Everybody seems to be talking about mindfulness at the moment. In the UK they are talking about introducing it in schools, and MPs and sports people, among others, are supposed to practise it. So what is it?
It is taken from Buddhist ideas about fully experiencing and living in the moment, and should have the effect of making people calmer, more content and more grounded. Of course the original ideas are much more complicated, but when non-Buddhists talk about 'mindfulness' at the moment they are, basically, talking about taking a deep breath and pausing to feel your surroundings and really think about what you are doing. As simple as this sounds, even something as basic as being aware of your feet touching the floor can have a calming effect and make you less anxious and more sure of who and where you are.
You can find an overview of some of these ideas here.