The Practice
You become more mindful much like anything you want to get better at — you practice.
Science shows us that if we devote even just a few minutes a day to the practice of mindfulness, we strengthen our mental capacities, becoming better focused, less stressed, and more resilient. Mindfulness begins with the repeated practice of focusing your attention on an anchor (your breath, sounds around you, sensations in your body); it's brain calisthenics.
Your mind will wander, and it will continue to make thoughts. Normal! You’re not trying to stifle your mind, but rather notice when your attention wanders and what stories your thoughts make up. Then you bring your attention back to the present moment with your anchor. Each time you do that, you become more mentally “fit,” stronger and more balanced. You’ve completed a station in your mental circuit training. And like physical exercise, the more you do, the more you benefit.
The Daily Dose
Dr. Amish Jha out of the University of Miami has worked with military and high-performance athletes. Her research established the minimum amount of time necessary to build a better brain. It’s like the 7-minute workout, but for your brain. Dr. Jha found the sweet spot at about 10 minutes, or between 8 and 12 minutes of mindfulness practice per day. That’s the minimum daily dosage for the maximum benefit.
You can take your daily dose all at once with a concentrated practice or in small, purposeful portions, which is what Dr. Jha teaches. Other experts are researching the effects of what we refer to as micro-practices. To build the strongest mental muscles, we recommend a combination, with a longer daily focused practice as many days as you can plus as many micro-moments of mindfulness as you remember to incorporate into your day. Try to get 10 to 12 of about a minute each time, or five practices of two minutes each.
A tip to get started: How long do you think you could sit and focus on your breath or another anchor? Reduce that time by 1 minute to set your practice duration target for the first week, increasing by a minute each week until you reach 12 minutes or whatever length you want for your practice.
Remember: Noticing that your mind is wandering doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong — it means you’re doing it right! Chalk it up as one bicep curl for your brain, then gently escort your attention back to the breath or other chosen anchor. There’s no limit on the number of times you can get lost, notice, and refocus.
Micro-practices to try: Micro-practices range from three deep breaths like the Moment to Arrive practice on the Home page to an intentional pause before you enter a room, speak, or switch to a new task. Evidence shows that continued integration of these simple practices into your day can lead to improved emotional resilience, less mental fatigue, and a reduction in aches, pains, and physical illness related to ongoing stress. You can find some of our favorite micro-practices here.
Practice
You can use different anchors when you practice paying attention. This 4-minute exercise uses sound as the focus.
FOR REFLECTION: What did you notice? What, if anything, felt different before and after this practice?