Charlotte Kershaw of Warwickshire Mindfulness writes about the importance of prioritising your own wellbeing

Mindfulness is a bit of a "buzz word" at the moment and honestly it is with good reason.

Mindfulness is a way of thinking, meditating and living in a present and purposeful way and can be as easy as focusing on your breath or what is happening within or around you.

It has been shown to help to reduce stress and anxiety, help with sleep and even physical health and whilst there is no goal to mindfulness meditation people often find it to be relaxing (bonus!)

One of the reasons that mindfulness works so well is that it retrains your mind to focus on what it happening right now rather than worrying about the past of the future - the more that you practice the more that your brain will automatically be present focused.

One of the other ways that it is really helpful is that by being still and present we can feel safe and calm which means that your body goes into "rest and digest" mode rather than being stuck in "fight or flight" - this means that your body isn't in a stressed state which can help to lower blood pressure and boost your immune system.

A lot of people get put off because they don't feel like they can do it "right" but in reality there is no right or wrong way to meditate or be mindful - sometimes it can be really hard to meditate and you may struggle to concentrate but that's why we call it practice - we aren't trying to get anywhere or achieve anything we are simply practicing being mindful and accepting that sometimes it can feel tricky.

During a mindfulness session we usually practice mindfulness using guided meditations as well as activities such as journalling.

These practices are used as they help us to practice the fundamentals of mindfulness; acceptance, letting go, generosity, gratitude, beginners mind, non-striving, non-judging, trust and patience - but try not to worry you don't have to remember all of these that's what the guided meditations are for!

When you're in a mindfulness session it's a brilliant opportunity to switch off and focus on what's happening right now and just step out of your busy life for a short while.

If this sounds like something you'd be interested in learning about and taking up please get in touch for more information.