What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is intentional attention to the present moment, it involves training awareness, concentration and empathy with non-judgement and curiosity. Practising mindfulness involves switching from the automatic unconscious and sometimes reactive thoughts, and is an act of switching them to conscious, controlled and direct thoughts. Developing this type of mental control allows us to see things more accurately and control where our attention falls.

Mindfulness involves not attaching to emotions, reactions and thoughts, but allowing space to cultivate conscious thoughts with conscious actions. Keep in mind, performing mindfulness just like any newly learnt skill will require patience and practise, some days will be better than others.

What are some ways to practise Mindfulness?

There are two types of ways to practise Mindfulness:

Formal Practice

A formal practice can be sitting or lying in a still position with eyes closed, focusing on one tool. This tool could be observing thoughts, breath or sensations felt within the body. Often using intentional attention switching by guiding the thoughts back to breathe. Guided meditation is a great place to start, in a comfortable seated position an instructor will guide you through steps of meditation delivering gentle cues to help train your mind to observe and focus its attention, relaxing the mind and body. Yoga through mindful movement and breath can also be considered a type of formal meditation practice.

Informal Practice

An informal practice involves integrating mindfulness practices into an already existing routine. This looks like weaving mindful thoughts into activities performed daily. For example, saying out loud, at the moment what you are grateful for, or telling someone they made you laugh. Or, this might look like, when you are out for a walk paying attention to your breath, senses, what your body is doing and where your mind keeps wandering off to. It’s an excellent way to train your brain to instinctively use positive thoughts throughout the day.

What are the benefits of practising Meditation or Mindfulness?

Meditation and mindfulness work to control and focus the mind, by providing the tools and knowledge to do two things:

1. Consciously relax and calm the mind
2. Learn to observe and control thoughts

The combination of relaxation and observation results in the ability to control the mind and its thought processes. Focusing on the body relaxes it, and the act of focusing assists with managing thoughts and calms the mind and body.

The brain is a muscle and practising meditation is like going to the gym for the brain. A regular meditation practice can help strengthen the prefrontal cortex and improve our ability to control what we may believe is uncontrollable, the mind.

The mind is cleverly trained to focus on many things at one time. Often this means we’re distracted. For many of us, it can be difficult to sit still for one minute and focus on the body without feeling uncomfortable. In meditation we are often given ‘tools’ to focus on, these tools could be sound, breath or an object. This tool will give the mind something to focus on, which will cease the natural fluctuations of the mind. Like any other newly learnt skill, the more it is practised the more it will come naturally and the longer and more enjoyable meditation will seem.

Some more benefits of mindfulness include:

Increased-self-regulation

Increased self-awareness, self-regulation and empathy
Mindfulness practices draw our focus to arising feelings and emotions which can help reduce emotional irregularity. Rationally reflecting on actions and thoughts can provide a full perspective allowing clear and concise thoughts to arise regulating the mind. By strengthening the ability to think and focus clearly on thoughts, we are gaining conscious control over actions, thoughts and behaviours increasing our perception and self-awareness.

Creates-a-sense-of-calm

Creates a sense of calm
Our minds have cleverly developed selective focus as a defence mechanism from threats, felt especially in times of stress and overwhelm. Concentrating on breath offers something different and internal for the mind to focus on, rather than racing thoughts. This allows time to focus on the body and how it’s feeling.

Reduces-feelings-of-stress-and-anxiety

Reduces feelings of stress and anxiety
Numerous mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) therapies have evolved as psychotherapy programes with promising results. Through letting go and confronting psychological states like anger and anxiety, one can relinquish the automatic response and replace it with gaining control over internal experiences.

clear-and-regulate-the-mind

Clear and regulate the mind
Mindfulness can help guard the mind against overwhelming emotions or thoughts. Rationally reflecting on actions and thoughts can provide a full perspective allowing clear and concise thoughts to arise regulating the mind.

Increase-concentration-and-direct-focus

Increase concentration and direct focus
Identifying and directing focus can allow intentional control over thought processes that can help seize the wandering mind. Mindfulness can train you to ignore distractions which can allow concentration on the surrounding environment. This prompts consciously attending to tasks with full attention, when the mind wanders you’ll be more equipped to redirect focus back to the task at hand.

Creates-a-sense-of-calm

Improve sleep quality
Fatigue can ripple into all aspects of our lives, it can cause lower productivity, poor emotional regulation, stress, anxiety along a multitude of other factors. Studies have shown mindfulness meditation can promote a better quality of sleep, by promoting a sense of calm in the mind, reducing thoughts that keep us up at night such as anxiety, anger and fear.

What happens to the brain during Meditation

Mindfulness and meditation practices are known to strengthen areas within your cerebral cortex – This is the logical and rational part of the brain. The brain uses three main regions found within the cerebral cortex to do its thinking, these three regions collaborate to decide how we respond, think and act to things happening around us.

These regions include:

Amygdala: The area of the brain which controls the fight or flight response, it’s the alarm that goes off when we feel like we are in danger. The information that the amygdala receives cannot be differentiated between a real stressful situation or a false one, this is the case of reaction without thinking. Mindfulness can help relax the amygdala and allow us to think before reacting. The amygdala processes information before it goes into the prefrontal cortex so that the body can act a certain way.

