This is an ABC podcast. Hi, I'm Brett Kirk and I'm probably best known for this. Number 31, Brett Kirk. Here's Jessica Dredes, captain Kirk from North Aubrey.
This is the blood! What were you watching the day that this happened? And the Sydney team is now taking Mark on the other side of the bulldog to form a channel of honor for Brett Kirk as he's lifted on the shoulders of Rhino peep and good. But did you know, I'm also into this?
Now bring your awareness to your body and observe the feelings or physical sensations present there. Yep, that's a mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness is becoming huge in sport. Athletes are swearing by it.
It's a big part of how I got to where I got to as an AFL player and now how I work in a high pressure job as an assistant coach at the Sydney Swans. But mindfulness isn't just really athletes. It's for everyone. So what is it?
It's when you're really sure of the thing you're thinking in your mind at that time. Not quite. That's when they go namaste, right? Are you getting there?
It's when you put your knife and fork down before you take another bite. Just about, but we're still not just there yet. Mindfulness simply means paying attention to the present moment. It's about being aware.
Let me explain. Can you remember a time when you were totally like totally absorbed in an activity? Maybe you were swimming in the ocean and feeling the ocean on your body and the thought of nothing else except what you were doing right in that moment. The sun on your face, the clear water, the salty water on your skin that waves around you, that's mindfulness.
Probably there's a lot of time we're running an autopilot. Here's a really good example of that. I guarantee you're driven home and don't remember the journey or you're featured dinner and don't recall it. Single mouthful because your head was so full with stuff.
You have stuff going on all the time. Jobs, bills, everything we've got to get done. What I'm telling you is mindfulness, clears away all that stuff. And doing that reduces stress, stops you from worrying, and can help you find a sense of calm.
Research even suggests it can help you sleep better. We all want that. So I've teamed up with Smiley Mind, who are experts in mindfulness. And in mindfully, I'll take you through sessions designed to help you find a bit more headspace.
And I'll talk to experts about how practicing mindfulness can change your life. In mindfully, we're going to look at four key areas of your life. At home, if you're busy raising kids like my wife and I, we've got five cherubs. Practicing mindfulness can help you when it all becomes overwhelming.
In sport or performance, at any level, yes, any level, mindfulness can help you stay in the moment. We'll have a series, especially for school kids. Mindfulness helps them be more focused and engaged in the classroom. We all want that as a parent.
And we're going to start with a big one. Work. We spend most of our lives at work, and practicing mindfulness can increase your concentration and productivity. At work, coming soon, in mindfully.
You can listen to Mindfully in the ABC Listen Act or subscribe in iTunes or wherever else you get your podcasts from.