Mindfulness And Technology: Finding Focus In A Digital World

This is a recording of our "Daily Mindfulness with Diana Mirs" live event, which includes practical tips for incorporating mindful technology use into your daily routine. Together with your Mind-Body Connection Coach, Diana Mirs, we will address the challenge of digital imbalance, detailing how excessive screen time fuels stress and anxiety and fragments your attention span.

You'll learn essential strategies for setting digital boundaries, identifying digital triggers, and using mindful grounding techniques (like single-tasking and mindful transitions) to stay present and centered even when you have to work online. The session includes a Guided Meditation for setting intentions before digital use.

I invite you to check the "Daily Mindfulness with Diana Mirs" playlist for the recording of other events and guided meditations from this series.

Transcript

Hello,

My friends.

I am very happy to see you all guys here.

Thank you so much for joining our live event today.

A few words about me.

My name is Diana.

I am a MindBodyConnection coach,

A psychosomatic specialist,

And a meditation teacher.

And welcome guys to this live event dedicated to exploring mindfulness and digital well-being.

This is a series of live events that I'm hosting this year dedicated to viewing and discovering,

Exploring different aspects of mindfulness in relation to various parts of our life.

So we have already covered the topic of mindfulness and its relation to sleep,

Mindful movement,

Mindful routines,

Evening and morning routines that can support our lives daily.

There was a mindful guided meditation.

If you guys want to practice that one,

It was quite a long one.

Please feel free to check it out in my profile as well as the rest of the recordings of these lives that will be uploaded a bit later.

So please also subscribe to my profile to stay tuned.

There was also exploring of mindfulness and creativity,

Which was very,

Very beautiful live.

And please guys know that you always can reach out to me in direct messages here on Insight Timer if there are any special requests or just some thoughts that you would like to share with me as well.

Today,

Particularly,

We will talk about the impact of technology on our minds and bodies.

We will discuss how to mindfully use technology,

Which,

Yes,

There will be a lot of words mindful or mindfully in our today's life,

But we will focus on practical aspect of it.

We will discover how to stay present and grounded in any kind of digital environment and especially or even more if you are working in an office and you have to use a computer and so on.

And of course,

Having mindful online interactions,

Which is also part of our digital life nowadays.

At the end,

Traditionally,

We will have a guided meditation focused on setting mindful pause and mindful intention for digital use.

It will be a very short practice to illustrate how you can implement mindfulness in your daily life in relation to using technology.

So this will conclude our live today.

And let's start with the probably main question for today.

How does technology,

Especially digital devices,

Impact our mind and body?

I'm sure that all of us have experienced that and perhaps are experiencing it in this moment.

So please share,

Guys,

How you find this relationship in your life.

If we are all together here now,

Guys,

I'm sure that everyone here owns a device and you can also reflect on this question yourself.

Some answers can be very obvious,

Perhaps others not so much,

But I'm sure it will be curious to just think about it for a moment from your personal perspective.

Michelle,

Oh my goodness,

It sucks my brains out.

I get away to focus on useless things and my eyes will even begin to hurt.

I'm often feeling the need to go outside and move around,

Leaving my phone and computer behind.

Yes,

Do you do that?

Do you actually go outside and move around when you have this desire to do so?

I can definitely relate to that.

Yes,

Multiple times a day.

Excellent that you have such an opportunity.

That's great that you're using that as well.

Having a dog helps.

Oh yeah,

Now I totally get it.

I do have this opportunity to go out for a mindful walk outside in a park every day,

But I don't have a dog.

I guess it explains a lot.

Yeah,

Not every day I have the luxury of going out.

I mean,

Just for a relaxing work,

Not a commute or any errands around the city.

Right,

But what you mentioned here that you get too focused on useless things.

Absolutely.

It happens to me as well,

And I'm sure that to 98% of us too,

Because this is how the electronic devices,

Computers,

Phones are designed to be,

To grasp our attention so we get lost and forget what we actually wanted to do or what we have to focus on.

And the health of our eyes,

Yeah,

Suffers a lot.

Yeah,

At night after I finish all my work,

I can't say all my work because it is limitless,

I would say,

But when I go to sleep,

My eyes hurt and I have to do some exercises and sometimes I even give my eyes a massage gently.

