Mindfulness

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a practice of slowing down and taking time to pay attention to the things happening around us and how we experience them. It helps to manage our thoughts and feelings that we experience everyday. Mindfulness can be practiced in a variety of ways including eating a meal without distractions, going for a walk and paying attention to your surroundings, or sitting quietly and focusing on your breathing; among many more.

Why be Mindful?

Mindfulness has shown to have a positive effect on our mental health and can improve our overall sense of well being. It can help relieve feelings of anxiety and depression, and other symptoms of mental illness; as well as reducing stress and improving our physical health. Mindfulness has shown to be effective for treating symptoms of mental illness and as a way to promote wellbeing. Practicing mindfulness helps us become aware and understand the emotions we are experiencing. It can also improve attention and concentration, and positively impact our relationships in other areas of our lives.

Mindfulness Resources

Here is a collection of resources in various formats that offer more information, actionable items, and provide some ideas to easily start incorporating mindfulness into your life today.

Courses:

40-minute Udemy video course - Everyday Mindfulness (free)

4-week online program of mindfulness training - Be Mindful ($50)

Audio:

Present Matters: Mindfulness and Mental Well-being (podcast)

Mindfulness - Mindful Breathing (3 minutes)

Mindfulness of Thinking (5 minutes)

Body Scan Meditation (27 minutes)

Guided Mindfulness Meditations by Dr. Vo

Video:

You Are Not Your Thoughts

2-Minute Mindful Movement Practice

Websites:

Mindful

The Mindfulness Institute.ca

The Free Mindfulness Project (Resources)

Rick Hanson, Ph.D. -

Apps:

Anxiety Canada’s MindShift CBT app, aimed at helping you “learn to relax and be mindful, develop more effective ways of thinking, and use active steps to take charge of your anxiety.”

Ten Percent Happier - guided meditations and practical teachings

Stop, Breathe, and Think - “Check in with how you’re feeling, and try short activities tuned to your emotions.”

Headspace

Events:

Mindfulness Meditation: Drop-in - February 10th, Edmonton, AB

Formal Psychotherapy Treatments:

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)

Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT)

Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT).

Reach out to your mental health provider to discuss if one of these options might be best for you.

Find something that interests you and try to incorporate mindfulness in some way into your life a few times a week for the next month and see how it impacts your mental health!