Take a break: mindfulness and the power of slowing down

Daily life seems to run at an incessant pace. It’s difficult to keep up with all that surrounds us, from our friends’ lives, to our partner’s, to our family’s… not to mention our own. We often fill the spaces between commitment, task and obligation with noise: social media, music, distraction—anything to avoid the silence that lets our minds run.

Unfortunately, we may create more chaos by occupying our mind with external stimuli rather than allowing it to detoxify naturally. This is the power of slowing down.

Humans have been practicing some form of mindfulness for nearly all of recorded history. Typically considered in the form of meditation, we may forget that other forms of mindfulness also exist within prayer, yoga, running, sewing and other practices. These activities ask us to pay attention to a specific simple task or focal point, recognize distraction when it occurs and choose to return attention to the task or focal point. It is choosing to be in the here-and-now and allow the mind to digest the litany of thoughts, emotions, memories and experiences that naturally arise during moments of quiet.

Mindfulness has been a thoroughly studied practice. An expansive body of research has shown regular practices of mindfulness have contributed to improvements in stress, relaxation and overall mental health, neuroplasticity or the ability of the brain to be flexible in response to change, and healing and immune functioning. They have also been linked to prevention of declines due to aging, improved focus and attention, improved sleep and better self-knowledge and awareness. Choosing to slow down and spend time practicing mindfulness every day can be truly revolutionary in your daily life.

Start slowly. If you are unfamiliar with slowing down in this way, it may be highly uncomfortable. Start with a brief practice and begin to build time onto your practice as you gain familiarity. Approach this non-judgmentally. You may feel like there is a right/wrong way to practice mindfulness (cue the image of someone sitting in the lotus position, ‘ohm’ing their way into clearing their mind). No need for this. Get to know what your mind tends to do. Be curious and open to whatever comes up. When your mind wanders, acknowledge the wander and return to your focal point.

Use a guide. It may not be easy to know what to do as you begin this practice. Lean on a guide, either in-person or online, that can assist you with redirecting your attention and noticing what comes up.

Expect discomfort. You may not have learned how to do this given the access to distraction through technology you likely had growing up. You might feel bored, unstimulated or highly distracted. That’s OK. This is a skill that will require practice for you to build familiarity with it.

Be patient with yourself as you begin to practice slowing down. Our culture hails the virtues of taking time and slowing down but often does not provide the encouragement to create time to do so. Consider using the Mindfulness Coach, Headspace, Calm or Insight Timer apps for assistance in building this practice.