Mindfulness has become popular in the last few years and many people find it helpful in managing pain and dealing with stress and anxiety. Mindfulness emerged through the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn, who founded the Stress Reduction Clinic and Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMass) in the 1970s.

People who regularly practise Mindfulness report results including; an improved sense of wellbeing, better sleep quality, and being less reactive in stressful situations. You can practise it anywhere and do pretty much any activity mindfully – from walking, swimming, painting and even eating. Many galleries, including the Courtauld and the National Gallery, have introduced Mindful Art Appreciation in the last few years. If you want to practise at home, you can find some guided, short meditations on the National Gallery website.

The objective of Mindfulness is to try to clear the mind. When thoughts do come to you (like what happened earlier, or what you might have to do next) you push those thoughts away and try to clear the mind again. This can get confused with ‘trying not to think of anything’, which is incredibly difficult to achieve for any length of time. The true aim is to be as present in the moment as it is possible to be. I often practise mindfulness when I'm stewarding in the gallery, as having something to focus on, like a work of art, can be very helpful and enjoyable. The trick is not to assess the qualities of the piece, or imagine a narrative. Some people find using an abstract work, like After the Deluge by G.F. Watts, helpful. You can use any artwork of your choice, or an image on your laptop, Ipad or a piece you have at home.

A home practice

• Start by sitting comfortably in a quiet space and close your eyes. It's best if your arms are supported, your back is straight and your feet are both on the floor. Some people like to have their palms facing upwards, supported by the arms of the chair.
• Try to establish a regular pattern of breathing. A good pattern to establish is breathing in through the nose slowly for a count of 4 seconds, hold the breath (without straining) for 2-4 seconds, breathe out slowly for 4 seconds, count for 2-4 seconds and then breathe in again for a count of 4.
• Once this pattern has been established, and you are comfortable and relaxed, open your eyes.
• Try to let your eyes rest on the artwork, not concentrating on any one point, to get a sense of the whole piece.
• Let your eyes drift to the top left-hand side on the artwork and hold your gaze there for a few seconds. Slowly and without any time restraint, move your gaze across the painting/sculpture to the right. When you get to the far right let your gaze move down slightly, and repeat the process in the other direction.

• While you are looking allow yourself to notice different elements, such as colour, pattern, shape and texture.
• Try not to think about a narrative or make judgements.
• Slowly work your way across and down the artwork until you have covered the whole piece.
• Allow your gaze to move to the centre of the piece and settle there for a few moments.
• Allow your focus to widen until you are looking at the whole piece.

• Focus on your breathing again, following the 4-2-4-2 or 4-4-4-4 pattern.
• Close your eyes whenever you feel comfortable and the pattern of breathing has been established.
• Take 4 breaths where the in breath, through the nose, is deeper and the out breath is faster and through the mouth, as if you are blowing out a candle.
• Rub your hands together so that they are warm and place the palms over your eyes. Hold your hands there for a few moments.
• Open your eyes, take in a couple of deep, energizing breaths. 

• Get up slowly when you are ready.
• Have a drink of water.

If you would like to try Mindful Art Appreciation in person in the gallery itself, where we could also include some breathing techniques and mindful movement, please drop info@wattsgallery.org.uk an email and hopefully some sessions can be arranged in the near future.  

Jules Crossley, Volunteer Steward