Mindfulness is the ability to be aware of where we are, what we are doing, and directing our entire focus in the present moment.
A 2016 study by psychologists at Australian Catholic University found that practicing mindfulness by meditating, performing yoga, and breathing exercises reduce our stress, reduce depressive symptoms if experienced, improves sleep, and brightens our mood. Apart from boosting our mental health, practicing mindfulness also benefits our body, with a reduced risk of heart diseases, better digestion, and reduced chronic pain.
Guided meditation is the practice of meditating under the guidance of a trained yogi or meditation expert, thereby listening and following their instructions in a meditative state. Medical and psychological experts have recommended meditation throughout the world for better mental and physical well-being. However, unguided meditation, which is the practice of meditating by yourself, can take a negative route if not performed carefully or without training.
The human mind is not comfortable with silence. Hence it keeps working even while we are asleep or when we are in a quiet atmosphere. In a meditative state, when no other being is instructing us, or we are not trained enough, our mind can fuel negative thoughts or remind us of a situation, person, or object that can bring in emotions such as stress, sadness, guilt, self-doubt, and anxiety. Rumination, the act of repeatedly recalling a particular incident or thought that brings in negative energy and distresses a person, is also likely to take place when our mind wanders in a relaxed and quiet state. This is because the mind craves to think and work, while meditation attempts to calm and relax our mind, trying to shut down the mind’s murmur. When our mind wins and begins to wander via thoughts, negative emotions can spring up and cloud these thoughts.
Imagine this. You are sitting in a quiet room, trying to meditate for the first time without anybody reciting or leading the meditation session. You sit and try to focus on your breathing, but your mind wanders off, a very common action experienced by new meditators. Your mind is trying to relax and wants to work, and it soon wonders about the big problem you are facing at work. Since there is nobody or sound to disturb you in this quiet room, your thoughts start racing, and soon, you start feeling stressed about the problem at work. You begin to recall how you made a mistake at work earlier and find your stress increasing. You soon start ruminating over the previous episode at work, which almost got you fired. With no distractions, you soon feel the urge to cry and either have a breakdown or come back to reality.
One solution for practicing mindfulness by yourself is to train your mind and improve your meditating skills with the help of an expert. Moreover, it takes many months, sometimes years, for people to excel meditating on their own, so do not feel disheartened if you cannot meditate on your own. Do not feel overwhelmed if you are fearful of having negative thoughts clouding your next mediation session. Everybody is different, and not every person can have a bad experience when practicing mindfulness independently. Using meditation apps that help bring your focus back to your breath every once in a while can be helpful, or keeping soothing background music will help keep your brain active while helping you relax.
However, is too much mindfulness bad?
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When being mindful and relaxed, we temporarily forget the world around us. Practicing too much mindfulness can make us find solace in our safe space, sometimes making us reluctant to come back to reality.
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Some individuals over-exert themselves and their cognitive abilities to find mental peace via meditation, which can again be emotionally damaging in the long run.
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Another drawback of practicing too much mindfulness is our aversion to chaos. The human mind is programmed to deal with negative situations and chaos by releasing cortisol, the stress hormone. Keeping our mind in relaxation for long can help reduce the capacity to take higher amounts of cortisol, thereby impacting our behavior by making us anxious towards stressful situations and experiencing an even higher release of cortisol.
Mindfulness can be a life-changing experience and has innumerable benefits to the mind, body, and soul; however, it should be either practiced under an expert or after sufficient training and should not be overdone.
Importance of Professional Counseling: A friend or family member may listen to you, but they aren’t professionally, technically qualified or experienced to offer you professional advice. If you wish you can contact us at MindTribe to receive help from our team of expert psychologists.
About MindTribe.in.
MindTribe Founder Dr. Prerna Kohli, India’s eminent psychologist, established the company to leverage the strength of the online to make counseling affordable and accessible to everyone. MindTribe provides counseling, workshops, support groups, forums, and eLearning.
About the Author.
Moyera is a team member at MindTribe.in.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of MindTribe.in, the Founders, or management team.
Acknowledgement: All images used are open source and from Unsplash.