Would you like to be more mindful this year?
Aside from the many health benefits that come with a formal mindfulness meditation practice, with a little know-how you can also benefit from moments of calm and mindfulness as you go about your daily routine. Here are my 3 tips to live more mindfully every day:
𝟏. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲. Consider the attitudes and qualities you would like to embody as you go about your day. Patience? Kindness? Compassion? Presence? Take a few slow, deep, breaths and see what answer comes up for you. A few mindful breaths can help you to connect to the present moment, and bringing these attitudes to mind as you go about your day can be supportive in living more out of mindful awareness, and less out of autopilot or 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥-𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.
𝟐. 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬. Take care of your mind and body by taking time to take a little stretch, drink some water or eat a healthy snack, and take a few deep breaths. If you're able to do this outdoors for a few minutes that's even better.
𝟑. 𝐀𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲. They don't have to be particularly big or grand things. Something small like a cup of coffee made just right, a cozy chair or blanket, a kind word from a co-worker, a cool breeze from a fan, or a cuddle from a pet can work well for this practice. You can also take this time to journal your thoughts and feelings or practice a few minutes of meditation before bed.
Small practices like these can have a big impact on your daily wellbeing. Give one (or all) a try and let me know how it goes!
(And if you'd like to bring even more mindfulness into your everyday life, be sure to sign-up for my two upcoming workshops - Introducing Mindfulness & Mindfulness for Life. Both workshops will be facilitated by me and offered through The Oxford Mindfulness Foundation. Classes start next month. Send me a private message if you'd like more details.)
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