What is Mindfulness?

About Mindfulness

Mindfulness is about taking time to be mindful about your inner thoughts and feelings.

These days, more than ever, most people live their lives with an outward focus. The endless to do lists, electronic screens, always-on mobile devices and social media has our attention.

While we're facing outward, we're less likely to notice messages from our mind and body, and the pressures that can build up over time.

Prolonged pressure, stress and high levels of "alpha brain wave" activities can lead to other issues, such as general anxiety, depression and physical pains.

By noticing what our mind and body is noticing, we put ourselves back in contact with ourselves, so that we can release that pressure.

Noticing the feelings goes beyond high level emotional terms, such as happy or sad, but actually noticing our bodily sensations and how those feelings feel.

Wellbeing helps people to reconnect with themselves.

Who Invented Mindfulness?

Current Mindfulness is often linked to the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn in the 1970s.

Jon Kabat-Zinn founded the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program at the University of Massachusetts, in 1979.

He had studied Zen Buddhism, and noted the health benefits. MBSR sought to provide the health benefit seperate from the religious aspects of Buddhism.

Mindfulness has evolved a lot since those days, and is widely practised in various different forms around the world

You might also be interested in our article about NLP and Mindfulness