You just got done with your shift at Black Tie Moving. You chatted with one of your coworkers about how much mindfulness has helped to relieve their stress and anxiety. You started to wonder how you could incorporate this powerful practice into your own life.
We are offering 4 ways to practice mindfulness in everyday life. Let’s get into it!
Take Your Time
We are always in a rush with our busy schedules. Who has time to intentionally go slowly with our tasks? Mindfulness says that you should when you can. We can always make a little more time in our lives to take it easy.
You can practice mindfulness by doing simple tasks such as washing the dishes. If you pay attention to how the water feels on your hands, the food being wiped from the plate, you are already in a state of awareness.
The key with taking your time is to try and pay attention to the action in front of you. If your mind starts to wander or get bored, simply bring it back to what you were doing. This makes tasks much more enjoyable after you’ve practiced for a while!
Mindful Eating
One of the best ways to practice mindfulness is when you eat! If you’re prone to cleaning your plate before the food has even had time to cool down, this might be a bit challenging for you. Yet, this means you could benefit from this mindfulness hack even more.
Mindful eating is when you pay attention with each bite you take. You observe how it smells, feels in your mouth, and the taste. You can also meditate and give thanks for the food that is in front of you. Gratitude very often accompanies mindfulness. Therefore, practicing being grateful for your meal is another great way to bring mindfulness into everyday life.
Meditate
It comes as no surprise that meditating is a wonderful way to incorporate mindfulness into your everyday life. In fact, most meditations are “mindfulness meditations.” This is where you select one focus, something to be mindful of, and you sit with that.
If you’re new to meditation or mindfulness, a simple mindful breathing meditation is a great start. This practice simply requires you to sit and observe the inhale and exhale of your breath. It’s completely natural to have thoughts come in while you’re doing so.
This is what makes mindful breathing meditations so powerful, as you are more likely to observe thoughts as they come in. Usually, we don’t notice when thoughts have entered our mind until they begin to spiral!
Body Scan
Practicing a regular body scan is quite similar to mindful breathing meditations. Yet, instead of focusing just on your breath, you are picking a particular part of your body to tune into. Many people opt for a full body scan. However, you can choose certain parts of you if you wish! The practice is always yours.
Regular body scanning helps you to reconnect with your body. It can assist you with developing a healthier relationship with your outer appearance. It’s a great tool to utilize to practice mindfulness in your everyday life!