Mindfulness: A brief explanation

As I began learning yoga, specifically the meditation portions, I was taught to learn as much as I could about mindfulness as taught by Sri Buddhadeva.
He taught that a yogi must learn to control his mind by being aware of the mind itself,  noticing its contents without judgement or preference.
The satipathana sutta is an original textual reference for the practice of mindfulness, and it is definitely a must study for any sincere meditator.
In the Satipathana sutta, the Buddha addresses an assemblage of monks and expounds the method for purification, elimination of suffering, the attainment of joy, and the realization of the void. In order to achieve these ends, he expounds 4 reference points to become aware of and thus expounds the full system of "Mindfulness" which has become so popular today for stress management, cognitive behavioural therapy, and resilience in the workplace.

The four Reference points are as follow;

• Body: The body is the first thing to become aware
  of. Notice how you are sitting right now, the sensations currently present. Is your posture correct and stable? Are you sitting in a way which is causing pain? Mindfulness is about being aware and attentive, but its also about setting things straight so that full functionality and effective movement is encouraged and developed.
• Feeling: The next reference point is "feelings". Emotional states come and go rapidly often without our full recognition or appreciation. In order for us to fully digest the emotional ups and downs of our experience, we must give them proper time and space to be felt and consumed. If we do not give our emotions this space, they will be stored somewhere in our system to express themselves in ways which can be negative and painful. The solution is to notice when you are experiencing an emotion, label it clearly, observe it with curiosity, and then allow it to subside as it wills.
• Mind: To be present to the mind is to identify if the mind is clear, foggy, scattered, or focused. When the mind is clear, thought there is clarity and simplicity. When the mind is foggy we experience dullness, lethargy, and a hazy capacity to visualize or internally articulate.  When the mind is scattered, it as if there are many indistinguishable thought processes occurring simultaneously. No clarity is present. Instead, we experience an internal rush of disconnected thoughts without a reference point. When the mind is focused, a single thought process is held and maintained.  Thus, attending to the mind means to simply notice what mindstate is present in you.
• Mental qualities: The Buddha lists a few mental qualities which should be noticed as mental qualities, these include; Sensual desire, hostility, sloth, restlessness/worry and doubt.
  Simply taking note of the qualities and being aware of their presence constitutes mindfulness of mental qualities. 

We achieve a detached and objective capacity by engaging with our body, feelings, mind, and mental qualities in this particular way. We will in time learn to understand we are not these things but their observer. Your mind is a complex system much like a computer software, it is really important you familiarize your self with your unique operating system.

Having some stability in mindfulness is so crucial for navigating life's varying experiences safely without losing ourselves in our pain, our achievements, or failures. 

Hope this helps you become a more mindful yogi

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