The Steps

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Being in motion: "re-membering" body and mind

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Last update: February 2026

 

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In the beginning there was the... experience

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The English term "mindfulness," adapted into Portuguese as "atenção plena," is commonly defined as:

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"A state of purposeful attention, in the present moment, without judgment" - Jon Kabat-Zinn | Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, creator of the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) method.

 

In other words, these are instances in which we bear witness to ourselves, contemplating how we are thinking, speaking, and acting. Depending on the practice, an emphasis may also be placed on concentrating and comprehending the reasons for our thinking, speaking, and acting.

 

However, "mindfulness" arises from a peculiar translation of the term "sati" by the Welsh linguist T.W. Rhys-Davids in 1881. Originating from the Satipatthana Sutta, one of the oldest canonical Buddhist texts (4th century BC) containing Buddha's teachings on meditation, "sati" describes a state of consciousness with a meaning closer to "remembrance," in the sense of 1) not forgetting the purposes of meditative practices and 2) incorporating the teachings into our conduct (not only in the mind but in the inseparable whole of mind & body as one).

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Other Pali terms tend to also get convoluted into meaning mindfulness, such as "sampajanna" (or discernment) and "appamada" (or conscientiousness), which confuses modern understanding of whether mindfulness means to be purely aware or also adjudicate about specific elements and seek to untangle them in practice. 

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The theories

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In general terms, from a Buddhist perspective, sati (mindfulness/remembrance) works alongside discernment (sampajanna) and conscientiousness (appamada) to form Right Mindfulness (samma sati), the seventh element in the Noble Eightfold Path.

 

To reach this state, the practitioner exercises their concentration (samatha) and insight (vipassana) in meditations, guided or not by Buddhist instructors or masters, on the four foundations of mindfulness listed in the Satipatthana Sutta:

1. Mindfulness (or remembrance) of the body - focus on physical impermanence

2. Mindfulness of feelings - focus on the unconscious response of preference, aversion, and neutrality to stimuli

3. Mindfulness of the mind - focus on recognizing mental states (distracted, impatient, gentle…)

4. Mindfulness of mental objects (or dharma) - focus on the content of the mind, mainly the five obstacles to enlightenment:

• desire [obsession with various pleasures]

• aversion [to oneself, to others, to tastes, to situations…]

• sloth [imprisonment in limiting conditions]

• restlessness [inability to pause and direct the "rush"]

• doubt [paralysis in the face of uncertainty]

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From a secular perspective, to achieve states of mindfulness, Buddhist beliefs are set aside, and practitioners are invited to participate in guided (and occasionally measured) meditations led by instructors and therapists certified by modern institutions to gain insights (vipassana) into their mental processes.

 

Therefore, it is possible to distinguish two types of mindfulness:

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• “Buddhist Mindfulness” (or Right Mindfulness, one of the elements of the Noble Eightfold Path) – based on the experiences, teachings, and integrated worldview (interbeing) of Buddha over 2500 years ago (transmitted through canonical texts) and interpretations by disciples from various traditions throughout the centuries.

• “Construct Mindfulness” – based on principles of self-observation and well-being of the “self” identified by various sources [Buddha, Stoic philosophers (watchfulness), Taoist monks (wuzhi), William James (introspection), Cherokee (tohi)], and contemporary scientists and therapists who research and guide various interventions.

 

The practices

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Mindfulness may be attainable through various practices, including:

• Seated meditation - diverse origins in contemplative cultures present at the base of the Himalayas (>2500 years)

• Silent meditation - diverse origins (>2500 years) and popularly known as zazen, practiced in the Sōtō tradition of Master Dōgen in Japan (13th century)

• Mindful breathing, mindful walking, and other routine activities, such as eating and cleaning - Buddhist origins and popularly practiced in the tradition of Master Thich Nhat Hanh (20th century)

• Insight meditation (vipassana) - Buddhist origins (>2500) and popularized by apprentices of monks from Myanmar, including Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg (20th century)

• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) - created by Jon Kabat-Zinn and his team at the University of Massachusetts (20th century)

• Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBSR) - created by Barnard, Teasdale, Segal, and Williams from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford (20th century)

• Trauma sensitive protocols - such as Mindfulness-Based Mind Fitness Training and Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness (21st century)

• Martial arts* (qi gong, kung fu, tai chi) - Buddhist origins by Shaolin and Taoist monks in China (>2500 years)

• Yoga* - diverse origins (>2500 years)

* In instances where these movement practices become more focused on the perfection of routines and combat-oriented automation of performance, their focus shifts to a kind of "mindlessness" in which practitioners are no longer invited to cultivate a state of "wholesome awareness" to instead strive to fulfill standards of prowess 

 

So what? 

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From a Buddhist perspective, progression in meditative practices leads the practitioner to a) correct moral conduct, b) profound states of meditative absorption, and c) an understanding of how reality works. In the state of sati, the speed and pressure we feel on a daily basis is like a burn on the stove that blazes but soon ceases. They may even leave marks, but mindfulness practice may keep them from becoming more serious burns with lasting effects.

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I recommend the TEDx talk by Master Shi Heng Yi in Poland where he describes the RAIN method (Recognize, Accept, Investigate, Non-Identify) for dealing with the main obstacles to enlightenment. The method is ancient but couldn't be more relevant today.

Comprehensive research from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) identifies qi gong and tai chi as effective tools for disease prevention and motivation in sedentary individuals due to a) the accessibility of the practices, b) personal empowerment in healing processes, and c) the absence of adverse events during the studies. The research also points to benefits in symptoms of anxiety, depression, cardiovascular health, and other illnesses.

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From a secular perspective, practitioners experiment with methods of de-centering to become aware of their mental patterns, primarily to notice the mind a) being driven by the “autopilot” of habits and stimuli and 2) daydreaming from the present moment to past events or worries about the future.

Taking into account a) the subjectivity of self-assessments (if is difficult to objectively measure how mindful one is outside a lab setting), b) variations in the level of capacity and dedication of participants with different types of stress and diagnoses impact the results, and c) instructors with varying levels of expertise in meditative practices (an important factor for successful interventions): participants in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programs report improvements in stress and anxiety levels, compassion for others, openness to learning, creativity, mood, knowledge, and overall well-being. Participants in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) programs report similar improvements to MBSR and these protocols are twice as effective as medication for depression, according to University of Oxford studies.

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It is important to note: some practices may be contraindicated for people who have been exposed to various traumas, diagnosed (or not) with post-traumatic stress, and, in some rare cases that are still poorly understood, the meta-cognition process may cause discomfort associated with dissociative disorders.

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Here's a recommendation to relieve momentary stress, which I believe is practically universal. Whenever people feel the pressure building up, emotions running high, and their heads overwhelmed:

1- Pause exposure to stimuli (move your hand away from the flames),

2- Find a quiet space (withdraw from the hazardous situation),

3- Close your eyes, place your hands on your stomach, breathe slowly and deeply three times through your nose (take care of the burn and/or excessive heat).

 

This process helps the body regulate cortisol levels in acute situations and is essential to prevent the flames of modernity from spreading and becoming a wildfire in our lives. Other meditative practices can serve as fireproof clothing and fire extinguishers to help us avoid and deal with new and/or recurring volatile situations.

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Sources

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University of Leiden: De-Mystifying Mindfulness Course

 

Shi Heng Yi: Five Hindrances to Self-Mastery - TEDx Vitosha

 

National Institutes of Health: a comprehensive analysis of the health benefits of qi gong and tai chi

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