Mindfulness: Yoga Gold From Jeanna Lax

photo by Jeanna 

by Jeanna Lax

An essential tool for cultivating presence, and ultimately, finding your inner bliss is Mindfulness

“Be. Here. Now.”

Mindfulness is essentially filling your mind with feeling and sensation of the experience you are having, rather than words, judgments, or stories.  

You can practice mindfulness with any activity at any moment in your day. Pause, breathe in and engage all your senses in the activity you are doing. Absorb the whole experience by becoming aware of every aspect of it through sight, smell, sound, and feeling.

Avoid judging, “this is good” or “this is bad,” and simply notice the sensations and feelings of the experience as a neutral witness. Let the feelings rise up in your consciousness, feel them, and then allow them to float away. 

You can eat mindfully, sit mindfully, dance mindfully, and watch a sunset mindfully.   You can also cry, be silent and still, or drink tea mindfully.  Remember, mindfulness is “filling your mind with everything in the present moment”. That includes pleasurable experiences as well as less pleasurable ones.  

Have fun, and notice your emotions with curiosity.  If you notice that your mind wanders away from the present moment, just repeat this affirmation: "Be here now" to bring your mind back to the present moment.