Mindfulness in the Modern World
Photo Credit: Naomi Baker
Written by Katherine Copeland MBE
Katherine is a double Olympian and Olympic Champion as a lightweight rower in the London 2012 Games. Since retiring from professional sport in January, she is now training to become a qualified yoga teacher. She has a love for sport, being outdoors and travelling, and is passionate about supporting and helping women find exercise they love and find fun.
You can follow Katherine on Instagram.
The dictionary definition of mindfulness is ‘the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something’…. but what does this actually mean? And more importantly, how does it translate into our everyday lives?
In essence, mindfulness is about being in the present and being aware of what’s going on around you. The good news is there isn’t one ‘right’ way to practice mindfulness. It’s completely personal, so have a play around with different approaches and see if you find any that click with you.
About 3 years ago when I was training as a full-time athlete, I went to our team psychologist and said I felt like I was constantly in a rush and was struggling to relax. He suggested that my dog walks (I have a pug called Doug) could be a great opportunity to create a few 10 minute pockets in my day to slow down my thoughts. Putting my phone away and simply looking around and soaking everything up my surroundings made a surprising difference to how I then felt for the rest of the day.
Noting if I passed a pretty flower, the delicious smell of the Chip shop when I walked past, what the sky looked like on a morning or if Doug was doing something funny (which he does a lot!). It sounds so simple, but it made me realise how much of my previous time I’d spent with my head in my phone, constantly being bombarded with new social media posts, emails and messages and barely noticing what was going on around me. After a few weeks of doing this, I found it was becoming more engrained in my way of thinking, and without consciously trying to do so, I started to become more present at other times in the day too.
Here are a few places you might want to begin:
Using breathing techniques. Bringing awareness and attention to your breath by taking a few slow, deep breaths. Try breathing in for the count of 4, pausing, then breathing out for the count of 4. As you’re doing this, pay attention to the rise and fall of your chest and the feeling of the air coming in and out through the nose.
Meditation. Bringing awareness to your thoughts and emotions. We’re so busy going from one thing to another that we rarely sit with our thoughts anymore. People sometimes have the perception of meditation as sitting cross legged on the floor making ‘Om’ sounds, but it really doesn’t have to be like that! There are some great free apps that you can download which guide you through short meditation sessions to get started. I’d recommend ideally doing them first thing in the morning to set you up well for the day, but it will be helpful anytime- maybe on the train/bus on your commute, or before bed to help you unwind.
Bringing mindfulness to our existing day-to-day activities. This is the one I find works best for me and have explained a bit below. It could be as simple as listening to what someone is saying instead of texting on your phone or enjoying how tasty your lunch at work is, rather than reading your emails at the same time.
Yes, there will be times when we need to multitask and reply to a message as we’re commuting, BUT it’s important to have times where we just spend as little as 1 or 2 minutes noticing and appreciating what’s going on around us. A bit of time to slow down the pace and create a bit more of an ebb and flow to the day. It’s absolutely amazing how when we just designate a few minutes to doing this, the whole pace of our day can seem more manageable and put us in a more relaxed state.
Top Tips to Get Started:
Leave your phone in your pocket - or better yet, at home! We are SO switched on all the time (I’m really bad at this!) that we’re used to constant stimulation, and it’s really hard to pay attention to the here-and-now when we hear the ping of an email or new social media alert.
Start a gratitude diary - at the end of the day, write down 3 things you’ve really enjoyed or appreciated that day. These can be as little or big- anything that made you smile. This will start to shift your mindset and you’ll be on the lookout the next day for what you’re going to put in your diary.
Get Outside- You absolutely don’t have to be outside to practice mindfulness, but I find it’s an easier place to start as there are fewer distractions and it definitely puts me in a more refreshed, open state of mind to begin with! Go for a 10 minute walk and just notice what’s around you.
