The Impact of Mindfulness on Your Overall Wellbeing

In this article, I will explore how mindfulness can profoundly enhance three critical aspects of our lives: our mental clarity, physical health, and creative processes. Each of these components is pivotal to not just surviving but thriving in our hectic world, forming the cornerstone of true wellbeing and personal development.

In order to understand the impact of mindfulness on overall wellbeing it is important that we are working out of the same definition of mindfulness. In the DeRose Method we define mindfulness as a state of consciousness which is akin to being present in the present. It is to be fully engaged with, and aware of, the moment you exist. This is achieved through a technique of mental concentration. Therefore, mindfulness is, in its essence, our ability to concentrate our mind and to remain focused on the moment at hand. In the ancient philosophies that are part of the DeRose Method, this skill is referred to as dháraná. I will use the words dháraná and mindfulness as adjectives even though they are not exactly the same, you can find out more about this from our Ultimate Guide to Mindfulness for Beginners.

Enhancing Mental Clarity and Focus Through Mindfulness

When we are thinking about one’s wellbeing it is fundamental to consider your mental health. In this context, mental health encompasses a broad range, from developing the skills of concentration to being able to distinguish between the stress and other mental sappers so that we can target not the symptoms, but specifically the root causes.

The benefits of improving your mental health are innumerable but at the very apex are: 

• the ability to increase your self confidence, 
• to increase your performance (at work, in your sports, in life!), and 
• to experience a lightness and satisfaction that are akin to an overflowing happiness, which you experience and irradiate around you. 

As you experience good mental health, your mental resources become free for us to be able to utilise for your benefit.  

At the core of personal development is the ability to harness and direct your mental resources effectively. Mindfulness sharpens this ability, thereby enhancing mental clarity and focus. This improvement in mental function is essential for achieving and maintaining high levels of wellbeing.

So what do you need to do to experience this?

First you need to learn to enter a state of mental concentration at will and to remain focused. The techniques for this are relatively simple and we are going to run through them at the end of this article. 

Strengthening Physical Health with Mindful Awareness

Physical health is a fundamental aspect of overall wellbeing, and mindfulness offers powerful tools to enhance it. By cultivating mindful awareness, we can tune into our bodies and recognise the earliest signs of stress, discomfort, or illnesses, which often go unnoticed until they become more severe. This section explores how mindfulness not only helps in alleviating physical symptoms but also promotes a profound sense of bodily wellbeing that supports longer, healthier lives.

When you are in the state of consciousness of mindfulness you are truly present in the moment. There are several scientific studies that mention the power of applying your mental resources (through the process of mindfulness and mentalisation) to exercising and how it results in a 10% to 30% increase in results.

Now as we connect these two pieces of information we can start to understand the pattern: mindfulness can really have an impact on your overall wellbeing and specifically on your physical wellness. Some of the benefits can be: 

• Increased muscle mass
• Increased endurance and performance 
• Quicker learning process and quicker assimilation of new physical skills
• Better awareness of your physical organism allowing you to notice earlier, more subtle signs which can help to prevent injury, discomfort or potential illnesses
• A sense of relief as items which were previously occupying your mind have now vanished. 

However, in order to experience one or more of these effects you will need to train mindfulness, carry out exercises and maintain consistency and discipline in this process so that you can access this mental state at will. Without the training, the benefits of mindfulness will remain locked. Without you developing yourself to become also aware as to when using this technique can benefit you most or even notice when you get distracted, you are unlikely to experience the above results. 

In order to learn how you can get started in this process, jump to the end of this article where I am going to run you through an initial exercise. 

Unlocking Creative Potentials via Mindfulness Practices

Creativity is not only essential for artists, writers, and musicians; it's a crucial skill in many aspects of life, including problem-solving and innovation in business settings, or even just to cook a meal at home. Mindfulness enriches the creative process by quieting the mind and allowing new ideas to emerge. This section will detail how mindfulness clears mental clutter, which often obstructs our creative impulses, and discuss the transformational impact this can have on personal and professional wellbeing

In order for us to get started in understanding the dynamic between mindfulness and creativity it is important to know that the key blocker of any creative process is noise. When your mind is busy, when it is noisy and polluted no creativity can arise and the process is blocked. On the other hand, if we can quieten the mind, if we can offer it silence, your mind will begin to release the tensions and unleash the creative process.

This is the process of mindfulness. When you experience dháraná, when you concentrate your mind, distractions and dispersions of thought vanish, allowing your mind to experience a different state, a state of quiet, a state of clarity. The process of focusing your mind and achieving mental concentration allows the room in your mind so that your creativity can have space to exist and thrive. 

A practical exercise on how mindfulness can impact your overall wellbeing

Below I am going to describe two exercises that you can do, using only your breathing, so that you can set your mind onto the path of focus and concentration and experience the state of dháraná. 

EXERCISE NUMBER 1

Conscious Breathing

In this exercise you do not require anything special. Whether you are seated, standing, or lying down, begin by just paying attention to the fact that you are alive and breathing. Take a moment, a few minutes to just breathe, inhaling and exhaling fully and slowly, and become completely aware of the act of breathing. Stay focused on the task, avoid getting distracted, avoid thinking about something else. After a few minutes conclude the exercise and observe how you feel. 

EXERCISE NUMBER 2

Abdominal Breathing

Ideally you should lay down. Begin by taking a few deep, pleasurable, and silent breaths, always using your nostrils to inhale and exhale. Notice that as you inhale, your abdomen expands, and as you exhale, it contracts. Aim to make this diaphragmatic movement more conscious. Once you are fully aware of it and feel you have mastered it, you can perform the exercise while sitting.

Take your time to execute several breathing cycles: when you inhale, project your abdomen outwards and when you exhale contract your abdomen inwards. Perform several of these breathing cycles, focusing intently on the exercise.