4 Tips on Using Mindfulness to Change Your Mood

Although you may not have heard of mindfulness before, it is a mind/body technique that essentially involves focusing on your mind on the present.

To be mindful is to be aware of your thoughts and actions in the present, without judging yourself.

Mindfulness helps us feel better. The practice can induce the relaxation response, a physiological response in which blood pressure drops, heart rate slows, and stress hormone levels decrease.

It is used as a remedy for stress, depression, and even chronic pain. Mindfulness is being taught in clinics and medical centers across the country. Jon Kabat-Zinn, a leader in the field, developed the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program at The University of Massachusetts Medical School. And the National Institutes of Health held its first conference on mindfulness.

Here are some simple ways to use mindfulness to make positive changes in your mood and health.

1. Try this simple two-step technique

Step 1: Sit alone in a quiet room. Find a comfortable position.

Step 2: Focus your attention entirely on you breathing.

2. Focus on one task at a time

Seems easy, right? But think of how often you've browsed the web or checked email while working on a project, or talk on the phone while driving or doing something else.

In our multi-tasking world, we are becoming less able to focus and it affects not only our productivity but our mood and our health.

For instance, research has shown that people who multi-task are more likely to have high blood pressure.

3. Don't get distracted during mealtime.

When was the last time you sat down at a table and had a meal without thinking about what you had to do afterwards, or without reading, watching tv, or talking?

To practice mindfulness while eating, eliminate all distractions and savor, rather than inhale, your food.

Pay full attention to what the food looks like on your plate, how it smells, how it tastes.

Chew slowly.

Be aware of how full you are becoming. People often notice that food tastes better this way and is more filling.

A healthy bonus: A pilot study at Indiana State University found that mindfulness, including specific instructions to slowly savor the flavor of food and be aware of how much food is enough, helped to reduce eating binges from an average of four binges per week to one and a half.

4. Try going for a mindful walk

In a study called the Ruth Stricker Mind/Body Study, researchers divided 135 people into five groups of walkers for 16 weeks.

One group walked briskly. Group 2 walked at a slow pace, group 3 walked at a slow pace while practicing mindfulness, group 4 practiced tai chi, and group 5 changed nothing about their lives.

The researchers found that the group practicing mindfulness while walking had a significant reduction in anxiety.

They also had more positive and less negative feelings about themselves, and that the benefits were noticed immediately.

So how do you go for a mindful walk? Simply let all your thoughts of the future and past go.

Notice what the ground feels like under your feet, how you're breathing.

Observe your surroundings. Look at the sky, the trees, feel the wind on your cheeks. Enjoy your walk!

By: Cathy Wong, Your Guide to Alternative Medicine

Tip #1: Practice Mindfulness

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D, founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, summed up mindfulness when he said, "Wherever you go, there you are."

Mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment and not thinking about what someone said to you this morning, talking on the phone while replying to an email, or worrying about the future.

Once a day from now on, I want you to put sincere effort into being fully present. Give your undivided attention to what you're doing. If you have a lunch date, enjoy being with that person, rather than thinking about that client meeting you had in the morning or stressing about the pile of work sitting on your desk. Even the most mundane tasks, like making dinner, can come alive. Notice the smells, tastes, textures.

Here is a description of what mindfulness is, adapted from Full Catastrophe Living, by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Mindfulness is...

· Being yourself.

· Not judging yourself, over-analyzing what you're going to say, or getting caught up in your thoughts.

· Accepting and appreciating what each moment offers.

· Allowing things to be the way they are, without getting caught up in expectations, hopes, wishes, and experiences.

· Being patient with yourself and other people. Not being impatient or anxious for certain things, pleasant and unpleasant, to happen.

· Trusting yourself and your feelings.

Tip #2: Read Books That Inspire You

What are you interested in? What inspires you, motivates you, moves you? For example, you may dream of having a life coach to keep you on track with your goals. If you can't afford the $300 to $500 per month fee, go to the bookstore. There are plenty of helpful books to help you assess where you are now, where you want to be, and learn from people who have done it. These are some books I've read and enjoyed:

· The Best Year of Your Life: Dream It, Live It, Plan It, by Debbie Ford

· The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, by Eckhart Tolle

· The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, by Don Miguel Ruiz

· Anatomy of the Spirit, by Carolyn Myss

Tip #3: Give Thanks at Meals

See if this scenario is familiar - you'd love to go for lunch but you have too much to do, so you grab a sandwich to go and bring it back to your desk. Within minutes, your sandwich is gone, you're still hunched over at the computer, and you can barely remember how it tasted.

Instead, start each meal with a pause - take a deep breath and give thanks for the food your about to eat. Or, say a prayer, whatever has meaning for you. Buy a beautiful plate, placemat, mug, or food container to use.

Tip #4: Give Good Care to You!

At least once a month, treat yourself to a massage or therapeutic treatment. It is important that you feel good in order to be productive in your work and personal life.

Feeling good comes from taking time to give good care to you and make your self priority. Another way to give good care to you is to take quality time to be alone in stillness, meditation, or reflexion time. Do things that make you happy and do them often!

Tip #5: Forgive

Forgiving yourself and others can be liberating. Many people carry past hurts inside them and are unable to let them go. Start by forgiving yourself - if something you say or do causes misunderstanding or may be interpreted as hurtful, don't let it sit and don't beat yourself up over it.

Give a sincere apology and then do something to psychologically cleanse, such as taking that thought and imagining yourself throwing it in the garbage can or taking a warm shower when you get home. You can also try these affirmations:

· "Life is too short to beat myself up over what's done in the past. I choose to forgive myself and forgive others."

· "I know how much it hurts me when other people are mad or hold grudges at me. I don't want to be the one who makes other people feel that way."

. "I am not responsible for anyone but myself."

Recommended reading: Radical Forgiveness by Colin C. Tipping