What Is Mindfulness And Why Do I Need It?

Join me in this episode of Mind Body Yay! as I introduce you to mindfulness and why you need to start a regular mindfulness practice. Listen to how you can introduce mindfulness into your life and hear the impact that mindfulness has had in all areas of your life. This is an educational video to introduce you to the term mindfulness and help you to increase your awareness and focus on the present moment.

Transcript

Well,

Hello,

Everyone,

And welcome to MindBodyYay.

Thank you for landing here.

This is the place to come to refuel your vibe and nourish your mind,

Body and spirit.

I am Kate Zoukas,

The host of MindBodyYay.

I am a conscious business leader,

Yoga and mindfulness teacher and coach.

And I'm so excited for you to be here sharing my energy with you and holding this space for you in this podcast.

The goal of MindBodyYay is to provide podcast topics that nourish your mind,

Body and spirit,

Uplift your energy and ultimately invite the good into your life.

So let's get those positive vibes flowing and get started with today's podcast,

Which is on mindfulness.

What is mindfulness and why do I need it?

So this is a really important topic.

Mindfulness has been such an important tool and technique that I use to manage my emotional and mental health.

And we hear a lot about the need to be more mindful,

The need to be more present,

Or more centered in our lives.

And sometimes it can seem like it's a distant utopia when the world seems to be pulling us in all different directions,

And we're multitasking and we're glorifying busy.

So as a professional and a parent,

I know how hard it can be to be mindful all the time.

And our busy lives often mean that we are focusing so much on the future or stressing about events that have happened in the past.

So our minds are easily drawn to the future or to the past,

Whereas we really want to make sure that we're playing in what's in front of us and playing in the present moment.

So I was introduced to mindfulness when I started my yoga journey.

So I was really introduced to it through yoga.

And while I was studying to be a yoga teacher,

And I would spend hours practicing meditation and yoga and journaling.

And I really started I really started to see the benefits of how present and calm I felt.

And I was able to find that quiet space within my monkey mind,

Where I could really just be present and focus on the present.

You know,

For the first time,

It really felt that I wasn't overthinking things.

I wasn't over analyzing or I wasn't stressing about the future.

I was firmly planted in the present.

And it felt quite untouchable to external influences.

So there is such power in being fully present and being able to access that stillness within ourselves that helps us to remain calm and balanced.

So this is a superpower.

Inner peace is such a superpower to have in this world.

So I normally talk to mindfulness and use the Eckhart Tolle analogy when he talks about the lake.

So if we visualize that we're a lake,

And the top of the lake,

Where it's,

You know,

Ripply and wavy and it moves,

That is that is our responses to life.

And normally,

We're just caught up in the top part of our lake where we,

You know,

A lake is then,

You know,

Responds to the weather conditions,

Whereas we,

You know,

Also respond to our external conditions as well.

So,

You know,

We normally come to any conversation or situation from that response mode.

However,

What exists at the bottom of that lake,

So deep down at the bottom of that lake,

It is still,

It is calm,

It is still.

And we have that stillness and calmness that exists within us.

It's just often that we're just responding from the top of the lake,

Because we don't access that stillness that is within us.

So mindfulness has really helped me to access that part of me and that stillness that I can use to help ground me and keep me calm and help get me out of my head,

And a lot more into the present and into my body,

Which I think is a really important part of being mentally healthy as well.

So what is mindfulness?

And will it work for me?

I know is a lot of the questions I get.

So it's often called mindfulness practice for a reason,

As it takes practice.

And it's one of those things that you,

You do need to keep going at,

You need to make it regular,

And it is a mindset.

And I want to set really,

You know,

Authentic expectations here too.

And,

You know,

I understand you're not going to be mindful all the time,

I know life happens.

And I know for me,

You know,

I try to be and it is a goal that I try to be.

But,

You know,

I don't want to set the unrealistic expectation as well,

That this is something that you're going to have all the time,

Like it's not,

I know we're human.

But the goal is to be more mindfulness,

Mindful,

And to invite more mindfulness and presence into our lives.

And,

You know,

Become more aware.

So mindfulness is really about increasing your awareness and consciousness of the present moment.

So cultivating awareness.

So even if you can do this for a few moments a day,

Where you can just be still focus on what's in front of you,

It'll really improve your overall well being.

So Deepak Chopra states that mindfulness is a conscious,

Unattached,

Non-judgmental awareness that is used to bring clarity to mind and more insight and intuition and creativity into one's life.

So there is a stillness that exists within all of us,

As I mentioned before,

With the lake analogy.

And that's our connection to ourselves and our entire being.

So when I talk about mindfulness,

You know,

I'm talking about cultivating that awareness and that connection and consciousness that we really want to bring into our lives.

So there are endless benefits to starting a mindful practice.

But before I get into the benefits,

I want to emphasize that you also need to want to be mindful,

You want to be present and want to be more aware in your life.

So it is that that self leadership and the discipline is really important to a mindful practice.

So it's not just a wellness trend,

Or something like this is ancient practices and ancient wellness.

So for it to truly have an impact on you,

You really need to be disciplined.

And you need to want to do this and want to live a more conscious and more aware life.

So that is my disclaimer.

So let's talk about why do I need this in my life?

