Author: Ryan Chhajed

8 Benefits of Mindfulness

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“Mindfulness is way of befriending ourselves and our experience” – Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn

According to Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn, “Mindfulness is the practice of focusing awareness by paying attention to the present moment with openness, curiosity and without judgement.”1 Mindfulness, therefore, is the process of paying attention to what is happening. This includes our senses i.e., wheat we see, hear, taste, smell or touch and our inner world of thoughts and emotions. By practicing mindfulness, we are developing our ability to be more present. The key qualities in mindfulness are openness and curiosity. Non-judgement refers to acknowledging our thoughts and emotions without labelling them as negative, positive, or otherwise. Paying attention to our current state and being present in the moment can be very empowering. Our awareness is focussed on the here and now. 

Mindfulness in a not a recent idea. The concept of mindfulness is core to Buddhism and can be traced as far back as the fifth century BC, when it appeared in the 37 factors of Enlightenment – the Buddha’s most essential teachings. Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, is often credited with stimulating the west’s interest in mindfulness. A growing body of recent research points to the numerous benefits of mindfulness practice. 

Stress Reduction

We live in a fast paced society which contributes to and exacerbates everyday stress. Our lives are increasingly busy and full. Many studies show that practicing mindfulness can reduces stress. Mindfulness-based therapy may be useful in altering affective and cognitive processes that underlie multiple clinical issues. Mindfulness can also lower the levels of cortisol, which helps us feel more relaxed.2 Whilst mindfulness will not make the stressors in our life disappear, it certainly can help us to respond calmly to stressful events. Once we start managing our stressors effectively, we automatically experience less stress itself.

Manage Anxiety

Mindfulness helps train our mind to focus on the present, making us less likely to ruminate on anxious thoughts.3 Most of our anxiety is a result of overthinking. Some thoughts cause anxiety and our natural urge is to try and make things better by thinking our way out of it. As we try and control or fix our situation, our anxiety only becomes worse. Mindfulness helps us to be observant of our thoughts without getting involved and thus keeps us grounded in the present. Lastly, studies have also found that MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction) can help those with anxiety calm their minds.4  

Improved Focus and Concentration

Mindfulness can improve concentration on other tasks in daily life. Researchers have found that brief mindfulness training can lead to enhanced ability to sustain attention. There are also benefits to working memory, executive functioning, and visuo-spatial processing.5 Mindfulness also affects our ability to suppress distracting information. Better attention is directly correlated with cognitive flexibility and attentional functioning. Mindfulness also is one of the best ways to control and regulate our attention. 

Increased brain gray matter.

Another surprising finding is that mindfulness appears to increase gray matter in the brain. A controlled longitudinal study investigated pre-and post-changes to gray matter that were attributed to participation in MBSR. Researchers found that increases in gray matter concentration occurred in the regions of the brain that are involved in memory and learning processes, regulation of emotion, self-referential processing and taking perspective.6

Increased cognitive flexibility

In addition to helping people become lease reactive, mindfulness can also them give them greater cognitive flexibility. People who practice mindfulness appear to develop the skill of self-observation, which neurologically engages automatic pathways that were created by prior learning and enables present-moment input to be integrated in a new way.7 Mindfulness also activates the brain region associated with more adaptive responses to stressful or negative situations. 

Improved empathy and benevolence for others

The great exiled Tibetan leader Dalai Lama often talks about how mindfulness contributes to him remaining kind-hearted and compassionate despite everything that has happened in his life. Studies have shown that even a brief mindfulness intervention made participants 50% more compassionate. Regular compassion meditation practitioners showed more brain activity in regions linked with empathy.

Increased resilience and equanimity

Richie Davidson(neuroscientist) and Paul Ekman (world leading researcher on emotions) – performed series of studies on Lama Oser (right hand man of The Dalai Lama). He is a European monk with over 30 years of mindfulness experience. The researchers found that his left-to-right prefrontal cortex activity ratio asymmetry indicated unusually high levels of equanimity, well-being, and resilience to setbacks all of which are largely attributed to his discipline of mindfulness. 

Improved well-being

Being mindful makes it easier for us to pay attention to the pleasures in life as they occur. As such by focussing on the here and now, we are less likely to get caught up in worries about the future or regrets over the past and are better able to form deep connection with others.

For me personally, a regular mindfulness practice has made a huge difference. I feel a sense of space in my mind every time I practice mindfulness. When friends and family ask me to describe this feeling I tell them that before I started my daily mindfulness practice my mind was similar to a messy room with things scattered all over the floor. These days it feels more like a library where all the books are arranged in bookcases. 

Please note that it is probably not huge deal if your home mindfulness practice does not resemble any of the above results from clinical trials. Sometimes it is best to think about mindfulness in the same way as other things that make us feel good i.e., an early morning walk, or relaxing with a good book. Mindfulness in general is an extremely helpful tool as we look for ways to de-stress, learn more about ourselves, and lean toward mental well-being. The risks of practicing mindfulness are minimal, and all the evidence points to positive impacts such as being less reactive, less stressed and feeling better overall. 

