The Benefits of Daily Mindfulness Practices

This is the second part of a series of posts detailing my key learning points from the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course conducted by Brahms Centre Singapore. If this happens to be the first post you are reading, you can reorientate yourself with part one of my mindfulness journey here!

A quick summary, there were three objectives that I had set out for myself before the start of my mindfulness journey:

1. Learn about mindfulness and integrate some of its practices in my daily life
2. Empower myself with different ways to manage stress or uncomfortable situations
3. Strengthen my bond with my wife through mindfulness practice

And my biggest takeaway so far is the benefits arising from the practice of intentional breathing, which you can find out more here! In this post, I will be sharing on what are some of the mindfulness practices that I have integrated into my daily living, and what I have learnt while practising them.

Body Scan Meditation

In my opinion, the body scan meditation is one of the easiest exercise for a beginner starting on his/her mindfulness learning journey. The main focus is to draw one’s attention to their body sensations, feeling the physical self. In the process, it facilitates the development of self awareness and insights as to what the potential causes for some of the unwanted bodily sensations might be. With that knowledge, steps could then be taken to relieve yourself of those unpleasant sensations to achieve greater comfort for the body and subsequently the mind.

Simply settle yourself in a comfortable posture and imagine your body being scanned by the photocopier from the feet upwards. With slow deep breathes, scan the body with focus and attention. Pause at each section of the body and recognise the sensations that are present. It could be soreness, tension, pain or even nothing at all! The main objective is to acknowledge how your body feels at the present moment, and bring to your awareness feelings that might suggest the need for follow up actions to resolve or address.

I prefer to do my body scans on my bed right before sleeping, usually not longer than 5 minutes. Personally, it is a good avenue to summarise my day and to recognise how my body feels. During the exercise, I will take mental notes of my body sensations. If something could be done to make myself more comfortable in the present moment such as relaxing my tensed up muscles or shifting my body, I will do so immediately. Otherwise, I will review what can be done to alleviate myself of the discomfort that I am experiencing after completing my body scan. At the end of these scans, I usually find myself easing into my sleep much easier than before, which is a benefit that many practitioners have experienced as well!

Morning Yoga Stretches

When I first started my nightly body scans, I realised that there was certain tightness in my right ankle and shoulder blade. Reflecting, it might have been my over reliance on my right arm or shoulder to carry loads day in and out. It could also be my running habit which I unconsciously place more load on my right leg. Since then, I made conscious effort to balance out the load that I carry, and also the amount of impact I exert on my right leg when running. What benefitted me the most was the morning routine of yoga stretches that I put together to address those area of tightness. Across the few weeks after I had integrated the morning stretching, I observed increased mobility and lesser tightness in my right shoulder blade and ankle.

Since then, whenever I felt certain strains or discomfort in my body from the previous night’s body scan, I will customise the next day’s morning stretches to target those areas of my body. I realised that had I not paused and drew attention to my bodily sensations, it would have been very easy to overlook early symptoms of over exertion or problems that might accumulate and lead to the need for medical attention. It is therefore crucial for an individual to establish and maintain the connection between the mind and body. To align both realms such that an emotional and physical equilibrium can be achieved to avoid the risk of exhausting oneself or continuing an undesirable lifestyle unconsciously.

Gratitude and Positive Affirmation

During the mindfulness based stress reduction course (MBSR), participants were taught the foundations of mindfulness. One foundation that stood out to me was gratitude. The practice of gratitude is to recognise and appreciate the good things that already exist in our lives. It could be your health, mobility, a loving spouse, or simple things such as clean air or a shelter above your head. As I began to appreciate the everyday things in life that often gets overlooked, I realised that my personal narrative started shifting towards positivity. Slowly but surely, I remunerate less in my negative thoughts which reduces my anxiety levels too! With gratitude, it is like a sturdy foundation that can tide you through the tough times, allowing you to see the good no matter the situation and to welcome challenges positively.

Synergy

It is interesting how one practice can led to another. Together, both the body scan and morning yoga stretches had synergistic benefits for me: better sleep, greater self awareness and self care through conscious (corrective) actions. Going further, I integrated the practice of gratitude and positive affirmations with my morning stretches, forming a keystone habit. A keystone habits serves to create a positive ripple effect in you, setting you up for the day ahead! With gratitude and positive affirmations, I am able to remind myself of the blessings that I have everyday, and to be more accepting of life’s challenges. I felt that I am now more confident of my own capabilities to deal with obstacles both from work and life, which gradually snowballs into a powerful momentum of adaptability and resilience.

Why not try it out for yourself! It doesn’t have to be very long, sometimes one sentence is all it takes! Personalise your affirmations so that it is relatable and meaningful. Here are some examples of gratitude and positive affirmation that I practice with to give you some ideas:

• I am grateful for my mobility, my senses and my healthy beating heart.
• I am grateful for being alive with the opportunity to experience ‘X’.
• I am capable to create and add value to others today.
• I will be a better person today by being adaptable and eager to learn from others.
• May I be well and happy!

Concluding

From the 2 months long MBSR course, I was able to learn about mindfulness and integrate some of its practices in my daily life: body scans, yoga stretches, gratitude and positive affirmations. I am now more aware of my bodily sensations and mental states from these practices. Most importantly, I was able to develop good daily habits which empowers me to improve myself and be better at creating value for others in my life. My regret was that I didn’t get to learn and practice mindfulness earlier! Hence, I hope that this post will be able to introduce to you some of the mindfulness practices and what are the potential positive changes you might experience when you welcome them into your life.

Stay tuned for next post where I share more on how I am now able to handle daily stresses better!