Mindfulness is an innate capacity of the mind to be aware of the present moment in a non-judgemental way and can be developed through systematic training using mindfulness practices. It promotes a way of being that helps us to take care of ourselves and lead healthier lives and enables us to access inner resources for coping effectively with stress, difficulty and illness. It is based on Buddhist meditation techniques, but contemporary training in mindfulness is entirely secular.
The relevance of the transformative potential of mindfulness to contemporary life is now increasingly being recognised and a number of approaches have been developed and researched. These include eight week courses in:
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) developed by Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979 at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Centre for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society; and
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) developed more recently by Zindel V. Segal, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, J. Mark G. Williams, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oxford and Dr John D. Teasdale, of the Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge (now retired).
Applications of these eight week courses include the management of stress, anxiety, pain, chronic illness, hypertension, heart disease, cancer and prevention of depressive relapse. Such courses are now being used in a range of settings including community care, hospitals, schools, prisons and businesses. The UK National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recently endorsed MBCT as an effective treatment for depression relapse. Those who integrate mindfulness into their life report benefits, such as, less stress, greater ease, being more present with self and others and working more creatively with challenges.
The mindfulness practices include: mindful eating; lying down bodyscan; mindful movement (eg. yoga); the three minute breathing space and sitting mindfulness meditation practice.
Bibliography
Crane, R. (2009). Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy. London and New York: Routledge.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2004). Full Catastrophe Living. London: Piatkus Books Ltd.
Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M. G. & Teasdale, J. D. (2002). Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression. New York and London: The Guilford Press.