Mindfulness

I am anxiously awaiting the completion of my Vampiress of Seduction. I am hoping it is just a few more days that this beauty will not have to be hidden from public eye. :-) In the meantime I want to share with you thoughts about mindfulness simply because its just been on my mind lately.

There is so much to this simple world "mindfulness". Mindfulness is a mental state, characterized by calm awareness of one's body functions, feelings, content of consciousness, or consciousness itself. Being present in the moment. Whatever that moment is, good, bad, sad, fun, or otherwise. Your attention and mindfulness is important in that moment. Not thinking about yesterday, and not thinking about tomorrow. It is very easy to drift out of mindfulness in today's busy world.

Mindfulness is something I learned when I went to school for Massage Therapy. Why is mindfulness important in massage therapy training? As a therapist you need to be mindful of everything you do in session. Example would be if you were to reach for a bottle of lotion, and if your not mindful, you may unconsciously lean on your client with a force of hand as you reach for the bottle. You can see how this would leave the client uncomfortable. This was not something you did intentionally nor to cause harm, you simply were unaware of your full state of being in that moment reaching for the bottle of lotion. You were only aware of the one arm reaching for lotion, but you have forgotten about your other arm that is part of your body and what that arm is doing during this moment.

A mindful session can feel almost magical to the client. They completely feel your presence and awareness at every moment. If you are not mindful, they will know this. They will know when your mind wanders, your movements are thoughtless, or your simply just 'not present'. If you are thinking about dinner, or something on your schedule for tomorrow, this is easily picked up by a client during a massage session. They can pick this up because, whether you realize it or not, your movements and actions will indicate to them your state of mind -- which is simply 'not present'.

It is my thoughts that mindfulness training on some level or another should be brought into all forms of schooling or training perhaps even at a young age and then again in adulthood. Being mindful is important in any job or profession, not just massage therapy.

The mindfulness training I received in Massage School was outstanding and after completing my training and becoming a practicing massage therapist I found that acquiring this ability to be mindful not only helped me deliver the most outstanding massage therapy sessions, but it had greatly improved my life. This was something I could use not only in my job, but in my daily life as well.

To become mindful you must come into full state body awareness and conscious mind. Throughout the day your thoughts are connected to the body in the present moment. You are not thinking about the past nor the future. Your full attention is in the here and now.

When I wake up each morning I make a point to tell myself "today must be a very mindful day". I tell myself to be conscious and aware of my state of mind and body at all times no matter what I am doing. My mind is fully connected to everything my body is doing.

We all get busy, we run around doing many things at once sometimes, but are you always in a full state of body and mind consciousness and awareness? When I am mindful, life seems more vibrant, people seem nicer, I notice more smiles. It is like sunshine and rainbows all day long. And at the end of the day I truly realize what my day was about and what I did.

Make mindfulness part of your day everyday. Notice how much happier you are when you are mindful. Notice how much more of life you are living when you are mindful - and how much of your day you will remember when you climb into bed at the end of the evening.

Be mindful of your body movements, your emotions, and your behavior. Try to live your day mindfully and not on auto pilot. Its great stuff!