To understand what mindfulness is, we must first look at what it is not.

Mindfulness is not:

• A religion or spiritual practice

• Sitting cross-legged on the floor for hours and hours Buddha-style

• About clearing your mind of all thoughts

• Something you can only do if you have a quiet space to shut yourself away.

• Chanting, weird smelling incense and crystals

Although some forms of meditation may include some of the above, I certainly don’t have time for all that fluff and opt for a simple, mindfulness approach instead.

So, what is mindfulness and how can it help you better manage your mental health?

I consider mindfulness to be:

• A simple set of science-backed techniques anyone can learn to help them better manage everyday stress and build emotional resilience. Find out more about how mindfulness can help with stress, anxiety and depression on the NHS website.
  

• Something that you can fit into even the busiest of days once you know how as some techniques take even less than a minute.
  
  A flexible and mobile tool that you can do anywhere – at home, at work, in the car, on holiday and even in the middle of a crowded supermarket (no one will notice, I promise 😊) 
  

• A way to boost your mood, reduce anxiety and switch off your body’s over-active stress response system without more medication or side effects.
  

• A way to train your over-active, thinking mind to be calmer so you can feel more in control and get better sleep.

Basically, mindfulness is my way of finding some calm amongst the chaos of this thing we call life!

Fancy giving it a go? Check out my 30-day 5 Minute Mindfulness Challenge. Or, if you want more bespoke support, you can work with me one to one basis.