Benefits of being Mindful
In my last post, I distinguished between meditation and mindfulness and described mindfulness as the process of noticing things.
If we go on holiday to somewhere exotic, its very easy to be mindful as we are surrounded by new interesting sights, sounds & smells. But what are the benefits of practicing mindfulness in during the working day?
There is scientific evidence to suggest we are
- Seen as more authentic and trustworthy1
- More productive2
- Deemed to produce work that is superior3
I find the above list of benefits, very compelling reason to start being more mindful.
References
1. Mindful and Masculine: Freeing Women Leaders From the Constraints of Gender Roles – Kawakami – 2002 – Journal of Social Issues – Wiley Online Library. 2016. Mindful and Masculine: Freeing Women Leaders From the Constraints of Gender Roles – Kawakami – 2002 – Journal of Social Issues – Wiley Online Library. Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/0022-4537.00151/abstract.
2. Mindful multitasking: The relationship between mindful flexibility and media multitasking . 2016. Mindful multitasking: The relationship between mindful flexibility and media multitasking . Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074756321200088X.
3. Orchestral performance and the footprint of mindfulness . 2016. Orchestral performance and the footprint of mindfulness Available at: http://pom.sagepub.com/content/early/2008/10/15/0305735607086053.short.
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More on building your resiliance
Following on from last week’s entry on building resilience, it is important to state that resilience don’t just help you manage stress but it fosters inner strength to help you meet goals, life challenges and achieve success. Most of my clients hold more or less physical tension which I would like you to think of as a bad habit that relaxation will help you break. Relaxation is like changing the idling speed on a car. When a car turns over too quickly, wasting expensive fuel and putting a strain on the engine, the mechanic can reset the idling speed to a much lower level. Similarly when busyness, concerns, time pressure have speeded us up too much, making us tense and irritable, we can learn how to let go and attain a much calmer state of being. So taking the time to learn what relaxes you! It is worth re-emphasising the point that it is possible to make an enormous difference to your state of mind through yoga, tai chi, relaxation and meditation and all other sorts of physical exercise. While most of celebrate our wins, it is also important to celebrate when we do good for others, as often other’s don’t notice. We all know life has its ups and downs, when your life is in turmoil, you may not do things "perfectly". Rather than worrying or simply surviving turmoil, why not ask what you can learn from the situation. But don’t beat yourself up, remember you always do your best, when you know better, you do better! One habit that I try to cultivate to help put a smile on my face especially when I am feeling down is to cultivate a gratitude attitude. However bad my day goes, before I got to sleep I try to think of three things that I am grateful for. These don’t need to be big things; it can be as simple as “I am grateful that the transport system ran on time” as I had a busy day. A gratitude attitude helps foster joy, fulfilment & peace of mind.

Build your resilience
This week it has been widely reported in the press that Hector Sants is taking time off to recover from stress and exhaustion. While it is fantastic that he is getting the time and space he needs to recover his health, it reminded me of the importance of looking after ourselves. So today I wanted to share my top tips for building your resilience. I say building resilience, as the key to good stress management is to build the emotional and mental strength to know that you are OK, even if you don’t feel fully in control of your situation. While I encourage everyone to manage their time effectively, take control of what you are able to, there are times when we simply have to accept there are things we can’t control. I was reminded of this myself this week when my landlady told me she would like me to move out by the end of the year, so her spare room is available for her cousin in case he needs it. This came as a big shock given that I only re-located to London in August. So while yes it was a shock, it is annoying to have to move again so quickly, I am very aware that I have the resilience to cope with moving again. So what helps build resilience?
- As I already said taking control of what you can control and accepting what you can’t control.
- Building a supportive network of friends to who are able to listen when you need support is essential, the old adage a problem shared is a problem halved is true.
- Be active, whether it’s simply going for a walk in the park or going to the gym. Physical activity helps us feel mentally stronger and helps clams us emotionally so we are able to see the root cause of our problems so we are able to find effective solutions. I find going for a walk in a park, clears my mind and gets my creative juices flowing so I can calmly deal with my problems.
- My next tip may seem rather strange but volunteer or do some kind of community work. Being around people who have more challenges helps us put our problems in perspective. For example talking to someone who is dealing with the challenges of cancer really put my needing to move again into perspective.
- When we feel really in a rush and under pressure it is very tempting to reach for alcohol, coffee or chocolate, but in the long term these don't offer real solutions.
- In the spirit of keep it simple, stupid, always remember that deep breaths helps the body to relax and help you to let go of whatever mental angst is going on. When you get busy or anxious it is common to breath very rapidly from the top of your chest. Putting your hand on your belly, and try breathing in for a count of three and then breath out for a count of three - with the aim of seeing your hand move as you breath deeply enough.
- Remember Reiki is great if you feel all over the pace and jaded, while massage helps release all those tight achy shoulders.

Good Posture Exercise
Having spoken previously about why poor posture is bad for you, I wanted to move on to give you a simple exercise that helps promote good posture. Brugger's exercise routine is devised to activate postural muscles weakened and simultaneously stretched by a prolonged sitting posture. Slumped Position
Check the tension in your upper back and shoulders in the slumped posture and then in the Brugger's position, to see if you notice any difference as the muscle tension is dramatically reduced.
Brugger Exercise Posture
Step By Step Guide
- Sit perched towards the edge of your seat; this will naturally place your lower back into a curve (lumbar lordosis) with your butt sticking out a little. As you do this your breastbone (sternum) will naturally lift up.
- Separate your legs to 45 degrees each side with your feet turned out slightly and in line with your knees.
- Your shoulders are relaxed and down with your chin tucked in, making the back of your neck longer – imagine a piece of string is attached to the top of your head and someone is lifting you up.
- Fully straighten (extend) both elbows and arms.
- Make sure you keep your shoulders down and imagine your shoulder blades [scapula] are pushing down and together to form a V.
- Turn your thumbs out (externally rotate), palms up.
- Separate your fingers.
- You should now be in the position show above in the Brugger's exercise posture picture.
- Hold for 30 seconds.

