How to Practice Mindfulness
Looking after our mental wellbeing is extremely important and. what if there’s something super simple that could positively impact your mental wellbeing? Keep reading and we will tell you all about that thing called mindfulness!
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is all about awareness, spending moments to be very aware of your thoughts and feelings. This teaches you to accept how you are feeling, your thoughts and let those feelings come and go as they wish without having a negative mindset towards these feelings.
You will essentially become so much more aware of your own inner feelings when you practice mindfulness, which can really impact your positive thoughts, motivate you to recognise those little things in life that may cause you anxiety, get in your way and so on.
There isn’t a clear end goal, however this will eventually allow you to start practicing this daily, by seeing the world differently, responding to certain situations in a different way and understanding your thoughts better.
What other things can it do for me?
- Lowers stress
- Anxiety reduced
- Improves mental health
- Improves concentration
- Allows us to become more self aware
How do I start practicing it every day?
Look for Apps to help!
The Mindfulness App is free with optional in app purchases, this is a great way to start practicing mindfulness if you are a beginner. They also have exercises for individuals who are also more experienced in mindfulness and meditation.
The app gives you a get started 5 day guided introduction to mindfulness and allows you to pick silent or guided meditations depending on which you prefer and your lifestyle type.
You then have the choice of over 250 meditations from experts all within the app. The features also allow you to set reminders so that you never miss it.
Find out more about The Mindfulness App here: https://themindfulnessapp.com/
Did you know, you can now benefit from practicing mindfulness on Netflix? Yes that’s right! You can now find ‘Mindspace Guided meditation’ on Netflix... What excuse do you have now not to do it! Perfect for beginners, these are great for building practice or learning more about the science behind mindfulness.
They describe it as a must watch for your mind, so now you can put your Netflix binge skills into mindfulness practice every day.
you’ve probably heard of headspace before and that is because they also have an app. Again, free from the app store, these exercises incorporate both ‘insight’ and ‘calming’ meditation. The insight elements is where you will learn about your thoughts, mindfulness and your awareness of what is happening, whilst the calming element will cultivate clarity by focusing on an object to calm. Overall you will learn to be aware and also compassionate to yourself.
Find out more about headspace here:
https://www.headspace.com/meditation/guided-meditation
Start focusing on your breath:
Breathing deep and slow is a good way to begin practicing mindfulness. Ensure you’re breathing strong enough that your stomach is moving up and down as you breath. You really want to be very aware of what is happening, focusing on the movement and your breath. Any thoughts that creep in whilst you are doing this is absolutely fine, you want to be aware of those and acknowledge these certain thoughts and where your mind drifts off to.
When your mind takes a wander, when you have noticed, you want to focus back to your breathing. Start practicing that it takes time, if it is difficult that is absolutely fine! Just recognise this and then let it go.
Be present:
Most often when we have conversations with people we tend to listen, but not fully be present and often become distracted. When we can be surrounded by loved ones again, or when you are with a partner, make sure you really feel present right there. When having conversations, really engage and start to notice everything properly. Take in their hair colour, their features, how they make you feel when you speak to them.
Make time for things you love:
Be present and focus on your hobbies and everything you love in your daily life, whether that is cooking, baking, painting, getting outside. Make sure you do it!
With the help of our few tips and these apps, you will be well on your way in becoming mindful, practicing mindfulness and allowing yourself to be more present in your every day life.
Enjoy beauties!