Why practice mindfulness?

We will be hosting a workshop entitled Exploring Mindfulness at my yoga studio next Saturday.  I've taken this workshop with Halli Bourne in the past and found it to be very helpful, filled with practical tools to enhance my life.  I know Halli well (I should after leading 10+ retreats with her!) but I wanted to give you an introduction so I asked her if she could briefly explain what it means to be mindful (something that we will be learning in the workshop)... Here's her response...

Many of us struggle with the overwhelm of multitasking and cramming our heads with thoughts that trap us in habitual, reactive, uncreative modes of living.  Neuroscience has shown that every thought we think has a physiological response, meaning that if we are thinking negative, restrictive, stressful thoughts, our body will react in a stressed way.   Mindfulness does not mean ridding ourselves of thoughts, but rather acknowledging and recognizing thoughts and choosing to remain non-reactive in relationship to them.  The more we practice non-reactivity, the more peaceful we become.  

Hmmm....  I thought, sounds alot like where meditation and yoga take me. A true dedicated practice requires that we be mindful.  Our time on the mat is just experimentation for how to live our lives off the mat, yes? I know, the more I practice, the more I can live in the moment, without letting stories with no basis cycle through my head and the more I can see when I am on the right track instead of flailing about with the appearance of knowing where I am going :-).  

I wondered how Halli came to mindfulness and she shared her story...

As a young person, sensitive by nature, I felt buffeted by society's demands to produce and to put forth stoicism regardless of personal cost.  In my early twenties I had a near-fatal car accident that led me through an odyssey of healing and recovery.  The physical rehabilitation grounded me in my body and put me in touch with the need to change my relationship to my thoughts.  The challenges of this life---which are by no means unique to me---caused me to initiate a daily meditation practice and have fueled a passion for the tools of introspection and their power to revolutionize personal experience. 

Wow - to hold up under such intensity, mindfulness is a powerful practice that seems to create a quiet power within the practitioner.  If mindfulness can help in such adversity, just think how it could enhance your life in times of joy... definitely food for thought and exploration.

If you are in the Lemitar area, please join us Saturday 5/16 3-5pm for this provocative and deep workshop.  You can pre-register and find more information on our website - www.yogadelsolstudio.com.  To learn more about Halli, visit www.true-self-coaching.com.