Northwest Health | SUMMER 2009 By Claudine Benmar

Just stop, take a deep breath, and experience the moment. How many other thoughts will float through your mind while you're reading this article? An overdue bill? That meeting with your boss tomorrow? Your dinner plans this weekend?

BACK TO: Northwest Health index

Life is full of distractions and worries that keep us from living in the moment, but there's a technique that can help us "wake up," says Carol Jakus, MA, MSW, a psychotherapist with Behavioral Health Services at Group Health Bellevue Medical Center. "Mindfulness is simply defined as awareness. You observe and notice what's around you."

The Origin of Mindfulness

The practice is rooted in Buddhism and was popularized in the United States in 1979 by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD. He developed an eight-week program called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), which was featured in the PBS documentary Healing and the Mind. Meditation, yoga, and prayer are formal ways to practice mindfulness, but everyday awareness can be as simple as taking a deep breath.

Jakus teaches MBSR and finds it helpful for everything from common stress to anxiety and depression. Clinical research of the program has shown significant benefits for many conditions, including psoriasis, panic disorder, and chronic pain.

"Without awareness, we get stuck on automatic," says Jakus. "When we practice mindfulness, we can break away from our knee-jerk responses and try something new."

Put Your Five Senses to Work

Let's say you're out for a run or a walk. Instead of mentally sorting out the day's problems, tune in to the way your muscles feel, the smells in the air, and the sights in your path. If you're doing the dishes, focus on the warmth of the bubbly water and the scent of the soap.

Jakus had one client who was worried about compulsive eating. Incorporating awareness into her therapy, Jakus advised her to start with just one "mindful meal," where she made a concerted effort to taste, smell, see, and generally be aware of herself and her food.

The woman chose an oatmeal cookie and a cup of tea for her first attempt. She got out her favorite plate for the cookie. She smelled the tea brewing. Then the phone rang. When she hung up, the cookie was gone. She didn't even know she'd eaten it.

"It was like somebody shook her and said, 'Look at what you do!'" says Jakus. "Now she's more aware of what and when she eats, even to the point of leaving herself little sticky-note reminders to smell and taste her food."

Mindfulness for Beginners

"The best way to start practicing mindfulness is with breathing," says Jakus. Take a pause, a tiny pause. Breathe. Look around and ask, "What am I feeling right now? What am I needing?"

Take another breath. Feel the way the breath moves through your body. Scan your body. Are you tensing your shoulders? Are you clenching the steering wheel? Then relax.

Two books on mindfulness, "Full Catastrophic Living" and "The Mindful Way Through Depression," are available at The Take Care Store.