Prefrontal Cortex: This is the area of the brain that holds a lot of our personality traits and thought processes. It includes functions such as reasoning, problem-solving, comprehension, impulse control and perseverance. It only receives information from the amygdala when it is in a state of calm and then passes any information relevant for retaining / memory to the hippocampus.

Hippocampus: Creates, processes information, learning new skills and memory. Meditation can help to increase the cortical thickness of the brain, which means a stronger function of these areas.

Effects of mindfulness have been found through extensive research to change the brain gray matter and regions of the brain connected to the sense of self, regulation and emotions and memory. Gray matter naturally deteriorates as we age, meaning our sensory neurons get slower and less responsive. In this same study conducted by Harvard University researchers found 40-50-year-old individuals who meditated had a similar amount of gray matter as 20-30-year-olds.

Mindfulness and meditation classes at Myall include:

Guided Meditation

Practising meditation surrounded by people, away from your own home and distractions is a great way to cultivate the mindset. If you’re a beginner, we recommend going to a guided meditation. You’d be surprised how being in a room surrounded by other individuals meditating can influence your own mindset. Not only are longer meditations fantastic for your wellbeing, but they also allow time for your mind to rest and be observed, which can be especially important for those with exceptionally busy minds.

Guided meditation can be performed in a group or privately, typically these sessions go for 30-minutes and are specifically designed to develop conscious thinking and create a sense of calm in the mind.

Currently, we don’t have a regular Meditation practice on our timetable.

If you are interested in a weekly meditation session and would like to chat with us about your interest please contact us at hello@myallwellbeing.com or call us on +618 9325 6999

Mindful movement

Myall offers a range of yoga classes which combine movement and breath to create a series of meditative movements. In these classes we have to call upon skills of meditation, like focusing on our breath and our bodies and put into practice focusing our minds.

Our Rest & restore (Yin yoga) class is especially great for dipping your toe in. This yoga class integrates slow movements and mindful movements, connected to breath. This class is recommended to beginners of meditation who feel they will not be able to sit still for long.

Corporate Meditation

The hustle and bustle of the business world often result in feelings of gratitude being fleeting or often forgotten. Mindfulness can be a great benefit for business development, team building, stress management and more.

We can tailor meditation classes and well-being packages to suit the needs of your organisation. Well-being packages may include massage, infrared sauna, yoga or meditation for the well-being of employees. Corporate meditation classes/workshops can be held within the Myall studio or if you are located within Perth CBD, right to your doorstep.

Get in touch with us today to start implementing Meditation and Mindfulness in your workplace. Link to the enquiry form (Wellbeing Champion)

FAQs

How often should I meditate?
Regular practise might mean once a week for you, building up to twice a week or even daily 5-minute meditations. With regular practise, meditation becomes easier, you’ll be able to sit for longer, focus harder and reap the mindfulness benefits in everyday scenarios.

How long should I meditate for?
It can be daunting going straight into a 20-30 minute guided meditation, especially if you are time-poor. Instead, try a 5-10 minute meditation, these are a great way to get your mind into a relaxed state. The more regularly you practise, the easier meditating will become. Guided meditation sessions can seem scary to begin with but with a trained instructor, through gentle cues, they can help you get in the right state of mind. Mindfulness doesn’t have to be in the form of meditation, it can be through gratitude practices and actively being grateful for the things you have in your life.

What if I can’t quiet my mind?
Don’t be too hard on yourself, your practice doesn’t have to be ‘perfect’ every day, by putting this extra pressure on yourself you’re adding stress rather than relieving it. You’ll be surprised what can happen when you remove any expectation from your mindfulness practice.

What should I wear to meditation?
There is no uniform for meditation. Meditation can be done in the clothes you are wearing right now. For you to be seated in a comfortable seating position preferably clothes you are able to sit comfortably for a long period of time. Or, a chair can be provided for you also.

Who is meditation for?
Everybody! Meditation is even being taught in schools to young children. It is never too late to start.

Do I have to stop thinking to meditate?
Many people think that meditation is about completely emptying the mind, which might result in people falling asleep, feeling uncomfortable, becoming bored and distracted. It’s not about emptying the mind, but learning how to focus/observe thoughts. If you’re a beginner, we recommend practising mindfulness in a group, guided through a guided meditation, in person, outside of your home and away from distractions.

When should I arrive?
In the 15 minutes on either side of a scheduled class, you are welcome to sit, breathe and practise mindful meditation. This brings added calm, presence and energy to the class ahead, or to your post-class activities.

Register your interest in meditation







    World-class studio. caring, experienced and emotionally intelligent teachers. Excellent massage therapy also. A very special community in the heart of Perth.

    Ana, Perth

    I love my visits to the Myall Yoga Studio when in Perth. So serene. Clean and has great showers. And the massages are addictive!

    Julia, Perth

    Expert massage, serene ambience and friendly staff. My go to massage in the CBD.

    Rae, Perth