There are many potential benefits of the practice of mindfulness and we will all experience different ones. Below is a list of some of the common benefits people experience from practicing mindfulness – many of which are based on scientific evidence:
- Increased body awareness
- Increased levels of concentration and productivity
- Increased creativity
- Increased ability to recognise and accept thoughts and emotions
- Increased self-awareness
- Increased vitality
- Reduced stress and anxiety levels
- Better overall emotional well-being
- Better sleep
- Ability to challenge habitual thoughts and reactions to situations
- Better overall mental and physical health
So what is it that makes mindfulness so beneficial ? Well, practicing mindfulness enables us to become more aware of our habitual thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations and of the world around us. As we begin to experience this, mindfulness allows us to create a ‘gap’ between our immediate experiences (thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations), and how we respond to them. It gives us the ability to decide what to give our attention to which in time, helps us to learn make better choices for inviting greater well-being and happiness into our lives.
It is important to point out that although practicing mindfulness lead to all the benefits listed above, it is best practiced without being too ‘goal-orientated’. These benefits will take care of themselves. Mindfulness is best practiced for its own sake with the simple ‘aim’ of exploring and enjoying our experiences of life in the present moment we are in.