What Is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the intentional, accepting and non-judgmental focus of one’s attention on the thoughts, emotions, and sensations at any one moment.
Today’s world is so full of distractions; news, sounds, tweets, beeps, posts, pictures … no wonder people find it difficult to concentrate or focus on one thing for more than a short while. This hectic pace of life creates stress and unbalance. Therefore practicing mindfulness has become a new trend: it is believed to promote wellbeing and relieve feelings of anxiousness.
Mindfulness can be practiced in everyday life, during the day with every action. You just need to keep your mind on one thing you are doing. No checking text messages, emails or Facebook posts while working on something. When eating your lunch, don’t do anything else, no reading, no TV. Just appreciate every bite and ingredient you are nourishing your body with.
When walking in the park, really see and notice the environment, the trees, the grass, the flowers, leaves, river, stones, clouds, anything your path crosses. Still your mind and only think of one thing at a time. This is being mindful in everyday life.
It can be difficult to keep the ever flowing thoughts away, still the mind.
How Essential Oils Can Help Keeping the Mind Still
This is the tricky part in practicing mindfulness. How to keep the mind still, focusing on one thing at a time?
Many essential oils are beneficial in bringing the mind to relax and be still. Vetiver, Cedarwood, Marjoram and Sacred Mountain, Young Living’s special blend, are very good, relaxing oils.
Vetiver can relax the hyperactive mind. It is nice inhaled directly, or in a diffuser, applied to chakras or neck.
Some prefer to use Cedarwood, it has a sweet, woody and balsamic scent. It is calming and helps to concentrate.
Marjoram is known as a ¨herb of happiness¨ to the ancient Romans and ¨joy of the mountains¨ to the Greeks. It is a balancing oil that has the ability to relax and calm the mind, as well as calm obsessive thinking.
Sacred Mountain is a blend that has following oils: Spruce, Idaho Balsam Fir, Cedarwood and Ylang Ylang. This beautiful scent with woody aromas is grounding and helps you feel protected in your environment. Makes a perfect space for mindfulness practice.
Mindfulness Meditation
If you want to take practice or mindfulness from everyday actions even further, you can try mindfulness meditation.
Mindfulness meditation can be really simple: take a comfortable seat trying to keep good posture, keep your hands on your knees, keep eyes relaxed or closed, take your attention to your breath, and when your attention wanders, return your attention. Keep following your breath, in and out. Try beginning with 5 minutes a day and build up the time up to 45 min or an hour. That is it, very simple, but effective and brings calming benefits to your life.
Frankincense Essential Oil is the nicest oil for deepening the meditation. It has the ability to relax and revitalize at the same time.
Frankincense is calming and centering the mind, making it the perfect companion oil for mindfulness meditation. Apply this oil to the third eye, the spot on the forehead between the eye brows, or inhale or diffuse.
Essential oils take the practice of mindfulness to the next level!
Tuula Olin is a Raindrop Technique practitioner and Young Living Essential Oils Independent Distributor (ID 1241038) from Australia. Her interests are natural toxic-free living, health & fitness, alkaline diet and raw food recipes and yoga.