Mindfulness

“Being Mindful”

By: Hannah McCary

Mindfulness. Being mindful. Almost everyone has heard of this term, but what does it all really mean?

In order to learn more about mindfulness and all of its benefits, I sat down with Ms. Salamanca, one of Holly Spring High’s guidance counselors. Ms. Salamanca has been running the school’s “Mindfulness Matters” program that takes place on Wednesdays during lunch. These mindfulness sessions are not only meant to introduce students to what mindfulness is, but also allow students to gauge practical ways to utilize mindfulness in their everyday lives. She has also been going around to classrooms and taking a few minutes of her time to run students through a quick and easy mindfulness exercise, which proves to be very effective.

So, what is mindfulness? To Ms. Salamanca, mindfulness is a way to “pause, check-in with yourself, and notice things that you have not noticed throughout the day.” These unnoticed things could be both internal or external, such as underlying feelings or an anxious tic, and leaving them to go unnoticed could have negative effects on one’s health. However, by practicing mindfulness, you unlock a multitude of positive health benefits. The main benefit of mindfulness is that it helps to regulate your nervous system, but it can also help control your breathing and calm your mind. According to Ms. Salamanca, mindfulness is about creating healthy habits that can help to regulate your body systems and functioning.

Everyone should practice mindfulness due to the extensive ways it can benefit you and your body, but it is especially important for high school students. Ms. Salamanca puts it this way: High school students are at a unique stage in their life where they are extremely busy with extracurriculars, sports, jobs, family, etc. It is important for students to check in with themselves so that they can address how they are feeling, and it will help them to become healthy adults later in life. It is also critical to note that there is no set time or frequency to practice mindfulness. “Mindfulness is all about what you need, what your body needs, whenever you need it. This could be once a day, once a week, or you could need these practices multiple times throughout one day.”

You cannot talk about mindfulness without also talking about good, beneficial ways you can practice mindfulness. Ms. Salamanca suggests coming to the “Mindfulness Matters” sessions during lunch, taking mindful walks, or going the route of music and art therapy. She would also encourage students to look on YouTube, where there are many instructional videos that walk through great mindfulness exercises.

When asked about the future of mindfulness at HSHS, Ms. Salamanca would love to have classes incorporate mindfulness into their days, whether that be through doing a quick breathing exercise at the beginning of class or taking brain breaks. Anything to get students to take a minute to check in with themselves and how they are feeling would be a beneficial way to develop a mindset committed to mindfulness.