Mindfulness: Returning to the Present Moment
Fundamentals of Balanced Wellness: Part 6
When you slow down, you gain clarity. Explore how mindfulness helps you quiet your inner critic, increase self-awareness, and reconnect with what matters.
Mindfulness is more than meditation. It’s the practice of noticing what’s happening in your body, your mind, and your surroundings—without judgment. It helps you respond rather than react, pause rather than push, and listen rather than numb.
In my work with clients and workshop participants, mindfulness might look like body scans, guided journaling, nervous system regulation techniques, or simply slowing down long enough to notice how you’re actually feeling.
Why does it matter? When you create space for presence, you develop a deeper connection with yourself. You begin to catch the inner critic, challenge unhelpful thought loops, and relate to yourself with more curiosity and compassion.
Mindfulness is foundational to all other areas of wellness because it builds the awareness you need to know what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs attention.
Recent research from Harvard shows that people spend nearly 47% of their waking hours thinking about something other than what they’re doing—and that this "mind-wandering" is a direct cause of unhappiness (Harvard Gazette)! Mindfulness helps us return to ourselves, to our lives, and to what actually matters.
What would shift in your life if you gave yourself permission to slow down, observe without judgment, and respond with intention?
Next week, in the final post of this series on the fundamentals of balanced wellness, we’ll end with something often overlooked in wellness conversations—play and playfulness—and why joy is not just a feeling, but a vital sign of health.
