Less stress, Better sleep and More self-acceptance

Do you want Less stress, better sleep and more self-acceptance in your life? Then why don't you try Mindfulness and meditation.

Mindfulness is the practice of being present and aware of each moment of your day as it happens and it can pack a big punch when it comes to improving your mental wellbeing. Becoming more mindful helps reduce tension, stress and anxiety and can improve your sleeping patterns over time.

Plus it's easy to do and doesn't take up much of our precious time and we should all give ourselves the gift of a few minutes a day to practice it.

“Mindfulness has been shown to benefit our brains to such an extent that we can feel calmer, more aware, have an increased ability to focus and concentrate, remember things better and feel happier.”

NZ Mental Health Foundation

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The benefits to mindfulness are real and can be a game changer in our lives:

Relieve Anxiety & Stress

In our fast paced lives, there is very little time or space to stop and pause. Mindfulness provides the tools needed to access natural calmness beneath the busy minds.

Let go of Anger & Frustration

In the mindful state you can become familiar with the patterns that direct our lives; our thoughts, emotions and reactions.

Overcome Worrying & Negative Thinking

Pain is an inevitable part of being human but suffering is optional. In Mindfulness we learn how to manage our thoughts and emotions instead of letting emotions and thoughts manage us.

Mindfulness involves becoming aware of your thoughts, feelings and body sensations as you experience them.

Stop Inner Chatter

The monkey mind drains our energy and clouds the present. One of the most common benefits from regular Mindfulness training is greater mental clarity and a new sense of inner peace.

Have Better Sleep

To be able to stop incessant thinking and worrying is one of the great benefits of Mindfulness and it makes it easier to have unbroken sleep throughout the night.

Stop Living In The Past

Mindfulness practices increasingly bring you more into the present with the growing awareness that going over the past keeps you stuck in the past.

So why not try a mindful meditation

Mindfulness meditation encourages the practitioner to observe wandering thoughts as they drift through the mind. The intention is not to get involved with the thoughts or to judge them, but simply to be aware of each mental note as it arises.

When you meditate through mindfulness meditation, you can see how your thoughts and feelings tend to move in particular patterns. Over time, you can become more aware of the human tendency to quickly judge an experience as good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant. With practice, an inner balance develops.

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To begin with why not try this 3 minute Mindful Breathing Meditation. This can be done every day at your desk in work or at home on the couch. Give it a go. Then if you have more time upgrade to the 10 minute Mindful Breathing Meditation.

Mindfulness Organisations, Courses and Programs

If you want to get more involved with Mindfulness, there are a number of Mindfulness organisations across New Zealand that offer courses and programs. Here is a handful that stand out:

Or if you want to find an app for your phone and try things out from yourself, then have a read of this article from goodhousekeeping.com where they pick their 11 best meditation apps to help you find inner peace.