What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is paying attention in the present moment to thoughts, feelings, and body sensations with full acceptance.

Cultivating mindful attention will deepen your ability to be present, help you manage difficult experiences, and create space for wise choices in all areas of your life. Mindfulness can help people learn new healthy ways of managing several common conditions, including:

    • Anxiety and depression
    • Chronic pain
    • High Blood Pressure
    • Heart disease
    • Demanding work and life situations

Supported by over 40 years of research, mindfulness has been shown to be an effective complementary treatment to many different areas of physical, mental and emotional health, as well as to promote an overall sense of well-being.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, the creator of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, gives his definition of mindfulness. View more mindfulness videos on our YouTube channel.

Additional Benefits of Mindfulness

Mindfulness can help you:

  • Become more focused and aware of what’s happening in the present moment instead of feeling stuck in the past or chronically worried about the future.
  • Quiet self-criticism and doubt, so that you can be more confident, productive, and happy.
  • Pay attention to your physical health so that you can tap into your body’s natural resources for healing while minimizing the negative physical, emotional, and mental impact of stress.

The Science of Mindfulness

Research has consistently shown that the practice of mindfulness can help people reduce their stress levels in all areas of life. The growing field of neuroscience has also demonstrated that mindfulness can strengthen key areas of the brain associated with positive emotions, while decreasing areas of the brain associated with the stress activation system of “fight, flight, or freeze.” To learn more, read our blog post: Change Your Brain With Mindfulness, or review our collected resources:

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Andy Puddicombe, co-founder of the Headspace app, illustrates mindfulness in his TEDTalk. View more mindfulness videos on our YouTube channel.

It's a Skill That Can Be Learned!

Our programs are designed to help you learn how to create a foundation of mindfulness. As a participant, you'll learn how to practice mindfulness in a variety of ways and how to incorporate it into your everyday life. You’ll learn to pay attention to your thoughts, feelings, and body sensations by using breathing practices; practice mindful movement such as walking and yoga; learn mindful eating; and practice with routine activities, whether at home or at work.

Questions about mindfulness?

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