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:
๐. ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ก, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ญ ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฒ. 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 ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ-๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด.
๐. ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐ซ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฒ, ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ญ'๐ฌ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ ๐๐๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ฎ๐ญ๐๐ฌ. 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.
๐. ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฒ, ๐ญ๐๐ค๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ฎ๐ญ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐๐ข๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ, ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐๐ฒ. 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.)