Aging Well

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dfHNwSnTmM

Stress by L. Boykin

“Man sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future,  that he does not enjoy the present moment. As a result, he does not live in the present or the future, he lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never truly lived.”

                                                                                                                                        – Author Unknown

The above quote speaks to the importance of mindfulness. Mindfulness is simply the practice of completely being in and accepting the present moment. And although the word “mindfulness” appears to be today’s hot topic, it is not new. The concept has actually been around for thousands of years.  Mindfulness is mentioned consistently in Buddhism but you do not have to be buddhist to practice it. In fact, mindfulness goes beyond culture, ethnicity, and/or religion. Mindfulness training teaches us to avoid spending our time worrying about either the past or the future. The practice of mindfulness trains us to be nonjudgmental and instead of trying to control our thoughts, we are trained to understand that thoughts come and go. We are instructed to simply observe thoughts instead of judging ourselves because of them.

In addition, mindful exercise does the following:

• Connects self-awareness  and body & mind to muscular exercise (low to moderate intensity) & nonjudgmental meditation.¹
• Includes consideration of the flow of energy, correct posture alignment, breath control methods, physical motion proprioception, and soul searching meditation.²

Benefits of Mindfulness:

• Fosters a  higher sense of well-being³
• Alters immune and brain function⁴
• Promotes neuroplasticity, which is the possibility of neural changes that occur due to frequent practice⁵
• A decreased negative emotional response⁶
• A higher degree of ability of an individual to control his or her behavior⁷
• Studies have shown that a higher degree of trait mindfulness correlates to a higher degree of satisfaction with life.⁸ 

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Sources:

¹ Chow, Y. W., & Tsang, H. W. (2007). Biopsychosocial effects of qigong as a mindful exercise for people with anxiety    disorders: a speculative review. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 13, 831-840.

2 Chow, Y. W., & Tsang, H. W. (2007). Biopsychosocial effects of qigong as a mindful exercise for people with anxiety    disorders: a speculative review. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 13, 831-840.

³ Keng, S. L., Smoski, M. J., & Robins, C. J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of        empirical studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 31, 1041-1056.

⁴Davidson, R. J., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S. F., … & Sheridan, J. F. (2003). Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65, 564-570.

⁵ Gardner, F. L., & Moore, Z. E. (2012). Mindfulness and acceptance models in sport psychology: A decade of basic and applied scientific advancements. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 53, 309-318. doi:10.1037/a0030220.

⁶ Keng, S. L., Smoski, M. J., & Robins, C. J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of        empirical studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 31, 1041-1056.

⁷ Keng, S. L., Smoski, M. J., & Robins, C. J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of        empirical studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 31, 1041-1056.

⁸ Keng, S. L., Smoski, M. J., & Robins, C. J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of        empirical studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 31, 1041-1056.