Mindfulness is about paying attention to what you are feeling and sensing in the moment. Think of it as taking the time to stop and smell the roses. It’s about cutting out the distractions and noise in your mind and choosing to focus on what is happening around you.
Benefits of Meditation
There are some big benefits to practicing mindfulness. Top among them is of course feeling less stressed. One of the reasons we feel stressed is because we are pulled in many different directions and are constantly bombarded by new information, media, and demands.
Practicing mindfulness allows you to tune out the noise and give your mind a break. This in turn will help you relieve stress. Making mindfulness part of your daily routine can help you start to permanently reduce stress.
Practicing mindfulness can also help with anxiety, depression, and insomnia.
Mindfulness meditation has also been shown to help with improving attention span and reducing work burnout.
Simple Ways of Practicing Mindfulness
Practicing mindfulness doesn’t have to be hard or complicated. You don’t have to get into any long mindfulness meditations unless you want to. You can start with some very easy and simple things.
Let’s take mindful eating
for example. Instead of eating in front of the TV or looking at your phone
while eating a meal or munching on a snack, try this instead. Get out a plate
and put your food on it. Arrange the food or snack. Sit down at the table
and put your phone away. Focus on the food. What does it look like? What does
it smell like? How does it taste? Savor each bite and pay attention to how your
body is starting to react. Not only is it a great way to destress, but you’ll also find
you’ll get a lot more out of each meal and this type of eating tends to keep
you from overindulging.
Another great way to practice mindfulness is with mindfulness
meditation. Focus on your breathing and notice how the air rushes in and out of
your lungs, what it feels like to have it move in through your nose and out
through your mouth. Pay attention to the rise and fall of your abdomen.
You can practice mindfulness anytime, anywhere. The hardest part is remembering to do it. Create one or two small habits for yourself that focus on mindfulness. Maybe it’s a simple meditation in the morning, or really paying attention to that first cup of coffee. Maybe it’s going for a stroll after dinner by yourself where you can practice being mindful of your surroundings and the beauty you encounter.
Give it a try and start to reap the
many short and long-term benefits of practicing mindfulness.
