Can we be mindful in a hyper-connected world?

You can be mindful while keeping your laptop close. Source: News Corp Australia

I'M PRETTY cynical about new-age, hippy trends.

Even now yoga is ubiquitous, I can't cope with chanting "om".

So when I saw everyone on Twitter chattering about "mindfulness", I was bemused.

How do we become more in tune with ourselves and our surroundings if we're posting sun-dappled shots of our lotus positions on Instagram?

Even banal social media posts are permitted — as long as you are conscious of what you're doing.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, who is credited with bringing mindfulness to the Western world in a secular form, defines it like this: "Mindfulness is an awareness that emerges when we are paying attention to an experience in a particular way, non-judgmentally."

Apparently, that means almost anything goes, as long as we can live with ourselves when we really think about it.

And simply being conscious of what we're doing — yes, even if that's spending an hour looking at cat gifs — is credited with all sorts of benefits, including better sleep, reducing stress, improving relationships and minimising illness.

Naturally, #mindfulness is a hashtag, with proponents tweeting about how to achieve it in business and in parenthood, how to do it while out walking and how to combine it with our existing meditation habits.

You don't need to do yoga poses, but you do need to be aware of your body. Source: ThinkStock

Facebook is stuffed with adverts for mindfulness lessons, interspersed with "inspiring" quotes and testimonies.

But Sydney expert Clara Luxton says you don't have to spend money on expensive courses.

"It's not something you have to set aside time for, or that requires you to carry extra luggage on a trip," she tells news.com.au.

"It's being in the here and now. We have all these sensations, emotions and behaviour and we can choose to focus on any.

"In meditation it's your breath, but even if you're not meditating, you can be aware."

When we eat mindfully, we make better decisions. Source: ThinkStock

She points out what we are doing, and I notice things I never normally would.

We're on the phone, as it turns out, and that phone is exerting pressure on my ear. I'm listening to her voice and I've got my legs crossed. As usual, I'm distracted by vaguely scanning one of the 20 web pages I've got open.

I also notice I'm slightly hunched and a little achey from a gym session last night.

I stop looking at my computer and sit up straight. Is this helping?

Vietnamese mindfulness expert Thich Nhat Hanh, who was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King Jr, has another tip — "telephone meditation".

When you hear the telephone, you stay where you are, breathe in and out consciously, listen and smile. If it's important, they'll wait three rings.

Meg Ryan says mindfulness will "reshape our experience". Source: Supplied

But it's not just phones that are the issue. How can I be focused if I'm flicking between tasks, checking websites, looking at social media, making notes and fielding emails?

"What the culture is craving is a sense of ease and reflection, of not needing to be stimulated or entertained or going after something constantly," Soren Gordhamer, founder of the Wisdom 2.0 conference, told the New York Times last year.

The movement has exploded since, with plenty of celebrities owning to being fans, from Paul McCartney to Richard Gere to Goldie Hawn.

Famous fan Meg Ryan says that "by refocusing our awareness, we reshape our experience".

But it's somewhat easier to turn to a life of holistic wholesomeness when you have a chef, a personal trainer and a life coach.

Clara is reassuring. It's all OK. We're not judging.

Paul McCartney is a fan of mindfulness. Source: AP

"If you have to switch tasks, do it mindfully," she says. "Be aware that's what you're doing.

"Try to occasionally sit back even if just for a minute and think about your body.

"You'll feel more grounded, more integrated.

"If you're in an office, use the odd moment to put your feet on the ground, be aware of your breathing. Maybe do a body scan before you go to sleep."

"And if you're eating mindfully, you tend to not just show a sandwich down your neck."

It's not just physical, we also need awareness of our thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

Increasingly, we may want to change them.

Goldie Hawn is an advocate for the technique. Source: Getty Images

Mindfulness is increasingly seen as important be businesses and by those in the medical profession — not just for patients but for doctors and therapists themselves, helping them do their job better.

While the practice was considered alternative 20 years ago, it is becoming mainstream.

"People are still resistant to any organised way of thinking, they can see it as a bit cultish," says Clara, scoring at least 10 mindfulness points in my book.

"With some clients I have to be a bit tentative, but lots have read about it and are happy to try anything that might help.

"If you think about the figures on anxiety and depression, and you've got this great tool, why wouldn't you try it?"

Mindfulness practitioner Richard Gere says a restless world gives us the opportunity for change. Source: Getty Images