mindfulness asia

In a café, a woman is busy scrolling through her phone that she did not hear her boyfriend praise her looks. In another setting, a father playing basketball with his young son missed seeing his first-ever three-point shot because he got distracted for a few seconds. We see versions of these moments all the time, sometimes they even happen to us. These are moments that pass us by because we are preoccupied and inattentive to the present moment. And most of the time, when we mi

Let’s pretend for a moment that you are part of a team working on a project that is taking a long time to finish. Everyone is stressed out and tired. All of a sudden, someone insinuates that you are to blame for the delay. This, naturally, irks you and you start feeling defensive, angry and even more stressed out. Are you going to express your anger and confront the person blaming you, or can you hold back and stay silent until such time that you are cool-headed enough to tal

If you’re living with physical pain, especially chronic pain, you know that it greatly affects your quality of life, your work, mental health, and even your relationships. It’s a relief to know that the practice of mindfulness has been proven—through extensive research—to help people manage their physical pain. Mindfulness, awareness of the present moment, and paying attention without judgment are tools that can help a person focus his or her mind and body. It may not directl

Awareness of the body is an important part of the practice of mindfulness. What we refer to as body awareness is really the awareness of our posture, the sensations that occur in the body, and the movement of our body. This, of course, includes our mind’s response to these movements and sensations Being aware of our bodies should be a natural process, but there are people who are somehow disconnected from their bodies. For some reason, their consciousness is limited and so th

Before you spiral into the trap of stress, worry, and anxiety, remember to S.T.O.P. We often meet various kinds of pressure and stress throughout the day, and we all know that if we are not able to control our responses, then it affects our moods, our actions and words, our relationships, and our health. So it is very important that we are armed with tools that enable us to positively deal with such situations. Jon Kabat-Zinn, a prominent researcher in the area of mindfulness

It seems so easy to maintain a regular mindfulness meditation practice, but in reality, that may not be true for many practitioners. The mind comes up with obstacles, making it difficult to establish mindfulness meditation as a habit. In the beginning, most people go through various challenges - but don’t give up. Focus on the present and face the obstacles to become familiar with them and understand them fully. Allow these hindrances to teach you what you must learn. 1. Rest

Today it is very common to see people talking loudly, watching TV, or using their gadgets while they eat. They mindlessly put the food into their mouths, chew for a bit, then swallow. It happens in public places like cafés and restaurants, and it happens even in the home. Unfortunately, this common practice takes so much away from the experience of eating, which can be more special and even meditative if we’d just be more mindful about the whole process. Every meal is an oppo

Greetings of peace and joy for this new year 2022! You might be excited to make some changes this year and, perhaps, begin a daily practice of meditation, yoga, journaling, or any other creative or spiritual practice that’s meant to inspire and enrich your life. Yet sometimes, life gets so busy that we fail to be consistent in our practice. This is perfectly alright. While discipline is definitely required, self-care and genuine enjoyment are also necessary for success. To he

Our society has conditioned most of us to glorify busyness, equating it with success and fulfillment. This is one of the reasons why many of us feel guilty when we actually spend time for ourselves. Aside from this, it has become more and more difficult to find time for rest because we are constantly trying to meet other people’s expectations, fulfill obligations, and make enough money for our needs. Thankfully, our body knows when it needs to rest. Therefore, it is important

For many people, the practice of mindfulness is not easy. Some struggle through the moments when one is supposed to focus on the breath. Many of us find ourselves getting distracted, our mind is pulled this way and that. But don’t give up. There are many things you can do to strengthen your mindfulness practice, and here we share some of them. Do the guided meditations. The guided meditations can help us focus. By listening to the recording, we avoid putting our attention som

These times require us to maintain a joyful, mindful practice of spirit to help ground us whenever we feel off-center. But apart from the practice itself, the extra inspiration and support of a loving and virtuous community will certainly go a long way in helping us move forward on the path. The community is where we can apply, where we can live, our spiritual philosophies, concepts, and ideas. It’s where we can practice and check if we’re able to effectively apply what we ar

Suffering does not mean that we are bad or that we are necessarily broken. Everybody goes through pain, anxiety, and despair at some point in life. The Buddha talked about the unavoidable quality of suffering in this physical world. It is a normal part of life. And suffering does not mean that we are bad or that we are necessarily broken. We are being advised to stay with our pain, whether it is big or small, instead of trying to escape them. In this way, we are able to relea

Many of us have a money problem—not knowing how to use it responsibly, not having enough, being pushed around by it, and so on. Because money is such a big part of our lives, we need to have a mindful relationship with it so it can support us as we try to reach our life goals. Some of our beliefs about money stem from experiences we had early in our lives. It would help if we could think back to a particular time when we were about 10 to 14 years old and see if there was an i

Stress and burnout due to the pandemic is a real issue these days. Many mothers, parents, employees, students—almost all of us—are going through a rough time. But how can you tell if you’re already burning out? Here are some tell-tale signs, according to experts: * emotional exhaustion * lack of energy and excessive tiredness * detachment from work and despondency * feeling of frustration * insomnia * crippling self-doubt Stress sometimes leads to burnout if it’s left uncheck

This is a difficult time, there’s no doubt about that. In the workplace, everyone from the boss to the rank and file employee is often stressed out. We’re all dealing with various challenges that it sometimes becomes difficult to cope with stress and we either abuse ourselves by giving in to unhealthy habits or lash out in anger at others. These kinds of responses to stress and anxiety almost always lead to further complications and even higher stress levels. It is important

Cultivating mindful relationships with your partner, relatives, friends, and associates is an art that can be learned. As we celebrate love during this beautiful love month, I would like to share something that can help all of us form healthy relationships. Cultivating mindful relationships with your partner, relatives, friends, and associates is an art that can be learned. But before going into the how, let us try to understand what a mindful relationship truly means. To be

Empathy is the ability to perceive and relate to the thoughts, emotions, or experiences of other people. Empathetic people are able to understand a situation from another person’s perspective. They are able to react with compassion and authenticity. In the workplace or in business, empathy allows for the creation of true connections with others. This results in better relationships and good performance. When empathy is developed, stress is reduced, productivity increases, rev