple breathing techniques done as separate, foundational exercise, will calm your nerves, allowing ease of access to meditation.

Mindfulness training has a myriad of currently popular names such as attention training, resiliency training, brain training and situational awareness training. Whatever you call it, learning to be calm and present serves to reduce stress, increase performance and improving resilience, especially in our present time.

With its roots in powerful practices developed over the past 2,500 years in the East, mindfulness is a broadly expanding movement in Western culture. Professional sports teams use it to win championships. Brand name businesses embrace it to enable their employees to perform more effectively, with greater satisfaction and reduced stress, lowering absenteeism and related healthcare costs. Individuals are embracing mindfulness to live healthier, happier and more engaged lives.

This is not a fad or trend. The benefits are so pervasive that they transcend all social, cultural and political differences. Mindfulness training in the West is in the 21^st Century a sea change equivalent to the physical fitness trend that became a movement in the mid 20^th Century.