So you guys can try that as well.

It feels amazing to me at least.

So yeah,

Eyes hurt,

That is true.

Just catching up with the comments.

Mother Nature is the one thing keeping me somewhat sane in these days.

Yes,

Definitely.

It definitely supports our mental health,

Not only physical health,

Of course,

Right?

They are addicting.

And the apps are designed for dopamine rushes.

Absolutely,

Yes.

And it's difficult to control with our conscious choice,

But that is possible.

That is where mindfulness comes in help,

Right?

But all of the apps are designed not only to support us and help us,

Let's say.

Yeah,

That's true.

Thank you,

Michelle,

For sharing that.

And whether we use technology for work or for leisure time,

We can even see the physical sensations that are caused by using technology.

Not only speaking about our vision and eyes,

Our posture,

But also just probably general tension in the body that is caused not only how we are using our computers,

Of course,

Or many hours a day,

Or phones,

Just our neck will hurt,

But also how the emotional reaction that we get from interacting with technology and all the online world has impact on our physical bodies.

So,

When we are using any kind of screens for a long time excessively,

It triggers our body's stress response.

I'm sure that all of us heard about the blue light that the screens emit,

And this blue light disrupts our natural cardiac rhythms,

Which means that we may have sleep problems,

Increased cortisol levels,

The stress hormone that also raises in our blood.

And of course,

Mentally,

The constant stimulation that we're getting either from the apps or emails for work,

Or just simply notifications and entertainment,

Music or YouTube that we are watching,

Just general information overload fuels sometimes,

And perhaps in most times,

Anxiety,

Making it very difficult to even relax and to stay present in our lives.

So,

It's not just about feeling tired when we are using the technology and screens,

But the prolonged exposure can contribute to chronic stress and even impact our immune system,

Which in result will influence our health and may cause or provoke the diseases.

So,

By saying this,

I do not want to scare you guys,

But rather to become aware of what might happen and what excessive screen time may lead to,

And also to illustrate how our minds and bodies are strongly interlinked.

And with the Mind-Body Connection coaching and with mindfulness,

We can improve the quality of our life in general,

Our mental health,

And even physical health,

Of course.

Jacqueline,

Thanks for your comment.

Shell balance is key.

Absolutely.

Right.

And I believe this balance is deeply personal,

So everyone has to find it themselves.

And that is perhaps what we are here for,

To support each other in that and to share ideas how we can do so.

Thank you as well for your hearts.

What we already mentioned previously,

That the apps and all the internet world is designed to grasp our,

To grab our attention.

And that is true,

Which leads to fragmenting our attention spans.

So,

We can't keep focus or be concentrated on just doing one task for as long as we could do it in the past.

So,

With the time,

Perhaps not even with each year,

But each month,

Our attention span shortens and we lose concentration.

It is more difficult to engage in work or just to be truly focused on one task and completing it.

It generally reduces productivity because at the same time,

Our brain always seeks this stimulation that we can easily get from using social networks,

For example,

Or our devices in any other form.

And it becomes more difficult to find satisfaction from completing tasks or from being and staying present in life.

Yeah,

Jacqueline agreed.

Glad to know that.

I have also noticed it myself that it becomes more and more difficult to keep focus on something that I am doing.

And that I'm becoming more and more mentally fatigued.

It's not about the tiredness in the body at the end of the day,

But just in my head,

Probably even in my physical brain as it can be intense as I feel it.

And of course,

It depends on each day on how I feel generally on the levels of my anxiety or,

I don't know,

Stress that is caused,

For example,

By deadlines or whatever.

And some days are much better and I do not feel so dependent on either social media or just an online interaction or using my devices as much.

I wonder how you guys cope with perhaps such feelings,

Mental fatigue,

If you experience that,

If you notice it in relation to using technology.

Please also share your stories or reflect about that on your own.

I'm sure we can find a lot of examples of it from our lives,

How you guys cope with this sort of mental fatigue and balance the usage of technology.

Jacqueline,

I wear blue light glasses when I plan to be on for a while.

Excellent.

