What mindfulness can do for a team?

Mindfulness is a great tool to practice for ourselves to help improve our mind and body connection.  Mindfulness can also be really useful for a team as well in a number of ways.  Whether a team in a sport or a team in a business, mindfulness can be a really healthy and positive practice for a team to learn and implement. Teams do best when performing like one unit, and just like mindfulness can help your own mind and body connection, it can help your team be more connected as one unit. It can help each person in the team feel more connected to one another, which will then improve the team's overall performance. 

When a team can practice mindfulness, it will be more likely that the team members will pick up on the positives and negatives within the team.  Picking up on these things can help with the growth of the team.  For example, if the team can pick up on certain things that are not working by being more present, they can hopefully work together to improve the things that are not working.  Doing this can also help the team feel like they are constructive and forward-moving.  It does not feel good to stay stagnant and like you are not improving, so practicing mindfulness in a team can help the team feel ever-growing. 

Mindfulness within a team setting can help the team members for affirmed and like their feelings matter.  When a team practices mindfulness, they are more in tune with the team members’ feelings. When we experience others being in tune with our own feelings, that can feel really good and a feeling of affirmation.  When a team member feels affirmed, they will also feel more respected.  Feeling respected will help each member more likely perform well and feel more invested in the team.  For example, if you feel heard by a team member and start changing whatever you are concerned about, you are more likely to try and perform well.