5 Simple Mindfulness Exercises
How often do you wake up feeling overwhelmed as you rush out the door to take on the day without even thinking about what really matters the most in the present moment? Before you know it, you are triggered by an event or person, and you’ve reacted automatically with anger or frustration —in other words, you were acting in a way that isn’t who you are as a person and in a way you weren’t intentional.
The great news is that you are stronger than your emotions. Taking the time every day to practice mindfulness for just a few minutes at different moments throughout your day can help the flow of your day to go well, and be more in alignment with how you would like for your day to go.
Explore these five daily exercises to practice mindfulness living:
Mindfulness is simply defined as the process in which one fully concentrate on being aware of the fact of our senses and feels without judgment. Practicing mindfulness involves a number of exercises that are undertaken to relax body and mind while also understanding yourself better and allowing you to manage your stress.
Every day, we engulf our minds with different activities like planning, problem-solving, etc which drains our functioning abilities. Consequently, one is likely to face depression, stress, and anxiety. In such a situation, it is advisable to engage in mindfulness exercise which will help you in bringing focus and keeping you at bay from distracting thoughts.
Some of the common mindfulness exercises are as follows:
Mindful body scan mediation
While lying on your backs with your legs extended and arms at your sides. This approach will help you in focusing on the various parts of your body while also becoming aware of the sensations, emotions, or thoughts.
Mindful journaling
In this exercise, one should sit comfortably with a straight back. While doing this exercise, focus on the inhaling and exhaling of breathing from your nose. If physical thoughts or sensations act as an interrupter, then note the interrupting experience and return your focus towards breathing as you write.
Mindful walking mediation
For this exercise, find a quiet place that is 10-20 feet in length. Began slowly walking on the road. In this exercise, one should focus on the experience of walking. While concluding the journey, turn back and continue towards the start point of the journey. While doing so, it is important to maintain awareness of your sensations.
Mindful breathe awareness
While starting this exercise, it is important to first set a timer of two minutes. Afterward, close your eyes and start focusing on your breathing process. In essence, just observe the flow of oxygen going in and out of your lungs.
Mindful Listening
While someone is speaking, try to focus on what is been said. The approach which you should take while listening is that of understanding instead of maintaining an approach to respond, defend, or be heard. By doing so, you can observe a paradigm shift in your interpersonal relationships.
Apart from the above mentioned structured exercises, there are a number of simple or unstructured exercises for practicing mindfulness. These exercises include:
Paying attention (tasting and smelling your favorite food while eating it)
Living in the moment (finding joy in simple pleasures)
Accepting yourself (Treating yourself in the same way as you will be treating your best friend)
By adopting any of the above mentioned structured or unstructured exercises, one can strive to bring focus to life. From a beginner perspective, these exercises, which are also practiced by professional practitioners, serve as launching points for striving towards a mindful life. It should be remembered that these exercises serve as baby steps in the actual realization of how to live a mindful life where every breath, every bite, every sensation, and every thought count.
