Your daily unmasking ceremony & practice of being mindful

I read the following piece, written by a Buddhist, and thought to pass it on.

I thought this could be a good metaphor for you. When you use your BOA look into the mirror. Take a good look at yourself and smile at the person looking back at you. Celebrate who you are and take the exfoliation process as an unmasking ceremony. Getting rid of the preconceived ideas you have about yourself and start the day fresh and open for what’s coming into your life.

Now back to the topic…

Mindfulness, practiced for more than 2,500 years, has its roots in Buddhist spiritual teachings of the East, although more recently it has found popularity in the West as a secular practice for well-being.

Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Buddhist monk, peace activist, and author of many books on mindfulness, defines it as "the energy of being aware and awake to the present moment." Traditional mindfulness practices include formal meditation as well as disciplines such as yoga, chi kung, and tai chi.

However, you do not need to take up any of these activities to bring mindfulness into your life, as mindfulness practices also include simple breathing exercises, mindfully doing daily tasks (such as washing the dishes or walking), saying mantras, focusing on an object or your favourite person/view.

What are the benefits of mindfulness?

The fast-paced lifestyle of the 21st century is a recipe for stress. Long-term stress, even if low-grade, is known to negatively affect every major system in the body.  This can lead to symptoms that can range from headaches, insomnia, low libido, mood swings, and heartburn to more serious health consequences such as raised blood pressure, reduced immune function, hormonal disruption, and bowel issues.

Study after study has shown that adopting a regular mindfulness meditation practice can significantly reduce levels of stress and so make a positive impact on mental and physical well-being. Perhaps even more surprisingly, the antidote doesn't take years or even months to take effect. In fact, in one study conducted by Oxford University, participants showed a 58 percent reduction in anxiety levels, a 57 percent reduction in depression, and a 40 percent reduction in stress within one month of starting a mindfulness practice.

And research reported in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience showed that meditators don't need to be actively meditating to benefit from the changes their practice brings about in the brain.

And in another study, seven out of ten psychologists rated mindfulness training as being "excellent" or "good" for weight loss.

So practice daily if you can, if not, it’s ok to do it when you remember. Most of all, know that you are beautiful exactly as you are… just Reveal Your Beauty.

 

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The BOA Skin Academy Blog hopes to bring you educational, insightful and interesting reading material on the topics of skincare, beauty, rituals, self-care and wellness. All topics are chosen and written by the BOA team, with credits where credit is due. If you have a suggestion for a topic or a question about what we have written, we would love for you to get in touch. Please email us at info@boaskincare.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

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