The Beginners Guide to Meditation
Mindfulness gets thrown around so often that it's easy to assume it means "calm down" or "think positively." Rather, mindfulness is simply the practice of acknowledging what's happening in your mind and body, right now, without immediately judging it or trying to fix it.
Mindfulness and meditation aren't the same thing
Meditation is the practice we do, usually sitting still for a few minutes, that trains our brains to notice the present moment. Mindfulness is the skill we're building, one wecan use anywhere: in a tense meeting, mid-argument, or lying awake at 1 am replaying a conversation.
Why it's worth engaging with
Regular practice is associated with lower stress and reactivity, greater focus, and an improved ability to sit with difficult emotions instead of being swept away by them. For a lot of clients, that last part is the real draw: not becoming a calmer person overnight, but getting a beat of space between a feeling and a reaction.
Three ways to start:
Anchor to your breath. For one minute, notice the air moving in and out. When your mind wanders, and it will, gently bring it back. That's the whole practice, not a failure of it.
Scan your body. Starting at your head, move your attention slowly down to your feet, noticing where you're holding tension. Many of us carry stress in our jaw, shoulders, or stomach without realizing it until we stop and check.
Ask yourself one honest question. Try "What am I feeling right now?" and sit with whatever comes up for a few breaths, without trying to explain or resolve it yet.
Where mindfulness fits into therapy
Mindfulness is one of the core skills in Dialectical Behavioural Therapy that I weave it into sessions with clients who want more space between feeling overwhelmed and acting on it. You don't need to be in crisis to benefit, and you don't need to be good at it right away. Like anything, it's a skill that builds with repetition.
Curious what this could look like in your own life? I offer a free 15-minute consultation.