“Don’t hold the mind still. The subtle mind is still because it is balanced.”
Judith Blackstone, The Enlightenment Process
Judith Blackstone, The Enlightenment Process
Mindfulness in Coaching
Mindfulness improves mental and physical health and well being. It gives us the control over our minds that many of us crave, rather than the sense of being controlled by our churning thoughts which overwhelm us and cause physical and emotional stress. Learning mindfulness enables us to develop healthier minds, be more focused, calm and self-aware. Mindfulness based approaches combine elements of eastern meditation and cognitive therapy. Research has been demonstrating the efficacy of mindfulness-based approaches for over thirty years. Randomised control trials have shown beneficial effects in management of stress, anxiety and depression. It has been shown to improve relationships, promote focused attention and increase creativity. As well as increasing happiness, mindfulness makes organisations better places to work. Evidence from randomised clinical trials shows it reduces physical symptoms including chronic pain, heart disease, cancer, gastrointestinal disorders and high blood pressure, and to improve immune system functioning. Neuroscience research has shown that mindfulness changes the physiology of the brain in as little as 2 weeks, and in ways that indicate more happiness, health, memory capacity and resilience. When people feel stressed, depressed, anxious, ill or in pain, they tend act in a habitual manner. This often means adopting coping strategies which exacerbate the situation. We may find ourselves ruminating over problems or we may seek distractions such as alcohol, over-eating or over-working. In despair, many feel unable to take decisions and end up procrastinating. All of which generally lead to harsh self judgement and self-critical thoughts, which only add to the anxiety, loss of confidence, depressed mood and irritability. Mindfulness itself does not involve changing anything. Paradoxically it invites us to be fully present to all of our experience, just as it is and without judging it. From this position of reality we often start to enjoy life more, and to appreciate the control we gain over our thoughts, emotions and behaviour. I integrate mindfulness into the coaching sessions to provide helpful feedback in the moment, and if you're interested, we'll come up with some enjoyable and do-able ways for you to include mindfulness practices into your daily life. To read a short article on Mindfulness, please click here. |
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