When was the last time you did nothing?

I mean, ABSOLUTELY nothing…. not reading a book, not watching TV, not drinking a coffee…. not even just sitting and thinking about the future.

I’m guessing it doesn’t happen very often for most people, yet our minds need these most of nothingness; of complete stillness. The mind is one of our most valuable resources. We rely on it for so many things including the ability to be happy which is undeniably the thing we are all striving for. Essentially our mind; our thoughts and perspective, shape our whole reality.

Now imagine if we never allowed our body to rest and still expected it to perform at its best. The mind needs to rest and reset in order to remain healthy, just as the body does.

Meditation is a scientifically proven technique which allows the mind to be healthier.

Meditation is not about stopping your thoughts but rather sitting back, not actively thinking about anything, but observing and accepting your thoughts, and then in time, learning to understand them better. By observing our thought patterns we can start to let go of the unhealthy ones that are no longer serving us and change the stories that we tell ourselves.

When we are overwhelmed with thoughts of the past or future, we feel out of control which leads to anxiety and stress. This is because we cannot predict or change moments in the future or past. We can only really influence the moment that we are in. The now. That's why being more aware and present can combat stress and anxiety and many other undesirable conditions that are created by an unruly mind.

Instead of obsessing over thoughts that you cannot control, meditation allows you to let them come and go, and creates a greater appreciation for the present moment.

Let’s talk about the present moment! It sounds so very normal but let’s face it, the present moment is very underrated and underappreciated.

In fact, a paper from Harvard discovered that on average we spend 47% of our time lost in thought. That’s nearly half of our lives not living in the now! By not being present we miss out on so many incredible moments and things that are really important to us. When we are not present around others and we are distracted this affects our ability to build relationships and perform everything to the best of our ability.

You know that feeling when someone really isn’t listening to you? That person is not present. They are not giving you, or the present moment, their full attention. Now imagine how you feel when someone really listens to you, when they are fully present with you and their actions portray to you that you, and what you are saying really matter; is important to them.

Imagine how much better your relationships with people could be if you were always fully present with them. And then imagine this same focus in everything that you do - this can do incredible things for your productivity, creativity and ability to perform.

Meditation and being more present is a skill. Despite the fact that sitting and doing nothing seems so simple, it is something that must be learned. It takes practice and consistency to become good at it, like any other skill, and is much easier with support and a good teacher.

Here at Mindful Fitness London, our vision is to teach as many people as possible the power of meditation and being more present. This is why we offer health and fitness sessions combined with mindfulness and meditation training. By adding habits onto other habits, for example, adding meditation and greater body awareness to your exercise routine you can make developing new habits easier and consistency more achievable.

If you would like to organise a free consultation to see how we can help you, get in touch now!

Have a wonderful day you beautiful souls!