Are you feeling the effects of long-term stress in your daily life? Find out how mindfulness training can help you cope with them. The unique JOYINME – Mindful Collection of clothing was created with this very practice in mind.
The rushing world around us increasingly stirs a desire for a sense of harmony and peace. The mindfulness method, which is gaining more and more followers, can help in finding them. The art of conscious living teaches us to find silence, joy, and wisdom in every moment. Discover an effective method for calming the mind with us.
Attacked by thousands of stimuli from both our environment and the virtual world, we are forced into constant activity, which makes us irritable and stressed. How can you find a moment of respite in the daily rush? The increasingly valued mindfulness method, which teaches how to focus one's entire attention on the present moment, is gaining popularity. It connects with the practice of yoga and meditation, adding a new quality to life.
What is mindfulness?
The definition of mindfulness is simple, yet complicated in its simplicity. It is a return to the lost art of doing one thing at a time and engaging in that activity fully – both physically and mentally. One of the most frequently cited descriptions of mindfulness is the definition by Jon Kabat-Zinn, a therapist and founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He describes mindfulness as a specific type of attention: conscious, non-judgmental, and focused on the present moment. By practicing it, we develop self-awareness, the ability to observe ourselves, and the skill to examine the nature of our own minds. By focusing on experiencing and accepting the present moment, we get rid of automatic, often negative, reactions to external and internal stimuli. We create a kind of "break" between experience and emotion, making it easier to respond in a more conscious and balanced way.
How can mindfulness help us in daily life?
Over the last 30 years, mindfulness has been the subject of numerous studies on its application in the treatment of both mental and somatic health problems. The results clearly indicate that mindfulness training can be effective support in psychotherapy. For these purposes, a specialized version of the program called MBCT – Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy – was created. Mindfulness also helps in coping with stress, recurring depression, and autoimmune diseases. These are often derivatives of long-term elevated nervous tension. Mindfulness training can also be used in cases of professional burnout. In such a situation, it will help us improve our return to mental balance and find meaning in what we do once again.
In daily life, mindfulness training becomes a driving force for change within ourselves. Practiced regularly, non-judgmental attention directed at the present moment fosters an accepting attitude toward our experiences. It helps us deal with difficult emotions and painful experiences with a sense of inner stability. As a result, relationships with people around us also change, as we treat them with respect and understanding. "It is important to constantly renew within oneself the 'wonder of the present moment, which is always one of a kind' and remind oneself 'that every moment is fresh and new.' Remembering this is 'a chance that what you know will not stop you from being open to what you don't know, of which there is always more'" – points out Agnieszka Guzicka from the Polish Mindfulness Institute.
How to begin a mindfulness practice?
The first step to starting mindfulness training is ensuring full comfort and peace. Find a quiet place and make sure you are comfortable and that nothing distracts you. Choosing clothes that provide your body with full calmness through their softness and delicacy will also help you reach this state. The natural, breathable, and pleasant-to-the-touch materials from the new JOYINME Mindful Collection give a feeling of comfort, in which it is much easier to focus on yourself.
Sitting comfortably, direct your attention to the natural flow of your breath and your own body. Do not try, however, to separate yourself from the environment or the thoughts that will accompany you particularly intensely in the initial phase of training. It is important to listen to the sounds around you, which give a sense of unity with the world, and to observe your own thoughts. Focusing on your breath during this time, you will gradually reach a state in which they will flow like clouds: noticeable from a distance, but not causing undesirable reactions.
Mindfulness apps
In recent years, several applications have been created that can help you begin a mindfulness practice in the comfort of your own home. In our opinion, two of them are particularly noteworthy:
Headspace
co-created by Buddhist monk Andy Puddicombe, this app introduces meditation and mindfulness practice in a friendly way. Charming animations explaining individual mindfulness techniques help with this, and sessions are available even in offline mode.
Stop, Breathe & Think
an app that adjusts meditation and mindfulness sessions to the individual needs of the user. A short questionnaire allows for the analysis of the user's mood, and then proposes appropriate training sessions that can be performed while commuting to school or work, allowing one to deal with negative thoughts or tame inner anxiety.
