How Mindfulness Affects Wellness: 6 Benefits of Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally. Mindfulness meditation involves acute self-awareness, awareness of your surroundings, and the ability to exist in your current space without judgment. This type of meditation is often combined with other wellness practices, such as yoga and walking, to curb obsessive or damaging thoughts that cloud our focus.

Mindfulness has entered into mainstream medicine and clinical practice due to the success of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a program designed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, a professor and scientist, to help outpatients living with chronic pain and other medical conditions. The program’s success influenced the creation of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), a type of psychotherapy developed by a team of therapists who aimed to integrate cognitive behavioral therapy with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction.

Research shows that incorporating mindfulness into your daily life can boost your overall wellness. Here are some other benefits of mindfulness:

1. 1. Improves working memory. According to multiple studies, the practice of mindfulness meditation can improve working memory. Scientists found higher cortical thickness levels in the hippocampus, a brain region responsible for memory and learning, after individuals participated in an eight-week MBSR program.
2. 2. Increased focus. Mindfulness allows for an expansion of focus. Data shows that individuals who meditate show an increase in attentional functioning and cognitive flexibility and heightened performances within all measures of attention when compared to those without a mindfulness practice.
3. 3. Better moods. Meditation can improve emotional regulation and reactivity, allowing for the mitigation of depressive symptoms and social anxiety. Through routine mindfulness practice, meditators can reduce inflammatory responses and better cope with the discomfort at the root of chronic pain.
4. 4. Stress reduction. Mindfulness can help soothe your mind by giving it a focus while centering breathing, which can help you naturally de-stress (and may have a beneficial effect on your physical health by lowering blood pressure). Psychotherapy studies have noted the positive effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) in people who experience anxiety disorders, depression, or chronic pain.
5. 5. Less rumination. Meditators form new connections in the brain. A study conducted by a team at Yale showed that mindfulness meditation quiets activity in the part of the brain known as the default mode network, which is most active when the brain is at rest. Since ruminating is often associated with feelings of unhappiness, meditation allows the mind to stay present or quickly return from wandering.
6. 6. Stronger relationships. Studies have found that those who practice mindfulness may possess a greater ability to express themselves and their needs. Mindfulness can open new pathways for expression and a greater tolerance for emotional hardship, both of which allow more room for healthy and balanced relationships.

Find something comfortable to sit or lie on, grab a MasterClass Annual Membership, and dial into the present moment with Jon Kabat-Zinn, the father of the Western mindfulness movement. From formal meditation exercises to examinations of the science behind mindfulness, Jon will prepare you for the most important practice of them all: life itself.