Practising Mindfulness To Strengthen Mental Health
Mindfulness is the psychological process of focusing on the present environment and centring yourself so that you feel relaxed and centred. Mindfulness can be achieved through meditation and other methods, such as float therapy. With mindfulness, you become fully aware of the present moment and experience it wholly, without distractions. Being mindful enables you to reflect on your thoughts more clearly, thus improving your mental and emotional health.
Mindfulness is best achieved when you can focus on the following:
- Concentration, which is when you focus introspectively on your needs
- Sensory clarity, which is when you tune into your bodily rhythms and sounds. Your pulse, breathing become a focus, so you can focus on yourself and nothing else
- Equanimity, which is when you untangle and distance yourself the day to day ‘background chatter’ of sensory experiences in order to be more focused on yourself
How is mindfulness achieved? Like any other discipline, it takes skill and above all else practice. The more you try and achieve this, the better you will become at it. Naturally taking advantages of strategies like float therapy can make the whole process even easier to master.
When having a float session try to do the following too.
Noting your sensory experiences.
Track your sensory events without labelling them. That is, follow your breath and your heartbeat, without letting thoughts overpower you. Note when a thought arises, but don’t focus too much on it. Let it wisp over your mind like an early morning fog.
Do nothing.
Don’t control your attention. Don’t intend to do anything. It might sound easy, but intentionally not doing anything is actually not as simple as it sounds. We are hard-wired to seek order in our thoughts, after all, and reining them in is an exercise of control—the very thing you want to avoid.
Maintain positivity.
Think of positive thoughts and let yourself feel positive emotions, such as joy, gratitude or contentment. Nurture these emotions by recalling positive images. You may think of a cute dog playing with a ball, or maybe your friends, family or children. Let the feeling wash over you and settle deep.
Mindfulness strengthens your mental and emotional fortitude and helps regulate your mind process by bringing calmness and relaxation. To start your mindfulness training, you need to unplug from your extremely stimulating environment and reconnect with your inner self. Floatation therapy is a relatively new but effective way to do so, cutting you off from outside stimuli and allowing you to focus inwards.
Urban Float floatation tanks in Melbourne are specifically designed to help you relax and unwind. Call 03 9870 4777 to book a session with us or visit our float centre today!