Do you wear them in the evening before going to sleep or throughout the whole day?

Yeah,

That's a great,

Great tool that we can use absolutely to reduce the damage of technology on the quality of our sleep and overall health.

Any time of day.

Oh,

Excellent.

I'm not that efficient with that yet.

I am trying to use such glasses and generally dim the lights closer to my sleep time.

And Jacqueline,

Do you notice the benefits of using such glasses?

A difference,

Is it too drastic or not from the times when you haven't used them and now?

Very curious about that.

Michelle,

I love my standing desk.

It is way more conducive to balance for me than sitting all day.

Yes,

Perfect.

It is unfortunate for me that I can't use a standing desk.

I don't have it in the homes where I'm staying as I'm a digital nomad.

I don't have a permanent one.

But yeah,

I would love to experience it myself.

But does it help you to,

I don't know,

Reduce or be mindful of the technology usage?

The standing desk.

Does it also have this positive effect?

Jacqueline,

I don't think I can say that.

I do.

It makes me feel better though that I'm wearing them and hopefully helping.

Oh,

I see.

Okay,

Well,

Perhaps you can try to notice it in the future.

I'm sure they work.

Yeah,

Well,

The scientific research says so,

So I do not doubt science in this case.

But also that it makes you feel better and believe in it also will enhance the positive effects,

Not only of wearing the glasses,

But generally speaking,

When we are aware of effects of something that we do or don't do,

It enhances the impact of it on our health.

So that's perfect.

Yeah,

That is a little trick that I learned for myself,

How I can enhance the benefits of my healthy habits,

Let's say.

It's also motivational for me to keep practicing them,

Believing in them and knowing the science behind.

Michelle,

Yes,

It allows me to dance while I work,

Which helps a lot of things.

Focus,

Reduces mental fog,

All of it.

Oh yeah,

Dancing.

Oh,

That would be so lovely.

Great.

I'm very happy to know that.

And of course,

Having a little dance in between the tasks is much healthier than scrolling Instagram,

For example,

Or any other social media.

Excellent.

Thank you so much for sharing your perspective and your experience with that.

Now I want to get a standing desk even more.

Great.

Yeah,

So here I also want to share the story about one of my clients.

I'm mostly working with entrepreneurs in mind-body connection coaching.

And as we can imagine,

Entrepreneurs are quite busy people and they take a lot on their plate.

And I was working with a man,

Of course,

No names,

Nothing specific here.

But he was finishing his days and starting his mornings with checking emails and correspondence with his clients.

And of course,

He believed that it would make him and it made him more productive and improved his work and results that he was achieving.

But in fact,

We found out together,

And it was a big surprise for him that it doesn't actually work this way.

It increased the levels of anxiety and stress in his life.

And as we also were noticing,

He was mentioning it in his diary,

That was his homework,

That it negatively impacted his sleep quality.

And of course,

The quality of the next day when he woke up.

So with,

First of all,

Being mindful of how using technology influences some aspects of his life and later developing supportive,

Personalized evening morning routines for him together,

And just being aware of what happens in the body when using technology or,

I don't know,

Visiting some websites or interacting with some specific clients,

How it manifested in his body,

And most of the time negatively as well,

It all helped to have a healthier relationship with technology at the end.

And only after that,

He could definitely say that,

Yes,

It started to improve his results,

His performance at work,

And just he became happier,

Feeling lighter throughout the day with more mental capacity,

Energy,

And clarity.

So it's another great example of how just simply by starting being mindful about your relationship with technology can help you improve your health,

Your mental health,

And your progress at work or studies,

Whatever it can be for you.

All right,

Michelle,

A comment from you.

Let me read it out loud.

This may not be exactly what you are asking about,

But it is related.

I teach yoga,

And one thing that is important to teach in many classes is allowing our bodies to do the opposite of what we tend to do all day.

If we work at a desk and computer all day,

We tend to be hunched over,

Carrying lots of tension in our necks and shoulders.

This also affects the back,

Et cetera.

It is very important to open up those spaces in our body,

Doing the opposite of closing them up.

So when we hunch over all day,

It is important to do some shoulder opening and neck stretches to release tension and even to keep us from being hunchbacked,

Which is caused by the vertebrae and discs in our spine,

Neck,

And shoulders.

