Mindfulness and its types: what you need to know

The idea of mindfulness has recently become more and more popular, but at the same time it has become overgrown with many myths and prejudices. What is mindfulness and what kinds of mindfulness are there?

What is mindfulness

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Mindfulness is the ability to live in the right here and right now, to live in the moment. With the modern pace of life, many people complain that they live from weekend to weekend. They don’t have time to rejoice and enjoy life and are in constant anticipation – a day off, vacation, holidays.

Mindfulness helps us understand that we don't have to wait for a free day to enjoy life. This is the ability to focus on the current moment, putting aside regrets about the past and fears for the future, the ability to better understand our needs and desires. Meditation can help, but systematic work on your consciousness is much more important.

Types of mindfulness

Mindfulness affects different aspects of our lives, so experts suggest to divide it into several types.

Physical mindfulness

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Physical mindfulness allows you to better understand the needs of your body. It helps to determine what food is beneficial for your condition, and what should be abandoned, what clothes and what kind of fabric you are comfortable in, what exercises are useful and how much water should you drink a day, so on and so forth. This gives you the opportunity to experience and to fall in love with every part of your body. Physical mindfulness is useful to practice if you want to keep on a diet or just start caring about yourself.

It helps to answer the question: what does my body need?

How to develop: to count calories, exercise and listen to your feelings. Another great option is to do yoga.

Mental mindfulness

This type is directly connected with questions of self-realization, then what kind of person you think you are and what you want to achieve in life. Mental mindfulness helps to develop the ability to set clear goals and follow them. A common cause of dissatisfaction with life is the realization that we don’t live the way we want. It’s mental mindfulness that allows us to determine the vector of our development and the goals that we would like to ground.

It helps to answer the question: who am I and what is my purpose in life?

How to develop: to prescribe your goals taking into account only your own desires, not the others’ expectations. Make a list of short-term, medium-term and long-term goals.

Intellectual mindfulness

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It is connected with questions of self-development. Some people, especially after their graduation, start thinking, that they’ve stopped in their development, don’t learn anything new, don’t receive new information. Intellectual mindfulness allows you to focus on success, feel more confident in communicating with others. It helps to understand that you’re a versatile and culturally developed person with whom it is interesting to spend time.

It helps to answer the question: why am I an interesting person?

How to develop: find a hobby, spend time reading and going to cultural events.

Emotional mindfulness

Sometimes it seems that emotions can’t be controlled. We can be irritated by trifles, angry, even when there are no prerequisites for this negative emotion. How we react to a particular situation depends on our mood. Emotional mindfulness allows you to capture the emotion at the moment of its appearance, analyze and, therefore, control. The moment you feel irritated in response to a harmless remark, try to focus on that feeling and answer the question: does the situation really irritate me that much? Or is the negative emotion due to fatigue, hunger or stuffiness in the room? Once you are aware of the emotion, it will be easier to control it.

Helps answer the question: how can I control my emotions?

How to develop: monitor your thoughts and emotions, replace negative emotions with positive ones. For example, envy can be replaced by a sense of joy for the success of a person.

Mindfulness of sleep

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Sleep directly affects our physical and emotional state. Mindfulness of sleep is the ability to listen and understand your needs when it comes to healthy full sleep. You probably noticed that you get better sleep under certain conditions: a particular temperature, with a clear regime of going to bed and rising. All of us are individual, and standard expert advice doesn’t always work. So listen to your feelings before going to sleep and after waking up. What do you lack to feel sleepy?

Helps answer the question: how do I get better sleep?

How to develop: keep a sleep diary, always go to bed and get up at the same time.

Intuitive mindfulness

Some researchers distinguish such kind of awareness as intuitive. It allows you to develop the ability to listen to yourself when it comes to making decisions. The development of intuition makes a person more confident in his choice.

It helps to answer the question: is my decision correct?

How to develop: listen to your feelings at the time of making a decision, taking responsibility for yourself and your life.