Mindfulness exercises: top 10 tips for a happy life
Mindfulness exercises:
top 10 tips for a happy life
Taking part in mindfulness exercises can be a simple way to sort out your thoughts. Grounding yourself in the moment may also be crucial, especially if you want to get back to your day.
Meditate
While you may think of meditation as something undertaken by different cultures, or those invested in spirituality, it can also be one of the simplest mindfulness exercises to aid your mental health.
These can be great if you want to see reduced stress levels, and generally feel better about yourself.
One of the benefits of this is that you don’t need a lot of time to do it. Just 20 minutes spent meditating each day could help you see the results. However, you will need somewhere quiet where you can sit and focus.
As you begin, try to notice what is around you without using sight. Something as simple as feeling what the floor is like underneath you can be great for grounding.
Breathing in and out slowly, while focusing on the moment, can be key for meditation. Try not to let your mind wander, as negative and intrusive thoughts may ruin your attempt.
Try to walk more
While walking can be incredibly beneficial for your physical health, it can also be perfect for your mind.
A short amble around the block can be good to boost your mood, but you might also want to think about including mindfulness in it.
To do so, take note of everything you feel throughout your journey. This can include your clothing, the ground under your feet, and even the wind in your hair.
Walking while performing mindfulness exercises could allow you to build on your physical fitness and teach you how to enjoy each moment as it comes.
Practise gratitude
Having good manners can benefit you in social interactions, but how often do you remember to thank yourself?
Gratitude for the things you have, your body’s capabilities, and even the little moments of your day can make quite the impact upon your mental health.
By learning how to practise gratitude, you may find that you teach your brain to notice the positive aspects of life. This could be especially useful for those who have a more negative mindset, or often think about the things they have yet to do or achieve.
Journaling
As a child, you might have written diaries detailing how you felt, what you did, or even your latest crush. Journaling as an adult doesn’t have to be too dissimilar.
As with other mindfulness exercises, you may want to first focus on how you feel in the moment as you begin to write. From here, you could then unpack and work through challenging thoughts from earlier. It might also be good to consider some of the highlights of the day to help yourself see all the good things in your life.
This may be difficult to start with, especially if you aren’t keen on writing. Yet, getting into the habit of spending 5 minutes jotting down your thoughts, either when they occur or at the end of the day, could prove fruitful.
Wake up with mindfulness exercises
Some people find they feel quite negative when they wake up in the morning. This could be due to a lack of sleep, poor sleep quality, or even too many stresses on the mind.
Taking part in mindfulness breathing or grounding exercises, such as focusing on what you feel, could help you to feel more in tune with yourself in the morning. Combining this with a more nutritional breakfast could assist with waking.
This means that these few minutes could help to motivate you for your day, or at least help you to feel a little more relaxed.
Focus on the present
Although you may intend on spending time with loved ones and enjoying your day, you may find that other thoughts creep in. One quick mindfulness exercise to use when out and about can be to refocus yourself.
This might be another challenging task, but it may allow you to enjoy your time more. Force yourself to stop ruminating over any worries or things you still have to do and instead consider what you are doing right then, as well as what is enjoyable about it.
You could incorporate other ideas, such as touch, taste, smell, sound, and even what you see around you. This may enable you to let go of those intrusions and be more present.
Perform a body scan
This may sound like it involves equipment, but is actually a mindfulness exercise focusing on the self.
You might find it useful to lay down while performing this exercise to gain the most benefit.
After a few cycles of deep breathing, start to consider each area of your body and how it feels. While you could look at your body as a whole, some people may find it useful to work their way in stages.
Start with your toes and try to figure out how they feel and, if applicable, what they are touching. Work your way up until you have scanned your entire body.
When doing so, it is important not to be ashamed of any thoughts or feelings that may crop up. Should you find yourself feeling aroused when you get to certain areas of your body, take note of this, and use it as a reminder that you are a sensual being, then move on.
Following your scan, continue your deep breathing for a few more cycles and, when you feel ready, open your eyes.
Consider therapy
Going to therapy sessions doesn’t mean that you have large problems. Instead, it can be a great way of utilising the expertise of professionals and others who have shared experiences.
Whether you have a formal mental health diagnosis or not, you may find the mindfulness branch of CBT, or Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, to be quite informative.
This way, you can learn a variety of different mindfulness techniques, as well as how to apply them to your daily life.
Take up yoga
Although many types of exercise can be good for the body, some people may find that physical ailments prevent them from genuinely taking part.
Thankfully, yoga can be performed by a wide range of people. While some positions may require the use of both arms and legs, others could potentially be undertaken in a wheelchair or seated.
The movements within this exercise are quite mindful within themselves. You need to ensure you move slowly and deliberately, following the range of motion advised.
Yoga is also often accompanied with deep breathing exercises and trying to be in the moment, meaning you could use time spent here to practise a number of different mindfulness exercises.
Ditch the technology
It’s no secret that many of us would be lost without our phones, computers, televisions, and gaming consoles. While these can be both fun and useful, they may be impeding on your mental health.
The internet and, in particular, social media can make you reflect negatively on your life, especially when you see others attain things that you don’t have. This can create an endless cycle of despondence and jealousy.
Taking dedicated time away from technology each day, and trying to minimise your reliance on it outside of work or school, could allow you to engage more with people and the world around you.
To begin with, you may find this exceptionally hard. It isn’t often you see people without their electronics, or at least using them sporadically.
Set designated times when gadgets aren’t allowed, such as during dinner. This could help you to pay closer attention to the taste of your food, as well as what your family or friends are talking to you about.
Therefore, limiting technology could not only help with your mental health, but also with your relationships with others.
Have your say
Mindfulness activities can bring a great deal of positivity to your life, and even help you to refocus yourself on the present.
While these are just some of the tips that we use to regain control of our emotions, there may be different methods that work for other people.
If you have some ideas regarding how to be more mindful, or work on wellness in general, you might want to think about writing a guest post for Mindful Me.
Together, we can feel better both inside and outside ourselves, and break the stigma associated with struggles.
A talented writer and lover of all things to do with health and lifestyle.
I also love shopping, coffee, and lunches out with friends – all great for my well-being!