Sarah Amaya

BIS/OGL 340 Aikido Way

Professor Erwin

20, May 2021

Writing Assignment 1

To start off, before taking this course, never really understood how mindfulness worked

and the importance of it. After watching video about it and learning more, I realize how this can

be helpful to many people including myself. That being said, when I first attempted the “rapid

fire” thinking and attempt to quiet it, it was way more difficult than I anticipated. However, after

trying several times over the next several days, I got the hang of it and began noticing the

difference between “rapid fire” thoughts and quieter thoughts. Since learning this skill, when I

start feeling overwhelmed with a lot of thoughts, I am now able to quiet down to only focus on

the ones most important. During this time of quieting my thoughts, I often become more aware

and alert of what is happening around me. I also found that my entire body seems to relax and

feel less tense.

Next, there are various things that I think that have prompted the current interest in

Mindfulness. One of these I think is that people are seeing that there are a lot of negative effects

of stress and trying to find healthy solutions in coping with it. Another likely possibility is that

there are a lot of different apps and videos on smart phones. Having apps and videos available

can help someone practice Mindfulness without having to take too much out of there day and yet

still keep up with it. I believe that people think that by practicing Mindfulness that they will live

a healthier, longer and better life. Mindfulness has become very popular over last ten years and I

think it will continue to grow in popularity as time goes on. More benefits to Mindfulness other
than feeling less stress and living a better life include: being aware of one’s actions,

remembering to focus on the present, as well as having healthier relationships with oneself and

other people. Overall, Mindfulness is not something we should avoid, but rather embrace.

Finally, I can see there are some benefits for myself in practicing Mindfulness. At the

start of this course, I had tried Mindfulness before in the yoga classes that I have taken, but never

managed to properly understand how to do it. However, after going through this section, I have a

better understanding and grasp of what Mindfulness actually is. Some of the benefits for me to

practicing Mindfulness is to staying focused on the present, because I struggle with anxiety, I

have often get overwhelmed with many ideas and become distant of what is happening to me in

the present. Another benefit of me practicing Mindfulness is that I will be able to have clearer

mind when having conversations with other people and not be off thinking about something else.