Mindfulness Practice as an Effective Tool for Promoting Positive Health and Psychoo-Social Well-Being: A Review of Literature

Mindfulness is the ability to experience the present moment without judgement. It is a self-directed practice for relaxing the body and calming the mind through focusing on present moment awareness. It is a more process-oriented practice that is found in many religious and spiritual traditions such as Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. Mindfulness is a useful tool for regulating emotions by increasing awareness and developing flexibility in responding to one’s emotional experiences. It encourages acceptance rather than avoidance of one’s experiences and decreases rumination about past and future events that can exhaust one’s energy. Therefore, the present study describes the nature of mindfulness, explains how it is practiced and how it is useful in promoting health and enhancing psychosocial well-being. The study also describes the implications of mindfulness practice for the health social workers. The study recommends that the Health Social Workers should engage their patients in mindfulness meditation, relate exercises, body scan, mindful breathing and muscle relaxation exercise to help them overcome the stress of their illness, emotional, social and other health problems. The study concludes by advocating proper integration of mindfulness practice into social work education curriculum and social work practice with a view to helping qualified health social workers (medical and psychiatric) and the would-be health social workers meet the physical, psychosocial, and spiritual needs of the sick and non-sick individuals.