How to do mindfulness and meditation

In fact, for ordinary people, the core practice of mindfulness and meditation is very simple, which is to consciously anchor your attention in the real experience of the moment, not to follow or criticize any judgments or distracting thoughts that pop up in your mind, and to gently bring your attention back when you find your mind is wandering. When it comes to daily meditation practice, most of us refer to non-religious mindfulness meditation. It was born out of the mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy (MBSR) proposed by Dr. Kabat-Zinn. It is essentially a psychological training to exercise awareness and concentration, and there is no mysterious threshold.

When I first came into contact with it a few years ago, I always thought that I had to prepare a futon, aromatherapy, wear loose clothes and find a quiet room before starting. The first time I practiced with a doctor from the clinical psychology department of the hospital, I sat on a hard plastic chair in the outpatient clinic, with my feet flat on the ground, and my back was naturally straight without straining. , just count your breaths, count 1 when exhaling, count 2 when inhaling, count to 10 and then start from the beginning. Before I sat down for 3 minutes, I thought about what I was going to eat at night. When I realized it, I panicked. The doctor smiled and said it didn't matter. This process of bringing attention back is the core of the practice.

Speaking of attention, it is really like a little cat at home. If you want it to lie down on the small mat of "now", it can't help but run after the little fur ball of distracting thoughts. If you don't go up, pat it and scold yourself for being useless. Just gently hold it back. The more times you practice it, the longer it will naturally be able to stay.

Nowadays, there are many opinions on how to practice. I have a friend who has been practicing traditional meditation for more than ten years. He insists on sitting at six o'clock in the morning every day and sitting in the lotus position for 45 minutes. He said that only with enough time and a stable sense of ritual can one enter a deeper state of awareness and break out of the inherent inertia of thinking.； Some friends who are doing cognitive neuroscience research have also sent me related literature, saying that even a fragmented three-minute mindfulness, such as focusing on feeling the temperature of a paper cup against your palms and the aroma of coffee wafting into your nose when queuing up to buy coffee, can significantly reduce your daily anxiety level as long as you persist. Both statements have their own basis, and there is no absolute right or wrong. It all depends on your own needs and the time at your disposal.

I used to have a friend who was an Internet operator who suffered from chronic insomnia. He would lie in bed and turn over and over again, and his mind would be full of unfinished plans and unanswered messages. Later, he would try to do a body scan every day while lying down. He didn’t need to force himself to relax. He would start from the toes and slowly move up to feel the status of each part. The toes are Is it cold or hot? Are there any soreness in the calves? Are the shoulders tense unconsciously? Just "know" and don't need to adjust deliberately. He said that he would lose focus when he scanned his knees at first. After half a month, he often fell asleep before his shoulders were scanned. The time to fall asleep was reduced from more than forty minutes to ten minutes.

Oh, yes, I also want to mention that many people now boast that mindfulness meditation is magical, saying that it can cure depression and insomnia. This is actually not accurate. The current consensus in the academic community is that mindfulness meditation can be used as an auxiliary intervention method for mild to moderate anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders. If you have a diagnosed mental illness, you must still follow the doctor's advice for treatment, and you cannot stop taking medication without permission just by practicing this.

Actually speaking, there are no strict "standard movements" for this thing. You can sit or stand, practice it while commuting or during your lunch break. Even if you just take two or three minutes a day, you can get away from the messy thoughts and feel the current wind and the current breathing for a while. It is already very useful.