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Mindfulness Meditation
One of the central disciplines of Buddhism, but also set apart
from Buddhism, is the practice of Mindfulness Meditation. It is
claimed that cultivating a state of mindfulness is central to the
path towards liberation and enlightenment.
Mindfulness Meditation is very effective in the Treatment of
Anxiety because it tackles head on one of the most destructive
symptoms, that of disassociation. When suffering from the symptoms
of chronic anxiety a feeling of not being entirely ‘here’ is
common. Sensations of floating, falling (‘walking vertigo’),
dizziness, irregularities of depth perception and spatial awareness
may all present and the distress of these symptoms may lead to
Anxiety / Panic Attacks.
Learning mindfulness is to learn how to experience your ‘self’.
Actually experience being ‘you’ in the present moment.
Many people have no idea how much time they waste thinking about
the past, the future, their job, their dog, relationships, their
in-box…. the list is endless of the things we invent to get
stressed about. What mindfulness attempts to do, and is very
effective at, is bringing all of these external concerns, the
defining factors of anxiety, to a halt.
Through measured breathing exercises, guided meditations and
mild physical exercise the practitioner is helped to fully
experience existence in the ‘now’.
I imagine that you are sat in a chair right now. You may have
been sat there for a while. How does it feel? Are you simply ‘sat
in a chair’, or are you aware of the sensations available to you?
The pressure on the underside of your legs. Your forearms on the
table’s edge. There may be a breeze on your arms or the back of
your neck. What can you smell? How often are you breathing? How
deep?
This is a brief, somewhat flippant, description of what
mindfulness entails. It has after all been around for thousands of
years. The sensations of mindfulness do not lend themselves well to
description. When somebody suffers from Anxiety or Panic Attacks
however, the meditative skills can beat the fear quickly and
effectively and the best part is, meditation costs nothing! You
don’t even have to like it to get the benefit!
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