By Richmond Natural Medicine

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September 10, 2018

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Making a positive shift through mindfulness…

Mindfulness is a term that is popping up more frequently in everyday conversation, self-help blogs, and research studies; and with good reason. Mindfulness, as defined by Psychology Today, is a state of active, open attention on the present. It embraces living in the present moment and taking in as much of the experience as possible. It is important to remember that as we are being mindful, we are simply observing any thoughts and feelings that come up, as opposed to judging them negatively or positively.

Some of the Benefits of Mindfulness

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a program that uses a combination of mindfulness meditation, body awareness, and yoga to help people become more mindful and find relief from many chronic disorders or diseases. (#1) The techniques taught in this program can help people have a more appropriate response to stress, increase happiness in their life and find relief from chronic pain(#2), irritable bowel syndrome (#3) and anxiety and depression (#4) to name a few.

Additionally, new research is coming out suggesting that regularly practicing mindfulness effects NF kappa b – a protein complex that acts as a “master switch” affecting the body’s response to stress, cytokine and free radical production and response to bacterial or viral antigens. Altering NF kappa b can lead to a positive shift in our immune system function, glucocorticoid-mediated responses and replication of DNA. (#5)

You can actually alter how your body is replicating its DNA and which genes get expressed simply by giving attention to the present moment! And for more good news, our brain responds well to short bursts of mindfulness throughout the day, so even if you only have a few minutes per day your body will be thanking you.

4 Ideas To Add Mindfulness Into Everyday Life:

1. Take Advantage When Life Gives You A Pause: If you’re stopped at a red light, in line at the grocery store, in the waiting room for an appointment these are all excellent opportunities to observe yourself (energy and mood) and your surroundings.
2. Explore Your Senses: We are too often on the go that we forget to take in our surroundings with all of our senses. Pick a moment and give attention to each of your senses. Are you feeling warm or chilly in the moment?  How do your surroundings look? Are there any particular scents in the air? Is your mouth wet or dry? What do you hear? Consider choosing one sense for the day and paying particular attention to what it picks up in various situations. Brushing your teeth or cooking dinner may actually be more interesting than you’ve ever thought.
3. Be Kind and Compassionate: To others and to yourself. Give someone a compliment. Accept a compliment from someone. Congratulate yourself on something you did well or are proud of each day, and smile.
4. Don’t Forget To Breathe: Check in with your breaths throughout the day. Frequently we’re holding our breath without knowing it. With each check-in be sure to take a deep inhale and longer exhale before your attention strays away from your breath again.

Resources:

1. Mindfulness-based interventions for chronic pain: a systematic review of the evidence.
2. Mindfulness-based stress reduction for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome symptoms
3. Baseline and Strategic Effects behind Mindful Emotion Regulation: Behavioral and Physiological Investigation.

If you are interested in exploring mindfulness as a component of whole-body health

contact our office at (804) 977-2634 to schedule an appointment with one of our naturopathic doctors.