Mindfulness
Mindfulness, also known as Vipassana or Insight Meditation, is a traditional Buddhist approach involving maintaining moment-to-moment awareness in a non-judging way. It is an on-going, disciplined practice of paying attention to whatever is arising in the moment with complete acceptance, without trying to change or fix anything. In practicing mindfulness, we let go of wanting anything to happen at all and bring acceptance to things as they are and ourselves as we are, with an open and receptive heart. Meditation teaches us how to observe and train our restless and active minds, as well as brings insight into our thoughts, feelings, and body’s sensations, and how they shape our perceptions. We learn to see our thoughts, feelings and sensations as separate from ourselves. Mindfulness teaches us to get off of 'autopilot' and be more focused, centered, and fully present in our lives, and cultivates inner peace and acceptance, which are at the core of both health and wisdom.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
MBSR is a well-defined and systematic patient-centred educational approach which uses training in mindfulness meditation to teach people how to take better care of themselves and live healthier and more adaptive lives (Kabat-Zinn, 1996). MBSR is “aimed at developing both stability of mind and body, and deep insight into an array of mental and physical conditions that inhibit an individual’s capacity to respond effectively and pro-actively in demanding, highly charged or more commonplace everyday activities....assisting individuals to develop an array of self-regulatory and self-care skills” (Kabat-Zinn, & Santorelli, 2007).