Georgia-May Collings spends seven days being in the moment

Mindfulness, the act of consciously pausing and paying attention to your present situation, thoughts and feelings, is certainly having a moment (pardon the pun). As modern lives get busier and to-do lists grow longer, we find ourselves wondering how there are only 24 hours in a day and scrambling from one job to the next without digesting or appreciating what we’ve just done. How many of us have watched a gig, sports event or special occasion through the camera on our phone, rather than taking a look at the very thing unfolding before our eyes? Guilty! We seem to have an issue with letting the here and now pass us by. Mindfulness, by contrast, teaches us to appreciate our current surroundings and emotions – whether bad or good – for all they are, as they are.

“Although I wouldn’t say I have been transformed into monk levels of serenity and calm, I finished the week feeling hopeful”

Rather than to be dismissed as yet another wellness fad, mindfulness is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE, nice.org.uk) as a way to prevent depression in people who have had three or more bouts of poor mental health in the past. Plus, the NHS endorse mindfulness as a way to ‘help us enjoy life more and understand ourselves better’. With a variety of mindfulness apps available to guide us through the process of feeling calmer – in fact, in the first quarter of 2018, self-care apps in America earned $15 million in combined iOS and Android revenue, according to Sensor Tower (sensortower.com) – it’s easier than ever to get started.