Yes.

Thank you so much for sharing that,

That you are teaching yoga.

That's great.

Wonderful.

I love practicing yoga or related kind of physical activity,

Let me say that,

Myself.

And that's a great note that you shared with us,

That we should practice the opposite.

Right.

I can feel it myself that now I'm trying to not lay back,

For example,

On the back of my chair,

But trying to add more movement into the shoulders when I'm interacting with you guys.

Yeah,

Just to add more movement.

And also,

Yoga is a great space,

Let's say,

To strengthen mind-body connection as we mindfully guide our bodies.

And at the same time,

We are mindful of our bodies.

Right.

That's a great balance we can find in the yoga practice and extrapolated on our life in general.

Beautiful.

Thank you,

Michelle.

Now I have for the next part of our live to discuss some strategies,

How we can set boundaries with technology.

Did it ever work with you guys or for you to set boundaries or some rules and actually to follow them,

Whether it worked for you well or not?

Whether you ever tried to set boundaries in relation to technology or perhaps not,

Or maybe not yet,

Or maybe you are thinking about that and you would like some ideas or you do have some ideas.

Michelle,

Are you also teaching yoga on InsideTimer or outside of the platform?

I know that there are quite a few yoga teachers here also posting lives.

And the question,

Once again,

Was about setting boundaries in relation with technology.

Do you have any?

Do you follow them?

Any rules or restrictions?

We'll be very curious to know that.

Perhaps there are some tricks or rules that worked for you that you keep following and that you can also share with us to help everyone here in this space.

And once again,

I would like to invite you guys to explore more meditations,

Mind-body connection practices,

The courses in my profile here on InsideTimer.

Please follow my profile.

It is zero cost and it really supports us teachers on InsideTimer a lot.

Let me share,

Guys,

With you some ideas of the boundaries that we can set for ourselves when speaking about using technology.

Of course,

What works best for me is setting specific times in a day when I can use technology,

When I can check my non-work-related emails or social media.

I do it after I complete the first part of my work during my lunch break and closer to the evening time,

But not before I'm going to sleep.

These are the times that work best for me.

And when I'm working in the morning or in the afternoon or,

Of course,

Doing something else and I want to check my other platforms for some notifications or just chat with someone or to consume some content,

I know that there will be time when I can do it freely,

But not now.

And most of the time I am able to follow this rule.

I'm very happy and proud of myself,

To be honest.

It wasn't that easy in the beginning.

And,

Of course,

Not every day is perfect.

So just one of the rules.

For now,

I just use a limited screen time in my iPhone and also it does help a lot as well.

But on the other hand,

It's so easy to just skip and allow to use the app for the rest of your day.

Yeah.

But again,

Just making that right decision in that right moment.

When,

Especially in the moments,

For example,

When I work a frustrating piece of news from my work email,

Okay,

I read that and I feel this kind of rush or anxiety inside of me.

And what do I do?

I go to one of the apps to just scroll it mindlessly so I can forget about this anxiety that just struck inside of me and distract myself with this cheap dopamine.

Yes.

And when I realized that and I noticed that every time I'm like,

Oh my God,

It happened again.

Yeah,

It is kind of a game at the same time.

But of course,

When I do realize that I immediately close the app and think,

All right,

It happened to me again.

It's okay.

I'm a human being.

Nothing wrong with that.

And after that,

I keep,

I come back to the feeling of my anxiety.

I also think about what caused this anxiety,

Maybe to be as precise as possible.

And I,

For a couple of minutes,

Work with that release anxiety and come back to my better state.

Again,

Just an illustration how it can be done with being aware of yourself and being mindful of the present moment of what happens.

And again,

These applications are very,

Very tricky.

Yeah,

They are designed this way.

Thank you for the hearts.

I guess it resonates.

Another boundary that I set between me and social media or just electronic devices is that I turn off unnecessary notifications.

Unnecessary,

Of course,

It's again,

Very personal.

For me,

These are some,

Of course,

Promotions or emails,

Not related to me.

Not related to work that I can check later during the day.

