Have you ever noticed how time flies when you are lost in conversation with a friend on good old times? Or surprised by your own efficiency when you give undivided attention while completing the work at hand? Or how stress-free you get by getting engrossed in your own dance moves?
What’s common in all the above situations? In each case, you were embracing the concept of mindfulness. Mindfulness entails being fully engaged in the present moment, and accepting everything that unfolds without passing judgment. Therefore, in any situation that aligns with the aforementioned conditions, you are actively practicing mindfulness. There are simply innumerable ways to practice mindfulness. In this article, we will focus on some key practices that you can apply in everything you do, from mindfulness at work to mindfulness in your relationships.
What is Mindfulness
Mindfulness is living where you are, completely and wholly, without worrying about the past or thinking of the future. It is simply being present. It’s the practice of wholeheartedly embracing the here and now, and it is rooted in several core principles that guide us in this endeavor:
Embrace every moment with a fresh start: Imagine you could let go of all baggage from past grievances, grudges, regrets, and failures. Embrace every moment with an open heart, hope, and a fresh pair of eyes.
Don’t hurry into things: Another key principle of mindfulness is taking every moment as it comes. Don’t hurry into what happens next, for in doing so, you miss out on what is happening right now, which is the only tangible reality we truly possess.
Remove judgments: Don’t make opinions by categorizing each moment as a miracle or a nightmare. Instead, live it fully and then let it go gracefully, unburdened by the weight of judgment.
Trust in Your Inner Wisdom: Cultivate a deep trust in your gut feeling and intuition. Furthermore, believe in the natural progression of the experiences you are currently immersed in, for the journey holds its own wisdom and unfolds as it should.
Practice Detached Engagement: Detachment is a cornerstone of mindfulness. Rather than approaching each moment with preconceived expectations of what should result from it, focus on the experience itself. Engage with life for the sheer joy of the experience, not the outcome it may yield.
How to practice mindfulness
With an understanding of mindfulness and its principles, let’s now delve into how to practice mindfulness. Here are some overarching ways to engage in mindfulness:
Mantra Meditation
Mantras are phrases or sets of words that hold significant power, either due to their resonant sound or the profound meaning they convey. These sacred utterances are used in meditation and spiritual practices to focus the mind, evoke specific energies, and promote mindfulness and inner transformation
Reiterating mantras serves as an effective means to anchor your awareness in the present moment. When you repeat any mantra with the intent of healing or manifestation, you are consistently engaging your brain in maintaining focus on that specific intent and repeating the words. Mantra meditation isn’t about letting go of thoughts; instead, it involves aligning your mind with a particular thought. Here are some pointers to aid you in your mantra meditation practice:
Choosing a mantra: With centuries of practice, there’s a plethora of mantras to choose from. Choose the mantra that resonates with your intent. You can even create your own mantra which resonates with you.
Repeat out loud: It is best to repeat mantras out loud rather than simply listening to them. The idea is to actively engage your whole being in the process of mindfulness. However, do note that the sounds of all mantras are extremely powerful. Take time to ensure you are using correct pronunciation while chanting mantras.
Close your eyes while reciting mantras: Closing your eyes can help minimize distractions and allow you to concentrate fully on the sound and repetition of the mantra.
Imbibing Mindful Observation
When was the last time you simply noticed the color of the leaves, the beauty of flowers, the shapes of clouds, or embraced the beauty of a painting? Simple acts of observation offer a profound mindfulness practice. How does this mindfulness practice help?
Don’t underestimate the mere act of observation. Engaging your mind in observing and looking at the intricate details you never observed, not just takes away your unnecessary attention from stressful thoughts, but also helps you increase concentration, intuition, and creativity.
Going beyond observing your immediate surroundings, try mindful observation of your thoughts to let go of stress and anxiety.
Acknowledge your thoughts and let them go: Mindfulness isn’t about ignoring or running away from negative thoughts or unnecessary stress. It is in fact observing them completely, yet letting them go without reacting to them or holding on to them.
The next time you face anxiety or fear, take a pause, smile at the feeling, and welcome it! Embrace it completely or better befriend it. Now take a step further to decode your feelings. If your concern is rooted in the past, remind yourself that you cannot alter it, and if it’s tied to the future, recognize your power to alter it. You can also practice the Beginner’s Mind principle on your anxiety by letting go of any baggage you may have from past experiences, and approaching this moment with a fresh lens.
Mindful Breathing
How to practice mindfulness with something you do every moment- your breathing? Mindful breathing exercises are the most common and most encouraged mindfulness practice. However, it isn’t as simple to practice as it sounds. There are numerous breathing patterns that you can incorporate for mindful breathing. Here are some of them:
Follow the regular breath: This one is the most profound way of practicing mindfulness since it involves simply observing without any attempt to modify what naturally occurs—your breath. To begin, sit in a relaxed position, close your eyes, and focus on your breath as it naturally flows in and out. Observe the breath entering your nose, filling your lungs, and permeating your body and similarly, as it leaves your body through the nose. As you breathe in, invite healing energy, and breathe out all the negativity, stress, and worries.
Deep breathing: For deep breathing mindfulness, find a comfortable space to sit and relax. Now place one hand on your chest, take in a long, deep breath from your nose, and exhale slowly from your nose. As you breathe in and out, feel the rise and fall of your chest.
Box breathing: This method involves inhaling for a count of four, holding for four, exhaling for four, and holding for four before beginning the cycle again. The structured pattern helps you focus and clear your mind.
Don’t worry when you initially have too many thoughts with the breathing exercises. Recognize these thoughts without resistance, allowing them to pass through. Each time, gently guide your focus back to your breath. As you continue to practice, you’ll notice that the frequency of these distracting thoughts diminishes, or you become more adept at acknowledging them and letting them go, often without even realizing they were there in the first place.
