Practicing Mindfulness

A HEALTHY YOU

Practicing mindfulness

Mindfulness is the practice of purposely focusing your attention on the present moment—and accepting it without judgment.

We have heard about the many benefits of mindfulness – from greater focus to increased relaxation to a happier, more present way of being. Practicing mindfulness in the office is something that is gaining more attention as many employees report feeling overwhelmed, frazzled, and burned out. In this fast-paced world of around-the-clock interruptions, it can often be difficult for employees to focus. In addition, our brains become used to being on autopilot and that often leads to disconnection and stress. As a result, many organizations are focusing more and more on strategies to support employees with mindfulness and provide examples of mindful leadership. Employers are acting in ways such as offering mindfulness workshops and webinars and providing self-care strategies for their employees.

Quite a few research studies have found that both mindfulness and meditation alter the brain in a positive way by increasing the density of our grey matter. This physical change in our brain is correlated with an increase in self-regulation and emotion control, heightened learning from past experiences, more complex thinking, better body awareness, greater perception and improved decision making – all important skills to have in the workplace. In addition, studies have found that being present and mindful also means increasing productivity – – mindfulness improves our focus and as a result, we accomplish more in less time. Still further reasons for practicing mindfulness are that studies have shown that mindfulness causes us to have a more positive attitude as negative thinking gets replaced by a more optimistic stance to problem solving.

While it sometimes seems difficult to slow down in this fast-paced workspace, below are five easy ways to incorporate mindfulness habits into a busy workday:

Take a break

Changing your environment forces the mind to get back to the present.

Breathe

Simply observing your breathing and trying to take some slow deep breaths sends a message to your brain to calm down and relax. Deep breathing increases your energy level and improves blood flow.

Just notice

Spend a few minutes a day just observing. Being more aware of your five senses will help you to be more mindful in every area of life.

Slow down and cut down on multi-tasking

Taking a quick 5 minutes to regroup to try to change your mind set will decrease stress and increase focus and productivity.

Meditate

In addition to a whole host of other benefits such as lengthening your attention span and controlling anxiety, you’ll find that even just five minutes of meditation will make you more self-aware and as a result, more mindful and more productive in the office. A win-win all around!

About the Author

Cynthia Conigliaro is the Sales and Marketing Director for Organizational Wellness and Learning Systems (OWLS), a consulting firm focused on employee emotional wellbeing and organizational culture analysis. For almost five years she has worked alongside the owner of OWLS to design and implement mental health related employee wellness trainings and workshops for organizations across the United States.

For almost 15 years she has had her own health and wellness coaching business. Cynthia works with individuals and groups and runs virtual and in person workshops for employees on a variety of health and wellness topics relating to both physical and mental health. She is an Infinite Possibilities Certified Trainer and a Resilience and Life Coach. She has been a volunteer with the Worksite Wellness Council of Massachusetts (WWCMA) for the past 4 years where she sits on both the Programs Committee and the Marketing Committee. Cynthia has her Master of Social Work and her Master of Business Administration from Boston College and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a Minor in Spanish from College of the Holy Cross.

A HEALTHY YOU