Everything you need to know about mindfulness meditation: origins, benefits and how to practice this meditation?

In all possible forms of meditation, there is mindfulness meditation.

In this article I will explain everything there is to know about this method, its creation, its implications in your daily life, its benefits and how to put it into practice.

Enjoy your reading, my Mouvers!

What are the origins of mindfulness meditation?

Mindfulness meditation has its roots in Buddhism, where it is known as Vipassana , meaning clear seeing or deep understanding .

It was popularized in the 1970s by Jon Kabat-Zinn , a professor of medicine, who created the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program.

Since then, mindfulness meditation, in addition to being adopted in religious contexts, has attracted many people around the world.

And maybe you'll be the next person convinced!

What are the benefits of mindfulness meditation?

Mindfulness meditation offers many benefits for mental and emotional health.

Stress reduction and emotion management

Mindfulness can significantly reduce stress levels by promoting a relaxation response in the nervous system.

As seen in the article about meditation explained by Dr. Andrew Huberman , certain areas of the brain will be profoundly modified by a daily practice of meditation.

By modifying your brain you will be able to regulate your response to certain so-called stressful situations.

In other words, your practice will allow you to open, or enlarge the window, between your perception of your situation and your reaction, in order to have a more appropriate and less emotional response.

The quality of your social relationships will be improved .

And yes, arguments with your boyfriend or girlfriend or friends are not inevitable...

With healthy management of your emotions you will be better able to respond calmly and initiate an open and calm discussion.

Improved concentration

By carefully observing your bodily sensations and thoughts, you will develop a greater awareness of what is happening within and around you.

This heightened awareness strengthens your ability to focus on a specific task.

In addition, by regularly practicing Vipassana meditation, you will learn not to let yourself be carried away by parasitic thoughts.

Often ruminating thoughts related to the past or often useless future projections...

Patience is also a quality that can be strengthened throughout your meditative process and which will allow you to remain focused for long periods of time.

Your mind will gradually become less agitated.

Improved sleep quality

As I like to remind you, sleep is for me the first factor to address if you want to improve your physical and mental health.

And if you have a vitality that suits you, even with poor sleep, I assure you that by improving it your vitality will still be able to evolve.

I remember my years as a computer engineer...

I worked during the day, trained as a professional fighter in the evening, and even went out partying at night.

It only lasted for a while before my body called me to order...

Sleep is a pillar of health that we cannot simply accept , and taking care of it through meditation is a very good decision!

Thus, the meditative state is a real calming agent for the body and mind and helps improve the quality of your sleep.

A session before going to bed will be able to relax you, calm your flow of thought...

In short, it acts as a natural sleeping pill.

Increased compassion

Mindfulness meditation will allow you to connect intensely with the present moment.

This is why this practice promotes compassion towards yourself and others, thus strengthening personal relationships.

You will be able to realize, if you have not already done so, the perfection of nature, of the human body, of the relationships between beings.

Indeed, meditation helps with forgiveness and deep empathy towards your neighbor .

My friend Staiv Gentis likes to say that conflicts between human beings are actually completely outdated and unnecessary.

That our equals are an illusion and that we are deeply connected.

This is a discourse that we find among the great sages who meditate every day.

Decreased anxiety and depressive symptoms

People suffering from anxiety have seen significant improvements in their mental state through mindfulness meditation, and numerous scientific studies support this claim.

This is due to the same characteristics seen previously…

Reducing stress will obviously allow people affected by addictions to reduce their daily drug dose .

Be careful, it doesn't happen overnight, I'd better warn you.

Meditation is helpful and will be even more effective if it is integrated into a healing protocol that you can implement with health professionals, therapists, or naturopaths.

Because if you live in a small, dark apartment in the middle of a noisy city, hate your job, sleep little, and eat junk food every day, I can assure you that your meditation session will be of much less use ...

Even if it can be a starting point towards a change of life, freed from the depressive state and the terrible addictions of the modern world.

Meditation and addiction

This is a very important subject and one that concerns a very large majority of the Western population.

I like to make this separation because in other parts of the world addictions simply do not exist .

I am thinking in particular of primitive tribes who live in the heart of nature.

Addictions can be included in what are called diseases of civilization.

Diseases of civilization are actually diseases that occur when humans are too far removed from their natural environment, from their natural behaviors.

To put it another way, the diseases of civilization are the fact that we do not live in accordance with our DNA .

Another example is renowned scientist Dr. Rhonda Patrick, who reviews her laboratory experiments on rats and cocaine.

In the laboratory, rats will indeed become addicted to cocaine after only a few doses.

However, when this experiment is done in the wild , the rats taste the cocaine and subsequently show no form of addiction.

End of the little digression which will leave you with some food for thought, I'm sure...

Poor mental health is often associated with addictions .

Whether they are directed towards cigarettes, alcohol, processed food, drugs, sex, etc.

With the fantastic tool of meditation, you will be able to find an escape from the spiral of addiction.

Even if it's not magic!

A meditation session has rarely made someone quit smoking a pack a day overnight.

But ultimately, these are 5 to 10 minutes in your day that you will be able to spend in calm, anchored in the present moment, the only temporality that counts according to Eckhart Tolle.

And as said previously, integrated into a protocol , or into a change of life , this method could become a real plus!

How to practice mindfulness meditation?

Mindfulness meditation can be practiced anywhere and at any time, which makes it a very practical and universal tool.

But if you don't know where to start , here are the basic steps to get you started!

First, find a quiet place , look for a quiet place where you will not be disturbed for several minutes.

Then get into a comfortable position that doesn't cause you stiffness.

No need to get into the lotus position, which requires some flexibility.

Often, sitting is sufficient .

But also try to put yourself in a position that will not cause you to fall asleep, like lying down for example, even if this posture can have its benefits, as in the practice of Yoga Nidra ...

You can also do it as your instinct tells you.

Once you are comfortably seated, you will be able to focus on your breathing and your heartbeat.

Feel the air going in and out of your nostrils .

Don't force your breathing , just let it go...

After that, it is time to gently enter the meditative state.

That is, letting your thoughts come and go without getting attached to them .

Always come back to the sensation of your breath whenever your mind wanders.

You should gradually get to meditate.

Finally, it is important to practice mindfulness meditation regularly to reap its benefits.

Start with a few minutes a day and gradually increase the duration of your session.

Until you reach a time that fully satisfies you, knowing that this can vary from one day to the next.

But there are also some points of vigilance to know regarding meditative practice.

By following the basic steps of mindfulness meditation, you can begin to integrate this practice into your daily life to live in a more conscious and balanced way.

So don't wait any longer!

Thank you for reading my Mouvers!

And if you would like to bounce back or simply share your experience concerning your practice of mindful meditation, I look forward to hearing from you in the comments section 😉

Nomad Slim
Founder of MOUVERS