Over the last few months, I’ve somehow managed to get back into a very consistent, daily mindfulness practice. Every morning, usually after breakfast, I practice sitting mindfulness for 25 minutes, followed by about 5 minutes of walking mindfulness. This way of doing things is pretty consistent with what you’d experience if you were to go on a mindfulness retreat. Typically, you sit for 25-minute (or more) blocks, followed by 5 minutes of walking, and so forth. Previously, I had been practicing daily, but the times varied from 5-15 minutes. While I normally tell people that frequency is more important than duration, and I still believe that, I am starting to notice that more sometimes is actually more! Since I’ve been practicing for 30 minutes daily, I’ve noticed an increase in my ability to manage stress, accept difficult and frustrating circumstances, deal with conflict, and enjoy the small things in daily life (the leaves turning, the occasionally sunny day, my coffee in the morning and so on). I’ve also noticed that my “emotional baseline” seems to feel more peaceful and calm. I also feel more patient with others and less of a sense of urgency to get things done. I probably can’t attribute all of these changes to mindfulness practice alone, but everything else in my life has held pretty steady, and I doubt my work or home life has suddenly become less stressful. I’m not sure what it is exactly about sitting for 25 minutes and walking for 5 minutes that might be making a difference, but there’s a lot of research on the various effects of mindfulness practice on mood, changes in the brain, feelings of well-being, depression, anxiety, and so on. In my own experience, while I sit and focus largely on the experience of breathing and sitting, I often notice waves of thoughts, emotions, and sensations. I sometimes get wrapped up in these experiences, only to notice that maybe 5 minutes have gone by. At other times, I quickly notice my mind edging off in a different directly and gently guide it back to the experience of sitting and breathing. Most of the time, I notice that waves of thoughts, memories, worries, emotions, and sensations rise and fall several times throughout the 25-minute period. I think that this might be the most valuable lesson – one that I keep learning over and over again – namely, that the activity of our minds comes and goes, and it’s possible to sit steadily and pay attention to the here and now despite all of that activity. Just because a worry, concern, or pang of intense emotion arises doesn’t mean I have to do anything about it. We all have freedom to experience what our minds have to offer without having to change or do anything. If you think that you might also benefit from learning this important lesson, you might consider starting small with sitting meditation. Just sit and breathe, and notice what it’s like to sit and breathe. Don’t try to glue your attention to your breath. If your mind wanders, let it wander a bit, and then gently guide it back. If you feel “mind waves” (Suzuki, 1976), watch them come and go. Don’t do this with the express goal of feeling better, having more peace in life, and so forth. Just do it, and see what happens. You might notice some interesting side effects! ~Alexander L. Chapman, Ph.D., R.Psych.