Most of us probably already know that mindfulness is good for our mental health but what you might not know is what exactly is it and how does it work?
To answer this question, we speak to Mrs Drayson who is running the Mindfulness club at Parmiters School who has agreed to tell us about what is mindfulness and about its benefits:
"Mindfulness is a practice that allows you to be completely present in the moment.
The power of this, is it stops thoughts about the past or future coming to mind.
Deeply focusing on the present moment relieves stress and anxiety and creates a feeling of calm."
There are also many ways on how to do this:
" I'm not a professional, but my understanding is that you can practice mindfulness with a wide variety of activities that require deep concentration.
For example complex colouring, breathing techniques, thinking activities that divert attention away from inner feeling to the external, for example counting the number of circles on a repeating fabric pattern, word or number games, puzzles eg sudoku, crosswords, knitting.
The list is endless really, but all of these activities have something in common: they require a high level of focus and concentration."
And at the same time, it helps not only students who might be dealing with stress or anxiety at the school setting, it can be useful to almost practically anyone:
"Focusing so completely on the moment prevents negative thoughts about the past or future from upsetting us.
When we distract ourselves from negative thoughts, sometimes they go away, which helps reduce stress and anxiety and benefits our overall wellbeing."
So if you are struggling with stress or anxiety whether that may be about exams, friendship problems or problems occurring at home, now is a good time to start trying out mindfulness and see how it may help you.
