Hesitant about starting mindfulness? Science says YES it’s worth it!

Not only does incorporating mindfulness meditation boost your mood and ability to manage stress and anxiety, but several studies show it can have positive outcomes on the way your brain and immune functions operate.¹

Why? How? This is because when your body is under stress and your immune response is triggered, it activates the inflammation pathways.

Inflammation is your body signalling that it needs to release its immune response to battle the elements whether it be from wound healing, diseases and/or bacteria for example. However, over time, constant imbalance may lead to chronic stress on the body, weakening your body’s defence system.²

But it isn’t all doom and gloom – this is where mindfulness meditation comes in!

Preliminary studies³ have shown a positive effect of adopting mindfulness in activating certain genes responsible for arming your immune response.

What’s even more promising is that some studies⁴ have shown that mindfulness appears to have some positive effect on those with cancer. This particular study showed that those with cancer had improved levels of the immune response markers (cytokines).

So how do you get started?

It’s never too late to start your mindfulness journey.

We’ve got 6 things for you to pick and choose from.

You don’t need to adopt all … do what makes sense! Scroll further down to see how I’ve incorporated mindfulness into my every day today.

OPTION 1: START YOUR MEDITATION JOURNEY

Whether it be through a meditation app or joining a meditation group. It could be as simple as taking 5 deep breaths to start your day. I do this on a morning when I am time-poor! Headspace and Calm apps also do guided breathing which I use because it’s always more fun!

OPTION 2: TAKE A SOUL SEARCHING TRIP

Whether taking a day trip to the beach or a R&R vacation – setting aside some me-time will make you feel refreshed and revived. Read our article on wellness retreats HERE

OPTION 3: MINDFULNESS EXERCISE

This doesn’t have to be strenuous! Try a 10-minute nature walk, yoga, or tai chi.

OPTION 4: ACUPUNCTURE/REMEDIAL MASSAGE

The benefits of taking out muscle tension and pressure points promote reduced cortisol and increase your serotonin and dopamine. This is why you’ll feel a sense of improved mood, relaxation and pain relief. Do your research to find one that suits your circumstances.

OPTION 5: AROMATHERAPY

I won’t go into detail here – but there is a TON of research and clinical trials demonstrating the benefits of essential oils to positively impact the emotional engine in your brain.

OPTION 6: HERBAL TEAS

I am a tea lover through and through. Have a similar effect as aromatherapy in that it provides a natural and grounding effect on relieving symptoms of anxiety & stress.

MY CLOSING THOUGHTS: HOW DO YOU REALLY INCORPORATE MINDFULNESS PRACTISES?

Incorporating meditative activities to improve your self-care and mental health is not necessarily an overnight thing – at least it wasn’t for me!

For me, once I had prioritised mindfulness activities in my life it was done gradually, over time. I find that when I usually start a new activity I go all in and just like a fad get over it quite quickly. The worst is when you’ve spent all the $$$ on new gadgets and toys to get you invested in it. So lesson learnt for me – slow and steady wins the race.

This is how I schedule and incorporate mindfulness activities into my routine (and you can too):

Meditation – every day I use my Calm app. See my post HERE

Soul searching trip – for me, this may be as simple as taking a weekend trip out to the beach with the dog or more bougie as a wellness retreat. But the point here is – take some time out for relaxation and rejuvenation to clock out and be present.

incorporate mindfulness activities – this one is probably the hardest for me to incorporate in my life – especially when life gets in the way! For me, the important thing here is to make sure I dedicate a couple of days in a week

Acupuncture/remedial massage – I do at least 1 session a month to take out the kinks. There is nothing better once I’m done!

Aromatherapy – I personally love incorporating an essential oil as part of my meditation routine or hot bath. However also aids when I have the odd flu.

Herbal Teas – I am a huge tea fan girl. I have a huge selection on rotation on the daily.

Hit the button below for your free Self-Care Monthly Challenge for 2024!

---

REFERENCES

1. Davidson RJ, Kabat-Zinn J, Schumacher J, Rosenkranz M, Muller D, Santorelli SF, Urbanowski F, Harrington A, Bonus K, Sheridan JF. Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosom Med. 2003 Jul-Aug;65(4):564-70. doi: 10.1097/01.psy.0000077505.67574.e3. PMID: 12883106. ↩︎
2. Kim, I.-B.; Lee, J.-H.; Park, S.-C. The Relationship between Stress, Inflammation, and Depression. Biomedicines 2022, 10, 1929. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10081929
   
   Kim I-B, Lee J-H, Park S-C. The Relationship between Stress, Inflammation, and Depression. Biomedicines. 2022; 10(8):1929. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10081929
   
   Kim, Il-Bin, Jae-Hon Lee, and Seon-Cheol Park. 2022. “The Relationship between Stress, Inflammation, and Depression” Biomedicines 10, no. 8: 1929. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10081929
   ↩︎
3. Bennet, D. (2021) Meditation brings robust immune system activation, UF health researchers find, University of Florida Health. Available at: https://ufhealth.org/news/2021/meditation-brings-robust-immune-system-activation-uf-health-researchers-find (Accessed: 01 February 2024).
   ↩︎
4. Sanada, K. et al. (2017) Effects of mindfulness-based interventions on biomarkers in healthy and cancer populations: A systematic review – BMC Complementary Medicine and therapies, BioMed Central. Available at: https://bmccomplementmedtherapies.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12906-017-1638-y (Accessed: 01 February 2024).
   ↩︎