Body Scan
Body scan meditation is a potent mindfulness practice to reduce physical pain and any cravings you have including binge eating or smoking. Follow these steps to try out the body scan mindfulness exercise:
- Get in a comfortable position and space. Now, close your eyes and direct your attention to your breath.
- Begin mindfully scanning through your body by starting from the crown of your head, and slowly moving down to the feet.
- Concentrate on one body area at a time. Visualize and bring your awareness to any sensations, pain, or feelings present in that specific part of your body. Spend at least a minute or two on each of the body part
- As you encounter emotions during your body scan, acknowledge them without criticism or judgment. Continue to breathe, envisioning pain and tension diminishing with each breath.
- Now, slowly release your awareness from the current body part and redirect your attention to the next part. Continue this until you have scanned your entire body.
- As you continue the body scan, be mindful of moments when your thoughts wander. This may occur multiple times, and that’s completely normal. Do not fret; you haven’t failed. Gently guide your awareness back to the point where you left off in your scan.
- Close your meditation with some long breaths and gratitude for having a healthy body.
Mindful Actions
A substantial portion of our daily life is guided by the unconscious, automated routines and habits we’ve developed over time. While this automation is essential for streamlining everyday tasks and conserving mental energy, it can also lead to a lack of presence and mindfulness. A consistent regular autopilot mode limits the richness of our experiences and can negatively impact our relationships.
Mindfulness can be easily practiced in everything you do. Think of all the activities that make your day and incorporate mindfulness- wash the dishes mindfully, enjoy every moment of gardening, pay attention to your feet and legs while walking, embrace the smell of coffee, or simply let that smile of yours fill you up with gratitude and joy. The more often and widely you practice mindfulness, the more you train your mind to be mindful.
Here are two of our favorite mindfulness activities:
Mindful Eating: Try mindful eating in your next meal by savoring each bite, and paying attention to the flavors, textures, and aromas of your food. Mindful eating offers more than mindfulness. It can help you opt for better dietary choices, prevent overeating, and even help you keep a check on your weight.
Mindful Listening: A simple act of giving your complete attention to your partner, or a colleague at work without interrupting or formulating your response in your mind, is incredibly impactful. Needless to say, mindful listening can promote better communication, bring in empathy, reduce conflicts, and help strengthen your relationships.
Practical Tips to Practice Mindfulness
Now that you have a better understanding of how to practice mindfulness, let’s also look at some practical tips to get you going.
Set reminders
“Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it.” – Sharon Salzberg
You are certainly not the only one if you occasionally forget to practice mindfulness. With our programmed automated habits, remembering to be mindful can be tricky. Set some interesting reminders to be mindful. These reminders can range from setting alarms on your phone with uplifting messages, placing post-it notes in conspicuous locations, or using mindfulness apps that offer regular prompts and guidance.
Start small by setting aside separate time to be mindful. Try having one mindful meal a day, or a few minutes of mindful observation deep breathing.
Focus on one thing at a time
“When walking, walk. When eating, eat.” – Zen proverb
Slow down a bit in anything you are doing and avoid multi-tasking. When you are making a coffee, just focus on making it. If you are an active advocate or practitioner of multitasking, you may be surprised to know that multi-tasking actually slows down your productivity. Instead, focus on completing one thing before moving to the next.
Don’t fill your day with a long to-do list. Set your priorities, take it slow, and remain mindful of what you need to do. By spacing out your commitments and allowing room between activities, you cultivate a more adaptable and mindful day.
Embrace the Flow
“Mindfulness is a pause – the space between stimulus and response: that’s where choice lies.” – Tara Brach
Is there a way to remain mindful for a longer duration and let go of daily stress? You can embrace extended hours of mindfulness by picking activities or hobbies that inspire you and have an immediate reward. If you love painting, you may have noticed how completely absorbed you can become in the process.
Take a break and follow these simple steps to embrace mindfulness while doing what you love doing
- Set some clear goals for a particular activity, with defined action steps. Like if you love cooking, set an agenda to try out a new dish today.
- Remember to keep short-term goals, which are neither too easy nor too difficult. Also, remaining mindful of progress toward your goals, like tasting your food while cooking can help you alter your next steps.
- Go slow and do not keep a time check while you are engrossed in your activity.
- Lastly, remember that you are engaged in cooking for your happiness. Do not get attached to the outcome of a tasty or not-so-good dish. Embrace the experience rather than the end result.
Never rush out of feelings
“You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”– Jon Kabat-Zinn
When you face a negative emotion, like anger, frustration, stress, anxiety, or guilt, a natural or instinctive reaction is often to avoid or suppress it. Many tend to encourage themselves to quickly shift away from these emotions or seek distractions to cope. However, this may not be the most effective approach.
Instead, it is more beneficial to mindfully acknowledge these unwanted emotions when they surface and create a space for managing them. You can adopt the beginner’s mind principle of mindfulness, take on journaling to streamline your thoughts, go out for a walk to clear your head, focus on things that are in your control, and more importantly, remember that this moment will pass for good. Some people find it helpful to set aside some ‘worry time’ to delve into negative emotions, and then move over by engaging in flow activities, as mentioned above.
Conclusion
“Life is a journey to be experienced, not a problem to be solved.” – Winnie the Pooh
It’s essential to remember that mindfulness isn’t about reaching a destination; it’s about fully experiencing the present moment, wherever you may find yourself. It’s about embracing the now, acknowledging it, and living it to the fullest.
Setbacks and occasional unwanted thoughts are part and parcel of this journey – they’re not roadblocks, but rather stepping stones. Mindfulness is an ongoing expedition, and the beauty lies in the journey itself, not the destination.
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