References

  1. Kabat-Zinn, J. Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. 1994. London: Piatkus.
  1. Turakitwanakan W, Mekseepralard C, Busarakumtragul P. Effects of mindfulness meditation on serum cortisol of medical students. J Med Assoc Thai. 2013;96 Suppl 1:S90-S95.
  1. Goyal M, Singh S, Sibinga EMS, et al. Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(3):357–368. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.13018
  1. Niazi AK, Niazi SK. Mindfulness-based stress reduction: a non-pharmacological approach for chronic illnesses. N Am J Med Sci. 2011;3(1):20-23. doi:10.4297/najms.2011.320
  1. Zedian F, Johnson SK, Diamond B, David Z, Goolkasian P, Mindfulness meditation improves cognition: Evidence of brief mental training. 2010. 19(2): 597-605 
  1. Holzel K, Carmody J, Vangel M, Congleton C, Yeramsetti SM, Gard T, Lazar SW, Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density. 2011. 191(1): 36-43
  2. Siegel DJ. Mindfulness training and neural integration: differentiation of distinct streams of awareness and the cultivation of well-being. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2007;2(4):259-263. doi:10.1093/scan/nsm034

My Journey towards Mindfulness

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“We train ourselves all through our life to waste energy following our inner narratives. We are often unconsciously driven by our fears, worries, and fantasies. Enter the space of awareness of the present moment with no emotional filters, no regrets nor hopes, no daydreaming and no nightmares” – Natasa Pantovic

Growing up in Mumbai, I thought life worked like this:

  1. Listen to your parents and get good grades (excel academically) in school
  2. Once you have finished school, get into a good college (university)
  3. Once you have finished college, do your MBA
  4. Get a good job and climb the corporate ladder, anything less than becoming a CEO is an abject failure
  5. Accumulate as much wealth as quickly as possible so that you can be happy and have a great life

So, I set myself on the path to achieve all the above things. I got good grades in school, went to one of the best colleges in Mumbai, moved to Melbourne and completed by MBA and CPA. Along the way I got married, started a family, and bought a house. My career started progressing and life got busier. I was working 65-70-hour weeks and all our free time was dedicated to driving the kids from one activity to another. Every now and then I would stop and say to myself, “How good is this, life is amazing!” Being busy and doing more and more things became a badge of honour. Little did I know that my life was about to turn in an unplanned direction. 

Nine years ago, I got my first senior role reporting to a Managing Director. Working with my new boss was an amazing experience and he taught me many things that I continue to apply today in my life. However, 10 months into that role, I experienced my first doubt towards my ambition to become a CEO. I started questioning whether I really had the desire or mental fortitude to lead a company. But I pushed these thoughts aside and continued to live my apparently successful busy life. 

Two years hence we met our financial planner to plan our retirement and align our superannuation and insurance. He asked me what my goals in life were. When I told him about my plan to become a CEO he said, “Ryan, that is an excellent career goal but I need to understand what your main goals in life are as a couple so that we can plan for your future financial security”. We came home that night and over the next few days put our life goals on paper. After looking at the goals written down on paper, I experienced my second doubt towards my grand career plan. My main thought was I do not need to be a CEO or accumulate extreme wealth to achieve these goals. 

Fast forward two years later. 3rd July 2015, I switched on my radio in the morning to commence my commute and tuned into SEN (radio station) to listen to the latest footy updates. The breaking news that morning was about the death of Phil Walsh, who was the coach of the Adelaide Football Club. He was stabbed in his own home. For reasons I cannot explain, the fragility of life really hit me that day. I could not concentrate on my work that day and have never hugged my family as hard as I did when I got home that night. 

The following 18 months or so were spent in extreme mental anguish trying to understand the meaning of life and decipher my purpose. I started questioning whether this is the path I really want to pursue and what I genuinely cared about in life. I was unhappy and derived zero satisfaction from my seemingly successful corporate roles. Furthermore, I was in this place mentally where I did not know what to do with my life and what my next step should be. That is when I started practicing yoga regularly. My body started feeling good as I improved my strength and flexibility. By focussing on my breath whilst transitioning from pose to pose I realised the beauty of the present moment. That is when I started my own mindfulness practice and decided to become a yoga teacher. It is during my yoga teacher training that I learnt more about the benefits and science behind mindfulness. 

In the beginning, I started small, practicing 2 minutes at a time on a regular basis. I did all the research and understood that all that I had to do was observe my breath. Easy right? Sitting down with my thoughts was not easy as I had been conditioned to be goal-oriented, work extremely hard and define success and meaning in materialistic terms. Slowing down was difficult.  That is when I sought a teacher who could teach me fundamentals, answer my questions and above all keep me accountable. 

After years of practice, things have really clicked with my mindfulness practice over the last 10 months (more on that in another blog). I have learned to be more tolerant and less judgemental. I have come to realise that my inner dialogue for years was overly critical, never feeling “good enough, smart enough or nice enough”. It usually takes me a long time to forgive myself for my mistakes as I continue ruminating over the past. Therefore, the area where I have had to do the most work is to learn to be kinder to myself and inculcate ongoing self-compassion. However, I will be honest, quietening the monkey mind is not that easy. I still get distracted by many thoughts, but I have become better at observing my emotions without getting involved and turning my focus back to the breath. 

These days when I finish my mindfulness practice, I feel more aware of my surroundings, more at peace and less anxious. I am more aware of being present, or bringing myself to the present, instead of ruminating about the past or worrying about the future. My mind is calmer. 

My mindfulness journey thus far has been amazing and full of growth and stepping out of my comfort zone. My experience with mindfulness has created a philosophical shift in the way I look at my world, leading me to see glimpses of the bigger picture around me with humility and compassion for myself and others. My motivation to become a mindfulness and yoga facilitator comes from the benefits I have experienced and the realisations I have achieved which I wish to share with the world.