You might think of the practices in this chapter as the drills and workouts athletes do to prepare for games, where a range of skills needs to be applied more flexibly. And in the same way that these basketball or football practices confer benefits beyond more skillful play on the court or field, you’ll see the multiple benefits of mindfulness well before you begin using it in highly stressful situations. A wealth of research has demonstrated that practicing mindfulness can improve sleep, reduce physical pain, boost immune system functioning, and increase relationship satisfaction, to name just a few benefits.
Anxiety Insomnia Stress Risk of coronary heart disease Substance use Urges to smoke Relapse into depression Chronic pain Symptoms of fibromyalgia
Quality of life Relationship satisfaction and closeness Sexual functioning Attention Immune system functioning Skin clearing among those with psoriasis Diabetes self-management Longevity and health among nursing home residents
Regularly practicing mindfulness can reduce the overall level of stress and anxiety in your life, making it easier to deal with challenges that arise. Another general benefit of mindfulness is that it brings us more closely in touch with the moments of our lives. Practicing mindfulness can transform even the most mundane experiences into cherished moments. Mindfulness practice can be either formal or informal. Formal practice involves setting aside dedicated time to practice skills on a regular basis. Informal practice involves bringing mindful attention to your internal experiences and your surroundings as you go about your daily activities. Both can help you develop mindfulness skills, in the same way that an athlete benefits from both speed- or strength-building work and scrimmaging. Formal mindfulness practices are activities that require setting aside some time to practice every day or a few days a week. Mindfulness of breath is considered a formal practice, as are meditation and yoga. Formal practices require you to commit to investing some time in taking care of yourself–no eay feat, given the demands on our time and the pressure to be productive. But formal practices can be extremely beneficial in helping us learn firsthand about the ways our minds work. Research has demonstrated a correlation between regularly practicing mindfulness and benefiting from it, so we recommend that you commit to spending at least 5 to 10 minutes a day in formal practice. If you want to do more, great. Many people find that a regular mindfulness practice of 15, 25, or 45 minutes is extremely helpful. If you want to do less, we completely understand. And yet we would still ask you to consider making this commitment to yourself. It’s OK if it feels uncomfortable because it’s not something you usually do, or you’re not sure it will help, or it feels like a waste of time. In our experience, it’s much easier to make an accurate judgment about whether formal mindfulness practice can benefit you once you’ve given it a serious try. Regular formal practice of mindfulness can help us develop this skill so we can use it in our lives. Just like any new habit we try to develop (flossing our teeth, exercising regularly, eating healthily), it’s very challenging to add something new to our lives. The more we can make something part of a regular routine, and do it the same way every day, the more likely we are to establish a habit we can keep going throughout our lives.
