What is Vipassana meditation and Mindfulness
Vipassana is also known as Insight Meditation.
It is the basic of all Mindfulness and Awareness training.
Meditation is not only to get relaxed. When people are feeling stressed, you hear often: “I need to meditate to get relaxed again”.
Yes, you will get relaxed through meditation, but it is more a result of your practice.
Sometimes sitting still and meditate can be very hard: your mind is busy, your body is hurting.
Taking a walk, having a shower, can have a very calming effect as well, when sitting still is to much for you.
Vipassana meditation is more the training of awareness and insight.
Mindfulness has many techniques, along meditation, to practice awareness.
With exercises you can practice this in all kinds of daily activities.
What is Vipassana meditation?
Vipassana (in Pali) or vipaśyanā (in Sanskriet) is one of India’s most ancient techniques of meditation. It is the practice to see things as they really are. It involves concentration on the body or its sensations, and the insight which this provides.
During your meditation you are continuously practicing to observe, be aware what’s arising in the present movement. To accept what is. No Judgments. And to let go.
Within Vipassana meditation we use the movement of our belly is our anchor. Every time you notice your mind wandered around, you go back to this moment. To be aware of the rising and falling of the belly.
During meditation it happens often you get distracted by a sound around you, an emotion, a sensation in your body. That is very normal. At the moment you are aware of this, you just make a mental note of it, and you bring your attention back to your belly movement. You keep doing this over and over again. It helps you focus and to come back to the present moment. In this way we create calmness in our minds. And will be helpful in your daily life.
What is Mindfulness?
Simply said, Mindfulness involves a conscious direction of our awareness.
Mindfulness is paying attention in a particular way, on purpose. In the present moment and nonjudgmental. Mindfulness involves a conscious direction of our awareness.
Our mind wanders through all kinds of thoughts. From planning something, to being angry about somebody from the other day. As we indulge in these kinds of thoughts we reinforce those emotions in our hearts and cause ourselves to suffer. Mostly these thoughts are about the past or future. The past no longer exists. The future is just a fantasy until it happens. The one moment we actually can experience — the present moment — is the one we seem most to avoid, to fight, not accept or want to hold on to and don’t want to let it go.
So in mindfulness we’re concerned with noticing what’s going on right now. That doesn’t mean we can no longer think about the past or future, but when we do so we do so mindfully, so that we’re aware that right now we’re thinking about the past or future.
Through exercises and assignments you practice being mindful. One of those is the vipassana meditation.
11 scientifically proven benefits of Mindfulness
In the last few decades many scientific researches have been made and many have proven the benefits you get from Mindfulness & Awareness training.
As mentioned above, Mindfulness is not only for reducing stress but has also can improve your overall quality of life, by doing specific exercises.
1. Mindfulness reduces stress
2. Mindfulness increases your focus and concentration bow
3. Mindfulness increases your empathy and compassion
4. Mindfulness helps you to be guided less by your emotions
5. Mindfulness helps with anxiety
6. Mindfulness increases your creativity
7. Mindfulness improves your relationships
8. Mindfulness relieves aches
9. Mindfulness improves your decisions
10. Mindfulness improves your mood
11. Mindfulness gives you more mental resilience
Once we are more aware of our thoughts, the sensations and tensions in our body, how we act, feel and speak, we can make changes.
We can let go by being aware, to acknowledge what is. And to eccept this.
By doing all this, a more peaceful mind will be the result.
Training and workshops
I provide individual and group workshops and training. This can vary from one hour sessions to a workshop of several meetings.
Emphasis on specific topics can be implemented, like stress reducing or communication.
What is the origin of Mindfulness?
In this blog you read more information about the origin of Mindfulness