So much content around being mindful will be accompanied by imagery of someone in a position of meditation or proposed physical arrangement. But the truth is, you can be mindful any place, any time, and however you choose to be. You are much more likely to get into a healthy and beneficial mindfulness practise if you don’t feel that you NEED to be as seen in photos or knowledgeable about the ins and outs of ‘best’ practice. Your practice is your practice and you need to do what feels good for you, when the time is good for you. You won’t need to take chunks of time out of your schedule. You won’t need to arrange your thoughts, feelings and movements in a particular way. It doesn’t need to be yours or anyone else’s idea of ‘perfect’. The best Mindfulness starts when you know you need it – and the good news is that you can make it happen for yourself fairly effortlessly in as little as five minutes. This article is a whistlestop guide to understanding and incorporating mindfulness effortlessly into your everyday.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations without judging them or getting caught up in them.
How will it help me?
Practising mindfulness can:
· Improve mental well-being by reducing stress, anxiety, and depression
· Enhance cognitive function, such as attention, memory, and creativity.
· Improve physical health by reducing blood pressure, decreasing inflammation, and improving sleep quality
· Help in managing emotions and thoughts more effectively, which can lead to better decision-making, improved relationships, and greater overall happiness and fulfilment in life.
Four ways to practise it:
Set a timer for the amount of time you want to be mindful. This could be for five minutes upwards depending on your space and time. The important thing is that you focus on thoughts, feelings and sensations you are experiencing in the moment.
· Mindful stillness – This involves laying, sitting or standing quietly to focus on your breathing, thoughts, sensations in your body or things you can sense around you. Try to bring your attention back to the present if your mind starts to wander.
· Mindful movement – While exercising, try focusing on the feeling of your body moving. If you go for a mindful walk, you might notice the breeze against your skin, the feeling of your feet or hands against different textures on the ground or nearby surfaces, and the different smells around you.
· Body scan – This is where you move your attention slowly through different parts of your body. Start from the top of your head and move all the way down to the end of your toes. You could focus on feelings of warmth, tension, tingling or relaxation of different parts of your body.
· Mindful eating – Eating mindfully involves using all of your senses whilst you actively notice smell, taste and texture of the food before you. It can lead to: a greater awareness of hunger and fullness; increased pleasure when eating; body satisfaction; and greater psychological wellbeing.
Once you understand that being mindful is about stepping back from your thoughts and feelings – allowing them to come and go, observing them with curiosity, and coming back into your senses, you can practise it anytime, anywhere. Why not try it whilst brushing your teeth, commuting to work, taking a walk, listening to music? And remember that your way is the best way.