And also,

I'm sure it is possible to do on iPhone,

Not sure about Android,

That you can choose out of various,

Who are they called?

Let me,

Let me check.

Well,

From various focus settings,

For example,

I have one where I have no notifications and it's called me time because it's only for me.

I can choose the apps that I will open that will be on my screen,

Home screen.

I also choose the notifications that can pop up,

Some emergency ones,

For example.

Another focus that I have is for work where the notifications are strictly work related.

Another one includes all the social media,

Right?

You can also play with that and decide for yourself what does matter,

What you want to be notified by,

What kind of notifications you want to receive eventually,

And how many times a day you want to be distracted by them.

Because at the end of the day,

It is a distraction.

Every single time you receive a notification,

You hear that,

You see that,

You lose your attention and focus.

Another rule that you guys can set for yourself is creating tech-free zones or times throughout your day,

And it can include using or not using smartphones,

Computers,

TVs,

Any kind of screens generally.

And for me,

This rule is the hardest to follow because I love to watch an episode of my favorite TV show before going to sleep,

Which is not the best idea.

Most of the time,

It is difficult for me to resist using my phone before going to sleep.

But some days are better.

Some days I am not succeeding in that.

But it's one of the intention,

It's one of the intentions of mine for this,

For this month.

Let's see if it will work and I'll share my personal results in one of the future lives.

And generally speaking,

It is very much recommended to not use any screens one hour before going to sleep to improve the quality of your sleep,

Your deep sleep time,

And that will help you feel more energized and full of life the next day.

And once again,

Becoming mindful,

Becoming aware of our relationship with technology,

With applications,

Social media,

Et cetera.

It is not about fixing ourselves.

It's not about becoming better,

But just acknowledging what happens without judgment,

Simply noticing,

Okay,

This is what it is and I can support myself in this or I can change that.

It is not about bullying yourself for doing something wrongly or for not following your set boundaries.

It is simply about noticing and becoming aware.

Accept it as a fact and support yourself throughout the whole way.

I want to remind you guys to be gentle and kind and compassionate towards yourselves,

Even in the topic of digital life and technology.

And also my invitation to you guys to strengthen your mind-body connection.

Becoming aware of the physical,

Emotional responses to technology is the first step in setting effective boundaries and the second step in actually leaving these boundaries and following the rules that you chose for yourself.

Practice makes perfect.

Before we move to our guided meditation,

Which will be a short practice of mindful usage of technology,

I would like to mention a few techniques or practical tips that will help you guys to stay present and grounded in digital environment,

Especially and even if you are working in an office in front of a computer with so many notifications,

Information,

And simply noise surrounding you.

If you guys have some recommendations,

Practical tips,

Please also let us all know.

From my side,

I would like to mention mindful breathing exercises that do not have to be anything strong or big,

Simply becoming mindful of your breath or slightly deepening your breath.

Mindful movement breaks,

As it was mentioned previously here,

Having a little dance or a bit of stretch or simply walking around your desk in the office or mindfully walking to the toilet and back.

So just giving your body this bit of movement.

Connecting with nature,

Of course,

Some green spaces will be super beneficial,

But if you don't have a chance for that,

Even interacting or looking at house plants or throw the window to the trees on the street will also support you.

Identify for yourself some sensory anchors.

Perhaps you can focus on the physical sensations inside your body,

Maybe in your stomach or connecting with your heartbeat or movement of lungs,

Maybe sensations on your skin because of the temperature of the air or the sunlight or the temperature of the floor and your feet on the floor,

Some smells around you or sounds,

Whatever it can be.

Some sensory anchors will help you arrive in the present moment.

Also,

I remind it to all of my clients and to myself constantly,

Try not to multitask.

Focusing on completing one task is much more beneficial and will be completed more effectively rather than multitasking.

And it will also train your attention span.

This is a curious one for me,

Mindful transition.

So take conscious breath or whatever it can be for you,

Maybe focusing on your sensations,

Before and after using devices.

So before you open that social media application,

Take a deep breath and acknowledge how you're feeling now and do the same after using this app or whatever.

Take a deep breath,

Arriving to your body and acknowledge how you're feeling now and perhaps compare how it was before,

How it is now.

