According to Jon Kabat-Zinn , "mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and non judgmentally."
Mindfulness training is learning how to pay attention on purpose by learning and practicing mindfulness meditation practices & mindful movements. With continued practice, one develops greater skill in slowing down, stopping the automatic reactions and experiencing the present moment as it really is.
Mindfulness meditation comes from an ancient meditation tradition. The founder of recent mindfulness movement is Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn who founded the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in the late 1970's.
Since the 1970's thousands of people have been helped through the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program and gained greater ability to deal with stress, pain conditions, heart disease, sleep problems and depression. Since that time MBSR has further developed and
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) was created for recurrent depressed patients.
The way that mindfulness is learned is through teachings and practice in mindful meditation and mindful movement.
Participants in the programs of MBSR and MBCT are taught a number of meditation practices proven to help a person respond more appropriately to thoughts and feelings. Most MBSR / MBCT trainings include a body scan meditation, sitting meditations, walking meditation, gentle stretching (mindful yoga), a three-minute mindfulness meditation.