Mindfulness will enable you over time to feel a greater sense of connectedness and also kindness with yourself and others, become more aware of your thoughts, feelings and also of how you can sometimes imprison yourself with these.Ultimately, if practiced regularly and with the right attitude, mindfulness will help you wake up to your senses, break persisting patterns of behavior, deal better with stress and difficulties, make more conscious choices, and overall improve your wellbeing and happiness.
Mindfulness can benefit people from all walks of life to some degree or another, often very significantly. It is a strongly evidence-based practice and abundant research has shown the extent of physical, emotional and mental benefits. The interest for mindfulness continues to grow exponentially as people experience for themselves the tremendous benefits of this practice. Below are some of the findings from numerous studies and research regarding the effects of mindfulness.
- Stress Reduction (reduces the key indicators of chronic stress, including hypertension)
- Anxiety, depression and irritability all decrease significantly through regular practice. (mindfulness is as effective as anti-depressant medication with no side effects)
- Mindfulness reduces insomnia
- Concentration and memory improves, reaction times become faster and both mental and physical stamina increase.
- Meditation has been found to be effective in reducing the impact of serious health conditions such as chronic pain and cancer
- Meditation helps relieve alcohol and drug dependence
- Meditation bolsters the immune system, helping to fight off colds, flu and other diseases.
- Mindfulness strongly reduces our emotional reactivity, impacting our relationships
- Regular meditation practice has proven to change and evolve significantly certain patterns in the brain that until very recently were considered to be fixed by scientists.
Here´s a short video about the benefits from the founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program, Jon Kabat-Zinn.