Mindfulness Meditation #5 Notice & Name

Physical and mental health is important to the team behind Jervis Bay Weekend. Welcome to our series of mindfulness meditations – simple, proven techniques we know are beneficial to wellbeing. Keep an eye out over the coming weeks as we publish more practices.

If you are already familiar with the basics –  what mindfulness is and its wide-ranging benefits – feel free to scroll on down to Meditation #5 Notice & Name.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a translation of a word that simply means awareness. It is being aware, in the moment, of what we are doing while we are doing it. It’s knowing what’s going on inside our mind and body, and what’s going on in any given situation.

Mindfulness meditation

Mindful awareness is cultivated through proven practices of seated, walking, standing, and moving meditation such as those described in this series.

Mindfulness meditation is an effective way of getting to know our minds better – the competing inner voices, the way we typically see ourselves and others, our habitual responses to situations.

Three sound reasons to meditate

1. Calm mind and body

Meditation is a proven way to calm the mind and allow the chatter and commentary of our inner voices to quieten, reducing stress particularly when our self talk is judgemental and critical.

The benefits of mindfulness meditation to our physical and mental well-being are well documented and include: reducing blood pressure; increasing resilience; managing anxiety and stress.

2. Connect better with others

Ever find yourself staring blankly at someone – even someone you love and care about – realising your mind’s wandered and you’ve lost track of what they are saying? Mindfulness helps you give them the precious gift and respect of your full attention.

3. Improve focus

Meditation hones our ability to pay focused attention to where we are and what is actually happening. When our mind keeps wandering off we can quickly lose awareness of the present moment, and easily become lost in obsessive thoughts about something that just happened or fretting about the future, which can cause anxiety.

Meditation #5 Notice & Name

Illustration © Beppe Giacobbe

This meditation encompasses noticing and naming sensations in the body, emotions and thoughts. The intention is to simply observe them with friendly curiosity, name them and let them go. 

A helpful analogy may be to think of this as watching simple clouds passing across a clear sky on a breezy day. The clouds come and go; there’s nothing to grasp onto.

Instructions

• Be seated comfortably. Feet flat on the floor. Make sure your back is well supported without pressure on the lower back.
• Allow hands to be open and relaxed.
• Close your eyes.
• Draw your attention to your breath and the physical sensations of breathing steadily in and out.
• When you feel settled and ready, slowly scan your body from the tips of the toes to the top of your head, observing any sensations in the body (see Meditation #2 Body Scan).
• When you observe sensations present in the body label them using simple terms such as: warmth; pressure; tension; discomfort; softness; fatigue.
• When you observe emotions arise, name them with direct clear terms such as: worry; happiness; anger; peace; compassion; gratitude.
• When you observe mental activity name it simply and directly, such as: thinking; imagining; remembering; planning; visualising.

Duration

• Sit for 10-15 minutes or longer as you develop more skill.
• You can continue this practice as you go about your day, bringing full awareness and focus the mind in the present moment by naming the particular activity in the following way. For example: just stretching; just bending; just walking; just dressing; just brushing teeth; just eating, and so on.