Mindfulness 101

More often than not, our minds wreck emotional havoc on us by ruminating on the past (ie cringing over something embarrassing I said in a meeting) or worrying about the future.

Finding peace is to practice the opposite, or mindfulness: simply being present in the moment—without any judgement. When we’re mindful, we engage our senses by taking in the things we can see, hear, smell, touch, and taste.

There’s an old Radiolab episode that features the story of a woman who had her language faculties wiped by a stroke. Living without words meant that she suddenly had no choice but to live in the present, and I’ll never forget how she described that period of her life:

“I had found a peace inside of myself that I had not known before. It was all of the present moment. I had joy.”

Indeed, mindfulness is a powerful tool that has been shown to reduce stress, improve mood, and help with sleep. It has been used by Buddhist monks for centuries to develop a closer connection to their inner experience.

Like lifting weights to build muscle, you can work out your mindfulness muscle not only by straight-up practicing meditation, but also by simply bringing awareness to all your daily activities.

Simple ways to microdose mindfulness

As an emotional eater, one of my favorite practices is mindful eating, which was first introduced to me by my dear friend and psychologist Dr. Brittany Linton. Simply sitting down to enjoy each bite’s smell, taste, sight, (mouth) feel, and sound is enough to improve both your mindfulness and digestion.

Other simple ways of incorporating mindfulness into your day:

• Stop multitasking! Practice focusing your full attention on one task at a time—all the time. Admittedly, as the founder of docbotic, I don’t usually get to do this. But I know from past lives that there’s nothing more glorious than a good flow state, and setting aside time to work deeply on one thing is the only way we can get there.
• Listen actively: Instead of checking your phone during a Zoom call or thinking about your response while someone is talking, practice listening deeply to what people are saying to you. I was a furious note-taker in college because it was the only way I could pay attention during lectures, and I’m a furious note-taker today because it’s the only thing preventing me from getting lost in my own head.
• Take a walk: There are so many sights, sounds, smells, and textures in nature to pay attention to that it almost feels like cheating to call it mindfulness, but it’s actually just an natural (lol) place to start. My favorite: actively listening for bird songs—then locating the source. It’s amazing what you can notice if you decide to pay attention.
• Mindful breathing: Take three slow, deep breaths, noticing how the air feels as you inhale through your nose and into your stomach (not your chest), and how your stomach deflates as you exhale through your mouth. Congrats! You just completed day 1 of your new meditation practice.

It took yours truly almost 15 years to develop a (semi) consistent mindfulness meditation practice, so be patient with any false starts or mind-wanderings you may experience, and take comfort in the fact that if even the most neurotic among us (me) can do it, so can you.