What changes happened,

Why they happened and so on.

And of course,

I do it regularly once in a season,

Declutter your digital environment.

So review and remove all the unnecessary applications,

Tabs on the computer,

Notifications and so on.

Ask yourself,

Do you really need them?

Do they really contribute positively into your life or not?

Be honest with yourself.

You don't owe any explanations to anyone.

You're doing it just for yourself.

So be honest with yourself.

You can also set intention for your online time.

Decide what you want to do or what you want to achieve before logging in,

Before being online.

This is one of the practices that we will do right now with the guided meditation.

All of these grounding practices help to reconnect with your body,

Bring you to the present moment,

Even if you find yourself in a digitally saturated environment.

So it strengthens the mind-body connection again.

Once again,

Follow my profile here on Insight Timer.

Feel free to reach out to me in the direct messages.

I'm always happy to connect.

Let's smoothly move to our meditation.

Setting intentions for digital use.

Let's take a deep breath in and out.

Allow yourself to take a brief pause.

Find a comfortable position and allow your body to settle.

With the next exhale,

Close your eyes gently or soften your gaze.

Follow the natural breath and feel your belly rise and fall.

With each exhale,

Release any tension that you might be holding.

Connect with the feeling of being present right here,

Right now.

Notice the sensations in your body.

Allow your mind to quiet.

Allow yourself to simply be.

Ask yourself,

What is my intention for using my digital device next?

What do I truly want to explore,

Achieve,

Or connect with?

Take a moment to feel into this.

Perhaps it is for work,

Connection with loved ones,

Learning,

Or a moment of mindful entertainment.

Simply be honest with yourself.

Notice any feelings that arise as you consider this intention.

Is there a sense of purpose or perhaps a pull towards destruction?

Simply observe these feelings without judgment.

Now,

Also consider roughly how much time do I intend to dedicate to this specific use.

Be realistic and mindful of not only your time,

But your energy.

Let's anchor this intention.

With your next inhale,

Gently breathe in this intention,

This purpose for your digital use.

Feel it settle within you,

A clear direction.

As you exhale,

Release any sense of obligation or mindless scrolling.

Imagine a gentle anchor dropping within you,

Firmly connecting you to this intention and the time frame you've set.

This anchor will help you stay focused and intentional once you engage with your device.

Take one more gentle breath,

Holding onto this sense of intention and grounded presence.

When you're ready,

Slowly begin to bring your awareness back to this room.

Add in some movement into your body.

And when you will reach for your device,

Remember this brief moment of connection and purpose.

May your digital engagement be intentional and supportive of your well-being.

When you feel ready,

Gently open your eyes.

And carry this mindful pause and clear intention with you.

Thank you so much,

Guys,

For practicing today with me.

This concludes our meditation.

Please let me know how you find this short practice,

Whether you could practice it together with all of us now,

Whether you have noticed any changes.

Whatever thoughts you have about that,

Please let me know,

So I can also serve you better in the future.

Your feedback is very valuable,

And I'm always open to hear from you guys.

Michelle,

This is helpful.

Great,

Thank you so much,

I'm glad to know that.

Thank you,

Unique and relatable.

Thank you so much for the feedback.

Also,

A reminder that these live events will be uploaded as talks on Insight Timer,

So you can always come back and re-listen to some parts of it or to the episodes that you've missed.

And guided meditations that we've practiced together will be uploaded as guided meditations on the platform,

Too.

So you can save it for the future and practice whenever you feel like you need it.

I want to thank you guys for spending this hour together.

It was such a big pleasure to connect with you,

To talk to you,

To know you guys better,

Your experiences.

Thank you so much for sharing the practices that support you,

Some of your struggles.

Once again,

Be kind,

Gentle,

Compassionate with yourself.

And I hope to see you guys next week,

Same time,

On Insight Timer.

We will be discovering,

Exploring and discussing the topic of mindfulness and intuition.

So please subscribe to my profile so you'll stay tuned to the notifications.

It really helps me grow here on the platform as well.

Please explore the courses,

Meditations that I offer you here on the platform as well.

Thank you guys for your time,

For your presence.

And I'll see you next week.

Bye.