WAYS TO BRING MORE MINDFULNESS INTO YOUR LIFE

Mindfulness is  being present in each moment, aware of yourself, your feelings and your surroundings, rather than consumed by the past or anxious about the future, brings with it the ability to remain calm and grateful in challenging situations. Focussing on the here and now, the abundance of each and every moment will open up your eyes, mind and spirit to the inspired beauty of each breath.

Our day to day lives tend to be extremely busy, filled with rushing from one thing to the next; work, play, school, checking our phone/email/texts, cooking, cleaning, shopping, eating…The practice of staying mindful can help to alleviate that sense of panic, anxiety or ‘not enough hours in the day’, which many people feel all too often.

 WAYS TO BRING MORE MINDFULNESS INTO YOUR LIFE.

One Minute of Mindfulness

You can introduce short ‘meditation minutes’ throughout your day. You will need a clock or timer for this exercise. Set the time for one minute. During this time, your task is to focus your entire attention on your breathing, and nothing else.

You may practice with your eyes either open or closed. If you lose touch with breath and become lost in thought during this time, simply let go of the thought and gently bring attention back to the breath. Bring attention back as many times as you need to.

Minute meditations can be a wonderful practice for times when your start to feel a little stressed or aggravated.

Gratitude

The powers of gratitude extend beyond a short “thank you”. Gratitude is something you feel, to feel grateful for the good and the bad, the big or small details of daily life. It’s simple, if you project gratitude, you will see a giving world in return. Be sure to radiate gratefulness within yourself and toward others to live a long happy life! 

You can integrate gratitude into everyday life by keeping a daily journal. Write down at least 3 things you’re grateful for that you experienced throughout the day. An event, a person, an emotional you felt, something you experienced that made you happy. Gratitude helps you to be aware of each moment you experience therefore keeping you more present. 

Meditation.

You can be mindful without meditating, but all the research and experts tell us that meditation is the most sure-fire way to become more mindful. A regular practice can help to reduce stress, improve cognitive function, and boost well-being. Research has found that mindfulness meditation can even alter gene expression, lowering the body's inflammatory response.

Deep Breathing

Mindfulness can be as simple as breathing! You can focus on your breathing as you go about your daily activities. This is convenient for those who feel they don’t have time to meditate. Breathe from your belly rather than from your chest, and try to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Focusing on the sound and rhythm of your breath, especially when you’re upset, can have a calming effect and help you stay grounded in the present moment. Start using breathing exercises throughout the day.

 Observing Your Thoughts

Many stressed and busy people find it difficult to stop focusing on the rapid stream of thoughts running through their mind, and the idea of sitting in meditation and holding off the onslaught of thought can actually cause more stress! If this sounds like you, the mindfulness exercise of observing your thoughts might be for you. Rather than working against the voice in your head, you sit back and "observe" your thoughts, rather than becoming involved in them. As you observe them, you might find your mind quieting, and the thoughts becoming less stressful. If not, you may benefit from journaling as a way of processing all those thoughts so you can decrease their intensity and try again.

Mindful Waking

Setting an intention to bring mindfulness into the very first moments of your day is a lovely, gentle way to set the tone for the hours to come—rather than slamming your hand on the alarm clock and bolting out of bed in the morning.  Pay attention to: Your mind and your body. Do you feel alert or tired? Are your muscles tight? Slowly stretch your limbs and your back, noticing the sensation of each movement. Try to notice what thought crosses your mind the second you open your eyes - or even just before.

Mindful Listening

Mindful listening is a powerful practice that we use in our own lives, dedicating time out to really cultivate a relationship where the other is heard. You can do this any time without anybody knowing you are dedicating effort to listening mindfully. Really tune into what the other person is saying. Try to listen just to listen, without waiting to respond.

You may try bringing awareness to the other person’s words, their experience, or the emotion behind them. You may also tune into your own body and mind, noticing what response arises. If somebody says something and you find yourself anxious or angry, you can notice it by practicing mindful listening. As with the other practices on this list, we get much better over time and with consistency.

 Eating with Awareness

Eating mindfully can help you reclaim the pleasure of food. So many of us have become out of touch with this, one of life’s most simple and wonderful pleasures. Mindful eating has been shown to aid weight loss and have aided healthy digestion.

When you sit for your meal, turn off all distractions and focus on your immediate experience. Before you begin to eat, pause. Look at your food, take notice of the scent.

When you eat take small bites and eat slowly. Be fully present in the moment with your experience.

Bedtime Mindfulness

There are many ways to practice mindfulness in bed while lying down. Whether it is in the morning before getting out of bed, or in the evening before falling asleep, use your time in bed as an opportunity to practice mindfulness. Feel the contact of the body with the bed, the body breathing, and notice where the mind is at.

If you’re meditating in the morning, you can connect with an intention for the day. At night, you can tune into the experience of the energy settling. When we get into bed, the mind and body may still be active. Try bringing your awareness to the energy in both as they settle into sleep mode

Come to your Senses

The essence of mindfulness is the ability to let go of the mind’s noisy compulsive chatter and to touch deeply the stillness that lies underneath. To be mindful is to be in a state where you’re highly alert and not ‘lost’ in thinking.

To access the state you can use your senses. Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing give your senses your fullest attention. You can turn any moment into a mindfulness practice by this method.

Whatever you sense, go into it fully. Explore the world with your senses. Visually observe details of your environment, such as the curve or a tree branch or the play of light in the room you are in. Be fully engrossed in the looking but without mental labeling of any kind. Look with ‘bare awareness’.

As you go about your day be mindful of the feel of sun on your skin or the wind in your hair when you leave the house. Take a breath and put your focus on what scents you’re taking in. To be fully engaged in sense perception like this draws attention into the moment and out of all that mental noise. It brings a sense of fresh aliveness and wonder into our day