“Mindfulness: Full Heart And Mind”

The Mindfulness philosophy has brought us a new way of understanding life. Today I met with Jon Kabat Zinn, an expert on the subject.

Interview with Jon Kabat Zinn

How do you keep from stressing out?

I am in the present moment.

But his schedule is full of commitments.

I set the agenda and then I forget about the future. I go back to the present.

Past, future: abstractions?

It is important to plan, and also remember the lessons of the past. And then it’s about going back to the present moment.

With new technologies it costs more to be in the present …

With the digital revolution, the demands of our day to day have increased a lot. It is as if we are invited to act as data processors. But we are not that. The important thing is that technology is at our service, and not the other way around, as is often the case.

If we practice Mindfulness, will we live longer?

There are times that after living stressful experiences we feel as if we have aged years. It’s true. In times of great stress, telomeres degrade and our life expectancy is shortened. And we have scientifically proven that people who practice Mindfulness have longer telomeres in their genome, and that tells us that they will surely have a longer life. In other words, our biology ages with stress. Therefore, we can say that managing stress is not a luxury, but a necessity.

How does stress affect our immune system?

The more stress, the more the activity of the immune system is suppressed. We all have 24 hours. The ideal is, apart from sleeping, to dedicate part of the time not to do, but to be. This makes us healthier and helps us be effective at work and better in our relationships. And nobody can do it for you. You cannot leave it in the hands of doctors. It is about taking responsibility for your life, and realizing that you are an instrument that you have to tune. And when you tune it, you will have better health and things will work out better.

How can we know if we are in tune?

Mindfulness helps you cultivate intimacy with the present moment. You can be aware of the stress that exists in your work, and how it affects your body: to what extent there is tension in your jaw, in your back, in your neck … Many people have problems with their back because they spend a good part of the day sitting at work. It is horrible for health. That’s why more and more people have their desks elevated, and they work upright, which is better. When you begin to cultivate Mindfulness, you begin to read the messages that your body sends you about stress, and you can refine better. And breathing is also very important. It’s about cultivating exquisite intimacy with your breath.

How can we breathe well?

Without doing anything of the other world, turning the breath into our ally. Not forcing ourselves to take deep breaths, but letting the deep breath come through you.

What does “mindfulness is also full heart” mean?

In the ancient eastern languages, “mind” and “body” are the same word. Mindfulness we have to interpret it as a full mind and a full heart. Because attention has an affective dimension. It is not only a cold and intellectual perspective on the present moment, but it also includes the dimension of the heart.