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Read: Why Are Meditative Relaxation and Mindfulness Important?

Mindfulness is a practice that will help you develop greater awareness and contentment by being in the present moment. Too often, people are focused either on the past or on the future and do not have a full focus on the present.

Mindfulness is not meant to be relaxation although at times it can be very relaxing, especially while practicing. Mindfulness is developing full awareness of the present even when the present may not be pleasant. Much of the time what makes the unpleasant even worse are the future or past-oriented thoughts negatively evaluating it. When we allow the full experience of the moment, no matter what it is, we allow the natural coping and healing to occur.

The following is part of a series of short mindfulness practice exercises to help train your brain to be more mindful or present focus. They are meant to be used frequently throughout the day. It is difficult to put mindfulness into words because it gives the impression that you should be saying the descriptions of the events to yourself. Actually, however, mindfulness is just being aware of these things without having to describe them. The audios are to help you get started by creating awareness. Eventually, you want to be able to be mindful without an inner verbal description.

Practice these exercises many times throughout the day with your different activities. If your mind wanders, gently bring your focus back to your immediate experience.

Be sure to listen to or read Understanding Mindfulness: Step 3--Mindfulness and Unpleasant Emotions prior to practicing this audio exercise. This exercise is to help you develop tolerance of emotions. The audio provides guidance for being mindfully present with excitement. However, the actual practice of mindfulness is to allow yourself to be fully aware of your experience when feeling excited. Although trying to create the emotion of excitement would not be mindful, it may be possible to create the conditions that might cause you to feel excited.

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Allow yourself to fully experience feeling excited. However, instead of reliving the experience of the event that caused the excitement, refocus your mind back to the feeling of excitement itself. Notice how you experience it. What exactly do you feel and where do you feel it? What types of sensations do you experience when feeling excitement? Do you feel a heightened sense of energy through your body? Do you feel the sensation of “butterflies in your stomach”? Do you feel tension in your muscles? Do you feel a pressure in your head? Whatever it is you are feeling, just let yourself fully experience those sensations. When thoughts about the event come into your head focus yourself back to the actual feeling of excitement and let yourself just “be” with those sensations. Let those sensations flow over you, notice them but don't try to evaluate them.

When I ask clients what they do for daily relaxation I usually get responses such as:

"I relax by watching TV every night."

"I have a glass of wine."

"I read a book."

"I go out with friends."

"I go to the gym and work out."

"I find gardening relaxing."

"I like to fish."

Although each of these activities may be perceived as relaxing and may even have an element of mindfulness, they don't provide the brain and body with the deep meditative relaxation we require. In fact, most of these activities are stimulating to the brain or the body rather than quieting.

What is Deep Meditative Relaxation?

When I refer to deep meditative relaxation, I mean the type that allows our brain to enter an "alpha" state for a period of time. An "alpha" state refers to our brain waves as measured by an EEG. When (non-invasive) electrodes are attached to our heads to measure our brain waves, we find several different types occur depending upon our degree of wakefulness.

The normal state of wakefulness in which we are fully aware and active is shown as "beta" waves. Beta waves on the EEG are very active, not very uniform, and not deep are slow. This makes sense as it is showing that the brain is active which includes thinking as well as physical activity which the brain must direct. So, most of the statements above can be described by a "beta wave state."

When we fall asleep our brain slows down, and the brain waves become deeper, slower, and more rhythmic as we progress through the deeper stages of sleep including theta and delta brain waves. However, when we cycle back into dream sleep or "REM" sleep then our brain approaches the wakeful state of the beta waves because our brain is active during dream sleep.

For most people who don't practice deep meditative relaxation, these are the primary brain waves that they experience. However, with deep relaxation, meditation, hypnosis, and mindfulness people experience the alpha brain wave state as well as the theta brain wave state (Chiesa, 2009; Lagopoulos et al, 2009) which have been shown to have significant health benefits. READ MORE