Mindfulness and meditation are not the same thing

Mindfulness is defined by John Kabat-Zinn as non-judgmental present moment awareness. It means paying attention to the present moment, on purpose and without judgment. Anything can be a mindfulness practice as long as we are paying attention to the here and now. Meditation is defined by Heather McFarland as the practice of choosing a point of focus that you reflect on or sit with for a period of time. Mindfulness can be done all the time whereas meditation is a set amount of time where you are being intentional with your point of focus.

Although mindfulness and meditation are not the same thing, they can be combined into mindfulness meditation

Mindfulness meditation is when you slow down and focus on the here and now, by tuning into your breathing and how your body feels. You are noticing how your breath is in this moment and how your body feels in the moment without judgment. This can be difficult since we are used to judging things as good or bad or positive or negative. Mindfulness meditation reminds us to notice when we are judging something and then return our awareness back to our point of focus. Another great point of focus for a mindfulness meditation is flowers. You can do this with your eyes open or closed. Choose your point of focus to be the scent of the flowers or the energy they are sending out. Then when your mind wanders, return your awareness back to the flowers.

Both mindfulness and meditation help with anxiety because they bring you into the present moment

I’ve shared on my instagram that anxiety is when you’re future tripping or when you’re worrying about something you said or did in the past. By focusing on the here and now and being mindful and aware of what is here now, we are releasing the anxiety and worry. Often times when we are anxious we exaggerate situations or think in extremes, for example, blowing up one thing we said and making it mean something about our personality when really it was just a blip in time. Mindfulness and meditation help us do this less because we are becoming aware of reality as it is and not as our perception of it.

Let me know in the comments or send me a DM on instagram if you have any questions about the difference between mindfulness and meditation or about how they can be combined into mindfulness meditation.