What is Mindfulness and Why is Mindfulness Important?

Mindfulness is actively and openly paying attention to the present moment, without judgment.

“Mindfulness is observing instead of engaging with thoughts and emotions—noticing without judging or evaluating,” explained Alexa Bonacquisti, PhD, PMH-C, an assistant professor in PCOM’s Clinical PsyD program.

According to Bonacquisti, mindfulness is important because, as humans, we are often not truly focused on the present moment as we move throughout our day. Our mind tends to “time travel”—this means that instead of being in the present, we are worrying about the future or reliving the past—thinking about previous events, replaying experiences or thinking about what we should have done differently.

“This time traveling in our own mind increases judgment, distress, and pulls us away from what really matters,” Bonacquisti said. “Becoming more aware of the present moment allows us to see things more clearly and choose how to respond and also to open ourselves up to pleasurable and enjoyable experiences that we might miss if our mind is focused on the past or future.”

Bonacquisti explained that making contact with the present moment can help individuals in multiple ways, such as:

• Helping people to perceive things more accurately and to make decisions about how they want to behave.
• Allowing the individual to fully engage in what they are doing and more readily connect with their values and what is most important and meaningful to them.
• Facilitating a greater enjoyment of life and a stronger connection to purpose and meaning in life.

Mindfulness is a component of meditation. Typically meditation refers to a specific exercise that occurs during a set time, whereas mindfulness is a skill that can be applied and utilized in daily life.

“Mindfulness can be incorporated into all activities, whereas meditation is a specific practice,” Bonacquisti said.

Mindfulness includes three components: paying attention, on purpose and without judgment.

“This involves present moment awareness and nonjudgmental acceptance of our moment-to-moment experiences—both internal and external—such as thoughts, emotions, physiological sensations and environmental stimuli,” Bonacquisti explained.

There are many different ways to practice mindfulness—some more structured and others which can be incorporated into activities you are already doing.

“You can engage in mindfulness in daily activities—for example, walking to work and noticing what is happening around you, doing dishes and doing it mindfully, eating and really smelling and tasting and experiencing what you are eating,” Bonacquisti said. “You can also focus on your breathing to practice mindfulness or utilize different exercises such as grounding using your five senses or certain visualizations of a meaningful place or location.”

When you are engaging in an activity that is consistent with your values (e.g., spending time with family), you can try to bring your attention and awareness to the present moment to fully notice and participate in the experience, she added.

According to Bonacquisti, mindfulness is taught as a therapeutic intervention that can be used to address a number of presenting problems such as anxiety, depression, and stress.

“In the Clinical PsyD program, we teach mindfulness in its own elective course and within courses on therapy interventions such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Mindfulness is also interwoven throughout many courses where students learn how to apply it in different situations and with different populations,” she said. “Students are taught how to clinically apply mindfulness in both an individual and group format.”

Mindfulness is especially helpful in primary care settings and with medical populations, as it can be delivered as a brief intervention, making it especially useful to learn as a clinical tool for students at PCOM.