Frequently asked questions
There are many definitions of mindfulness, but all involve bringing conscious awareness to your here and now experience, with openness, receptiveness and interest.
This quote from Western mindfulness pioneer Jon Kabat-Zinn sums it up:
“Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally – in the service of self-understanding and wisdom.”
Mindfulness is a specific type of meditation that, in its most authentic form, involves developing attention, awareness and compassion for self and others.
It is also a technique that can be used in daily life to be more present with our inner and outer experiences. For example, bringing moment to moment awareness to the people and places around us, as well as noticing if we are caught up in thoughts, emotions or bodily sensations.
When learning mindfulness, it’s best to start with short periods of sitting then build up from there, ideally to 10-minutes a day or more.
There’s no Lotus position needed to practice mindfulness. The ideal position involves having a grounded balance and a straight spine to maintain alertness. Mindfulness can be practised sitting up or lying down, and there are also movement-based practises such as mindful walking.
Many people mistakenly believe that the aim of a seated mindfulness practice is to have no thoughts. This belief is incorrect and sets us up to fail. Mindfulness is about noticing when we are distracted (and we will be), then choosing where to put our attention and awareness.
Finding a good teacher who can explain and guide you through the traditional mindfulness techniques, and explain how to set up a daily mindfulness habit is key to success.
Look for someone who has mindfulness qualifications, a long-term daily meditation practice, lengthy experience in teaching, and who is committed to attending ongoing multi-day retreats to deepen their practice.
I recommend finding someone who is dedicated to and specialises in teaching mindfulness, rather than someone who adds on mindfulness to other modalities, such as yoga, for example.
I have been practising mindfulness daily for close to 15 years and have completed multiple trainings to teach mindfulness and mindfulness-based therapies. These include:
- Accredited Corporate Mindfulness Facilitator, Potential Project International
- Advanced training in the mindfulness-based behaviour therapy, ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), Dr Russ Harris
- ACT for Depression and Anxiety training, Dr Russ Harris
- ACT for Post-Traumatic Problems in Living, Sonja Batten
- Mindfulness-Based Pain Relief Practitioner, Integrative Pain Science Institute
- Intuitive Guided Meditation coach, Jack Kornfield.
For the past decade, I have attended multiple retreats with world-leading mindfulness teachers and scholars, including a 10-day silent meditation retreat and a number of multi-day retreats in Australia, the Netherlands and the United States.
Mindfulness traditions go back thousands of years and are not limited to a specific belief or faith system.
It can be taught in a purely secular (non-religious) way, or bring in wisdom from contemplative traditions, such as Buddhism where mindfulness has been practised for about 2500 years.
In teaching mindfulness, I like to include the universal truths about the nature of our mind and how it creates genuine happiness or exacerbates suffering. These insights are drawn from neuroscience, evidence-based behaviour therapies and contemplative traditions.