How to Focus Your Mind with Mindfulness Meditation

Just look at the most recent generation who has only ever known iPhones, Instagram or Facebook as everyday distractions. Is it any wonder why humanity is becoming ever more unfocused? Unless we learn how to unplug and focus, mankind’s attention span will continually shrink.

Effects of Lower Attention Span

One of the consequences of allowing your mind to wander is you begin to feel as if you’ve somehow lost control or lost your way. You feel like now your plans are being ignored and you’re no longer in control of your daily life. This is where stress begins to seep into the recesses of your mind. 

Allowed to linger, this becomes chronic stress or anxiety. These are conditions that can lead to health problems, like high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and depression. These are some of the conditions that mindfulness meditation can address.

How to Regain Control and Improve Attention Span

You can increase your feeling of control by increasing your attention span. “How can I increase my attention span when I’ve got a thousand things to do every day?” I can already hear you complaining this can’t be done. However, setting aside only 5-10 minutes every day will make a world of difference in your life. Can you spare just 5-10 minutes each day to improve your life?

Start meditating each day following any of the meditation practices I’ve detailed in prior articles for small increments of time in a quiet room, free of potential distractions. There are numerous ways you can keep improving your meditation practice and all benefits flow to even those early on their meditation journey. Mindfulness meditation helps you to remove your distractions, become present in the now and focus your mind.

What is Mindfulness Meditation?

Mindfulness meditation is the practice of slowing down your thoughts, releasing negativity and calming both your mind and body from the hectic paces they’re currently in. It combines both meditation and mindfulness, which is nothing more than allowing yourself to be fully focused on “the now,” “the present,” and where you are in this exact moment. You release all judgment and just acknowledge and accept your thoughts, feelings and sensations. 

There are different techniques for mindfulness meditation. Typically this involves focusing on your breath, being aware of your mind, paying attention to your body, and allowing your muscles to relax in each major muscle group.

You don’t need anything special, like candles or props or incense, unless those are things you enjoy. If so, then feel free to add them, but they’re not necessary.

How to Practice Mindfulness Meditation

1. Get comfortable

Find a quiet and comfortable place with a comfortable chair or perhaps a meditation cushion. Make sure your back is straight (but not stiff). If you’re sitting in a chair, make sure your feet are flat on the floor. It’s helpful to wear loose fitting clothing to avoid distractions. The best part is this can be done anywhere so long as it's quiet and there’s no distractions around you.

2. Focus on Your Breathing

Focus on your inhalation and then your exhalation. Keep following the in breath and the out breath for several minutes. Just allow your breathing to fall into its own natural rhythm. Feel your belly rise and fall as the air enters your nostrils and leaves through your mouth. 

3. Allow Your Thoughts to Pass By

Since you’re still a conscious being, you will have thoughts that will come and go. Just allow whatever thoughts pop up to appear and then let them leave. Imagine you’re at a train platform where a train is coming in, but you don’t get onboard. You just let the train leave the station without you on it. Note your thoughts and let them pass by like clouds. If you get distracted, just come back to your breath. Remember, your mind can only pay attention to one thing at a time.

4. Be Kind to Yourself

If you find yourself getting frustrated or anxious, like you feel you’re not “doing it correctly,” don’t be so hard on yourself. As long as you’re still in the conscious state, you’re going to have thoughts and that’s perfectly normal. It happens to everyone, regardless of how long they’ve been practicing meditation. You’re not the first, nor will you be the last. If you feel your mind wandering, just return to your breath. This is a magical thing, because that’s where mindfulness resides. It will work wonders for you.

Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation

Practicing mindfulness meditation provides numerous physical and mental health benefits. 

1. Reduces Stress

One specific type of meditation, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), is a therapeutic technique used to reduce stress. It has been shown in studies to help reduce stress using daily meditation over an 8 week program. It helped reduce stress, depression, anxiety, addictions, and numerous other issues.

2. Lowers Heart Rate

Studies have shown that meditation helps to lower cortisol and thus “heart rate decreased significantly” as a result. With the vast amounts of heart disease and high blood pressure in the U.S., mindfulness meditation would vastly benefit many individuals. 

3. Strengthens Immunity

Research suggests that mindfulness meditation helps the body’s ability to fight infection. One study found that acute respiratory infection was ‘significantly lower” for those participants who practiced meditation. This study displayed that people who meditated had far great gains in their immune function than those who didn’t practice meditation.

4. Improves Sleep

Having difficulty sleeping? Try meditation. Studies have shown that practicing mindfulness meditation can help to improve the duration and the quality of your sleep. The studies even showed that it might help with sleep disturbances. 

Try to incorporate mindfulness meditation in your daily life. You can do this in a number of ways. Focus on everyday tasks, like brushing your teeth, doing dishes, folding laundry, doing chores, or countless other things. Feel your feel flat on the floor. Feel your spine relaxed but straight. Feel the motion of your hands rhythmically from point to point and become focused on the specific movements you make. Add focus by paying attention to your breath. Come up with your own ways to add focus and attention to your daily life. You’ll be happy that you did.

If you are interested in listening to different guided meditations, I have a series you can try here. 

P.S. If you think your friends would benefit from this article, please share it with them.

Tags: meditation, meditation benefits, mindfulness, mindfulness meditation, guided meditation, benefits of meditation, body mind soul, transcendental meditation, how to meditate, morning meditation, living spiritually, loving kindness meditation, stress reduction, heart health, anxiety meditation.