So what are some of the benefits?

Why do I need this in my life?

So as mentioned,

It will lead to greater awareness and consciousness.

There is better focus,

Clarity,

Creativity,

And decision making that is associated with being mindful and present.

One of the biggest benefits that I have personally seen is increased productivity,

Because you are not focused on the past or you're not focused on the present,

Or you're not focused on the future,

You're fully focused on the present.

So yes,

You know,

Sometimes take that time out,

Do one thing at a time,

Because when you slow down,

It can sometimes help you to speed up.

So and productivity benefits come from being more focused and more clear on what you need to do.

So the other benefits is that there is a lot more increased intuition and connection to self.

So being able to go within,

Focus on yourself,

Connect to yourself,

Really is one of the benefits of being mindful means that you are less moved by the top of the lake and how you're responding.

And you start to choose what you respond to.

Which is my next point is around you've got the ability to observe more,

Rather than just react to everything.

That's one of the biggest benefits I have seen in mindfulness,

Is you're able to observe and you're able to pause and reflect before you react.

And I have really learned to observe,

To listen more,

React less.

You don't have to solve everyone's problems.

You don't always have to be involved.

I think that is one of the biggest benefits that I have personally seen.

So there's greater freedom as coming off the back of that benefit as well.

So there's a lot more freedom.

So when you start to feel free from those external influences,

The opinions and the judgment,

There's increased confidence and self worth that comes from focusing on yourself and connecting to yourself.

You don't need everyone else's approval.

You just need your own self approval.

So I think that's quite a big one and more of a profound spiritual development,

One I find when you do focus on the benefits of being present and aware.

So one of the things is you stress less.

And I feel I need to repeat this one.

You really do stress less.

When you are planted in the present,

You are not replaying situations in your past that have already happened that you have no longer control over.

And you are not worrying about the future and future events,

Which have just not come to fruition yet.

And I know I used to spend a lot of time anxious about what the future is and anxious about things I had planned in the future.

And then I would get to the event and it wouldn't,

You know,

Kind of come to fruition the way it had,

I had overplayed it in my mind.

And it wasn't actually a stressful event.

So they're all things that we do naturally in our monkey mind does.

So being able to be firmly planted in the present helps manage that monkey mind.

So a mindful practice,

And I know I've spoken about this in previous podcasts as well,

Is that it can really help you to let go of control and go with the flow and surrender.

So I know letting go of control can often seem quite scary.

However,

We try to,

When we try to control everything,

It can just lead to more stress,

Anxiety and unhappiness.

You know,

When we so tightly control everything,

We've got certain expectations with how we foresee things need to happen.

And we control ourselves and everyone around us,

And it just doesn't work.

It's exhausting for one.

So letting go of control can bring the ultimate freedom and peace,

Learning to,

And you know,

If you don't want to say letting go of control,

You can reframe it to I go with the flow,

Looking about how better mindfulness can help you go with the flow in situations as well.

So there are loads of benefits there that I have spoken about.

This is,

You know,

If you're looking at why do I need to do this,

There are some reasons there why you need to do this.

So as I mentioned before,

I don't want to set unrealistic expectations that you're going to get all these benefits all at once.

Like it is up to you how much you're willing to also invest in this as well.

And also be realistic and be kind to yourself,

Be kind to your mind.

You know,

There are going to be moments when you get stressed,

There's going to be moments when you react,

And that's just part of our human experience.

But what mindfulness does do is it helps you go with that flow,

Helps you access that stillness within,

And helps us to really have that awareness and consciousness in how we live our lives.

So what are three things that you can do to start your mindful practice and to start living mindfully now?

Well,

A few things you can do,

And I've got three tips here to leave you with,

Is focus on your breathing.

So spend a few moments a day,

So whether it's five or 10 minutes a day,

Focusing on your breathing.

So just focusing on your inhale and your exhale.

Sitting there still,

Close your eyes,

Just focusing on your inhale and your exhale.

So breathing is a really important tool you can do to help you be more mindful.

Second thing you can do is to focus on what's in front of you.

Just focus on the task at hand.

Be mindful with what you are doing.

Have that awareness that when you go to do a task,

That is the only thing you're going to do.

And do one thing at a time,

Rather than trying to multitask or do everything all at one.

Do one thing mindfully.

And finally,

Do more grounding and centering activities.

So this is something that is really helpful to help you be mindful as well.

So do more activities that you find grounding,

And this can be different for all of us.

So whether it is a meditation,

Whether it is physical exercise,

Whether it is going for a walk,

Whether it is playing with your pet,

Playing with children,

Gardening,

Going to the beach,

Ocean,

All of that is really great for grounding yourself and centering yourself.

Anything that helps you get out of your head so that you can feel more present is going to help you with mindfulness.

So there you go,

Everyone.

We've talked through what is mindfulness,

Why do I need it,

As well as what are three things that you can do starting now to be more mindful and to bring more mindfulness into your life.

So thank you for listening to this podcast,

And I will see you in the next episode of MindBodyYay.

To find out more about me,

Visit katezupascoe.

Com and sign up to my mailing list if you want to receive regular positive vibes direct to your inbox.

All right,

Thanks everyone and bye for now.