You Don’t Need to Meditate to Practice Mindfulness

You Don’t Need to Meditate to Practice Mindfulness

You don’t need to meditate to practice mindfulness. Some people misperceive mindfulness as a zen state or an emptying of the mind.

In reality, mindfulness is a focused attention on the present moment.

So, when we are mindless, we might drive home from work and totally forget our commute and zone out. When we are mindful, we pay attention to every detail of the commute.

We feel the wind on our face if the windows are down. We feel our hands on the steering wheel. We remember street names and signs. We recognize the sounds of cars passing.

The more you practice paying attention to the present moment, the stronger your mindfulness muscles become.

My favorite ways to practice are mindfulness walks or mindful eating. When you get distracted, bring your attention back to the present moment and focus on whatever activity you are doing.

The payoff of practice is that when our mindfulness muscles are strong, we know what’s unfolding in front of us and we can be strategic with our responses, instead of being reactive. Practicing mindfulness puts you back in the driver’s seat of your experience.

 

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